WHAT WESTERN ELITES DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT MARY’S BOY-CHILD & THE COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF THE LORD

In a few weeks we will once again celebrate the incarnation of Mary’s boy-child. Mark Lowry’s famous 1984 song, Mary Did You Know imaginatively asks Mary whether she knew who it really was who she had given birth to?

Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
When you kissed your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will calm a storm with His hand?
Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of creation
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy
Is Heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great ‘I Am’
Mary did you know?

It’s a beautiful song that was set to the music composed by musical genius, Buddy Greene, in 1991. Mark Lowry contemplated what it would have been like to have asked Mary—after her son had returned to His Father—whether she had realised what He was going to do after He was born? The song invites listeners to join in the contemplation of these questions Lowry asks. But some fussy theologians think that the questions in the song are unnecessary because both Mary and Joseph were told by angelic messengers who it was who Mary would give birth to (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:31-35). However, I think Mark Lowry’s song is more profound than many realise because if the same questions were reposed to many people today – 

• Do you know why Jesus really died?

• Do you know that Jesus performed many public miracles in front of hundreds of eye-witnesses?

• Do you know that Jesus took all that was wrong with the world and began to set it on a path to complete restoration?

• Do you know that Jesus had all of the sins of his mother, and the world placed on Him, and bore the divine wrath of punishment in our stead that we could all be given the opportunity to accept God’s forgiveness?
  

• Do you know that Jesus was the eternal Son of God who created all of Heaven’s angels?

• Do you know that when Jesus was a newborn baby He was the One who was holding the fabric of the entire universe together by the power resident within Him?

• Do you know that the baby born to then virgin Mary was the very God who had created her?

I fear that the answer to most of these reposed questions would be: No. And I particularly suspect that the largest segment of the population that would be unaware of who Mary’s baby-boy really was would be Western cultural elites. My suspicion is reinforced by how I have observed this group respond to the current events in Israel-Gaza.

 

WHO ARE THESE WESTERN SECULAR CULTURAL ELITES ANYWAY?

I was listening to a discussion between Shane Morris, from the Colson Centre, and Rev. David Pileggi, the rector of Christ Church Jerusalem, on the Upstream podcast where David Pileggi stated:

“Probably at its heart there is a religious underpinning that most secular people in the West don’t understand because many Westerners, especially Western elites, can’t take religion seriously. And so, they focus on land, or refugees, or human rights, etc., etc. And I don’t want to deny that any of these are important, especially to the Palestinians. But there’s something a lot deeper that’s going on.”

Fr. Pileggi has served as the pastor of this church in Jerusalem for over thirty years. He clearly loves the Palestinians and the Jewish people among who he ministers. But his critique of how Western secular cultural elites: politicians, academics, media personalities and journalists, and performing artists is worth considering and learning from. Political leaders have generally responded to the situation in Gaza as if it were a political problem about territory. But as Pileggi states, this political focus on land completely misses the point. Academics, inexperienced-journalists and celebrities who view and present the conflict in Gaza as an oppressor/oppressed human rights issue also fail to recognise what is actually happening. This is almost entirely because these various Western cultural leaders have a bias against religion. They assume that atheism is a neutral and unbiased position. They regard the religious as irrational unenlightened and superstitious. Thus they often dramatically fall short of understanding the importance of religion in society – especially when it comes to the situation in the Middle East. This leads them to fail to distinguish between Palestinians and the Islamist Jihadi group Hamas – and in so doing are blinded to the sinister agenda hiding in plain sight. This failure inevitably leads them to naively and incorrectly assume that Israel’s fight is actually against Palestinians per se.

The social pressure that these cultural elites exercise through their various platforms – including news casts, classroom, lecture halls, ARIA awards nights, and Tik Tok – is particularly targeted at the young who have slowly but surely been undergoing a subtle conditioning to be taught what to think but not how to think. And this brings us back to Mary’s Boy-Child.

 

WHO THEN WAS THIS MARY’S BOY-CHILD ANYWAY?

Mark Lowry is normally comedic. But his now classic Christmas song is no joke! It presents baby Jesus as the eternal God the Son, the creator of heaven and earth, the Saviour of the world, the Redeemer of all humankind who turn to Him, the all-conquering Lamb of God, and the Great Judge of all people, the I AM. The event of His miraculous conception is known as the incarnation (God becoming human). But the incarnation was not Jesus the Christ’s first entrance into our world. In fact, it is as though He felt a divine right to enter our world any time He chose. These various appearances of Jesus prior to His incarnation are referred to as theophanies (appearances of God) or more particularly as Christophanies (appearances of God the Son). I want to highlight one of these in particular.

Joshua, the successor to Moses, was about to lead the second generation of Israelites who had come out of the Egyptian exodus into the Promised Land. He is then confronted by a rather terrifying military commander before Whom he bows in worship (something that Israelites were only allowed to do toward YHWH, the GOD). Because of the presence of the pre-incarnate Christ, the very ground that He and Joshua were on had become holy (this is what actually makes a land holy) Joshua was compelled to acknowledge the he was the presence of God).

¶ When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold,
a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand.
And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
And he said, “No; but I am the Commander of the Army of the LORD. Now I have come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him,
“What does my lord say to his servant?”
And the commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua,
“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.”
And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:13-15

The presence of the Commander of the Army of the Lord gave Joshua the confidence that the Lord would be with him as he led the Israelites into battle to take possession of their land. Mary’s boy-child was more, much more than just a newborn baby. He was the Commander of the Army of the Lord. The relevance of pointing this out that Jesus was not just the Saviour, He was also the divine royal military commander who revealed Himself to Joshua that He was not just for Israel, He was for all people. Indeed, the most famous verse in the New Testament, John 3:16, is a statement underscoring God’s love for all people. So is God for the Palestinians and against the Israelites? The revelation of Christ as the Commander of the Army of the Lord reveals that God is available to all people – no matter what their ethnicity or their religious upbringing. David Pileggi states –

Being pro-Palestinian also means you don’t romanticize the Palestinian people. You see them honestly for their good points and their bad points, for their weaknesses, for their strengths. And the same goes for Israel, right? Our relationship with the Jewish people, it’s not based on certain romanticism or biblical fundamentalism.
… And by the way, neither should the basis of our support for Israel be some kind of Islamophobia or dislike of Arabs, whatever that may be.
… We look at Israel, we can see the good parts of the society and we can also see, you know, where the society is weak and perhaps fails ethically or morally.

 

THE WAY WESTERN CULTURAL ELITES IGNORE THE TRUE IDENTITY OF JESUS IS WHY THEY ALSO CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN GAZA

In Christopher Watkin’s award-winning 2023 Book of the Year, Biblical Critical Theory, he shows how secularists who reject God and dismiss all religions as basically the same, and as nonsense, actually owed their free-thinking to the very thing they opposed: Christianity. Tom Holland, in his epic book, Dominion – The Making of the Western World, makes a similar point – that it was Christianity which gave birth to secularism and its values – human rights, care for the vulnerable, respect for women and children, the rule of Law, the scientific method, democratic government, and religious plurality. 

When secularists turned their attention to Christianity, they challenged the authority of the Bible, the scientific claims of the Bible, the evidence for the existence of God, the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth, and the cultural contribution of early Christians. The response of Christians gave rise to the modern apologetics movement within Christianity. What this reaction was not was a violent military reaction. Authentic Christianity has never used violence to defend Christian beliefs (despite what some have claimed about the medieval crusades). But the same cannot be said of all religions. And this goes to the heart of why there is the Gaza conflict.  

 

WHY WOULD MEEK AND MILD JESUS ALSO BE A MILITARY COMMANDER? 

In a remarkable twist, the closing book of the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, for the first nineteen and half chapters of its twenty-two chapters, Jesus is almost entirely depicted as the Lamb. The particular Greek word used in this final biblical book for “lamb” is the word arnion which means little lamb. In other words, the lamb described in the Book of Revelation is depicted as the weakest and the most defenceless of almost any creature. Yet, from Revelation 19 verse 11, our view of the Lamb of God suddenly and dramatically comes into view as we are shown what was always there in plain sight – that what we were looking at all along was never just an arnion, but was in fact the Almighty Commander of the Armies of Heaven! We are now given a glimpse – a revelation – of who Jesus really was, and still is:     

¶ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire,
and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself.
He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses.
From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations,
and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation 19:11-16

But what kind of military campaign is the Commander of Heaven’s Armies waging? A physical and bloody violent war against infidels with cutlasses, bullets, and bombs? Absolutely not. The war that Christ leads His followers into is a spiritual battle whereby hearts are conquered by the love and grace of God through the gospel! The apostle Paul describes these soldiers of Christ being armed with the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Word of God in their hands, the breastplate of righteousness that comes as a gift from Christ, with the belt of truth around their waist, and their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel message! This is starkly different how some other religions attempt to advance or defend their causes through the use of subjugation, suicide-bombers, and terrorism. Make no mistake about it, Mary’s boy-child is out to win this war for the hearts, minds, and souls of all Palestinians, Muslims, Jews, and Israelites through the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit!  And until Western cultural elites can see past their anti-religious biases and come to realise that this is the only way this devastating war of bombs and missiles being waged in Gaza can come to a peaceful end, the better off we and the whole world will be.

You know, people tell me, “Well, what’s the answer to this Middle East problem?”
The answer is Jesus. Right? Jesus is the answer.
And I think one of the things that we’ve learned over the years
[is] that saying you believe in Jesus,
saying you admire Jesus, doesn’t get you very far.
… If there’s going to be transformation in the lives of a community,
or transformation in a family or a society,
[we] have to put the teachings of Jesus into practice.
Fr. David Pileggi

And the teaching of Jesus doesn’t end with the Great Commission, but for many, it is where it begins.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION TO SOCIETY’S WOES

Dr. Louis Pasteur, Pioneer Biochemist

By the late nineteenth century, the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached epidemic proportions. Louis Pasteur proposed a simple solution and wrote it up as a scientific paper for medical doctors to consider and at least trial. But unfortunately, for the tens of thousands of women who died, they didn’t! Their main reason for rejecting it was that it was “too simple”! But by the early twentieth century the rate of women dying during child-birth had reached alarming heights. In desperation, someone read Pasteur’s paper and thought that it was at least worth a try. And it immediately and dramatically reduced the rate of birthing mother morbidity! Pasteur’s solution? Doctors and nurses need to wash their hands before they delivering a baby! Sometimes complex problems really do have simple solutions.

A photo of a sickly mother and baby taken in the 1890s. Both Mrs Gilmer and her baby died a few days after this photo was taken.

But oh, that God would speak and open His lips to you,
and that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For He is manifold in understanding.
Job 11:5-6a

Our society is also faced with seemingly complex problems. We have an alarmingly high rate of suicide, a growing alcohol/substance/drug abuse problem, a disgracefully high rate of domestic abuse, the highest rates of internet pornography ever, a disgracefully high rate of sexual abuse of women (note the recent #metoo movement) and children (note the recent Royal Commission in Australia), appallingly deteriorating mental health, and a rise in family breakdown and marital divorce. To make matters worse, many of those institutions which used to prevent or alleviate these problems are themselves in decline, struggling for resources, or closing. These include – various clubs, charities, and sadly, churches.

¶ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
Leviticus 25:35

Fortunately though, this is not our situation – which means that we are still equipped to help our society prevent or alleviate some of these ills it battles with. And while our society’s problems may seem too complex and too big to overcome, I hope to show you that the simple A.F.L. solution is precisely what our society needs (and is looking for) and it is the church which is actually best positioned to deliver it.

COMPLEX PROBLEMS ARE OFTEN SOLVED WITH SIMPLE SOLUTIONS 

The story goes that a town was having a continual problem with people being swept downstream its main river. At first it was just kind-hearted passers-by on their bush-walks who dived in to help the screaming person battling to avoid drowning. But there were so many of them, that the Council voted to employ a life guard and station them at the riverside. But soon he too was unable to keep up with the demand of saving drowning people being swept away to their deaths by the river. The Council voted to fund the building of a permanent ambulance station near the life-guard’s station to make things more efficient in getting the drowning victim to the hospital as quick as possible. But even more people had to be rescued. The Council decided to fund the building of a hospital next to the ambulance station to further improve efficiencies. They then hired a General Manager and an administrator to help run the precinct. Pretty soon though there were government funding cut-backs, so it was decided to make the life-guard’s position redundant so that the other positions could remain being funded. As the now retrenched life-guard gathered their things and headed up the river, they took a leisurely walk over the foot-bridge and noticed a $5 plank of wood was missing which is why all these tourists were falling into the river. After obtaining a replacement plank and installing it in the bridge, a government report later identified that the only cause they had been able to find for so many near-drowning victims was  the direct link to employing a life-guard since when his position became redundant the drowning incidents suddenly stopped! This is not meant to be a parable about how government works, rather, it is meant to highlight that by sometimes going “upstream” from a problem it is possible to find a very simple solution!

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Second Timothy 2:7

THE SIMPLE A.F.L. SOLUTION

I think we, our church, has something that we regularly enjoy and a vexed world desperately wants – and needs! I think the fact that we treat it all too casually at times, means that we don’t treasure it enough, or realise how much we should share it. In fact, we are sometimes so cavalier with these treasures that we leave them lying around gathering dust. Let me explain.

Everything we do as followers of Christ flows out of who Jesus is. 

¶ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
Second Timothy 2:8

As we consider who Jesus is and His attributes of kindness, mercy, justice, intolerance of evil, deep spirituality, thankfulness, concern for the marginalised, compassion for the weak, and mercy for the broken, we too begin to develop these traits. I think we could classify nearly all of Christ’s attributes under these three headings: acceptance, forgiveness, and, love. I would conclude by highlighting what should be immediately obvious about these three groupings – that it is precisely the lack of these three qualities infiltrating the lives of every broken person in our society which is at the root of all society’s woes, despite society thinking they already enjoy them.  

By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35

HOW A.F.L. MEETS EVERY PERSON’S MOST BASIC NEEDS

Without genuine acceptance, people feel alone, misunderstood, rejected, and prone to social anxiety. Jesus accepted people – especially the outcast and marginalised. He demonstrated acceptance of people who had only every really experienced rejection for most of their lives. He went to the hiding demoniacs (Matt. 8:28). He waited in the heat of the day for the scorned woman – and talked freely with her (Jn 4). He honoured the prostitute who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 7). He touched the lepers who hadn’t been touched for so long (Lk. 7:22). Christ’s acceptance involved the giving of time, dialogue, and appropriate touch. The world offers fake acceptance when it confuses acceptance with endorsement. Christ’s acceptance of the woman caught in the act of adultery, did not involve accepting her as an adulteress but as a woman created in the image of God. Acceptance by Christ never involved Him tolerating a person’s sin.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John 8:10-11

We, the accepted by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s acceptance of those who feel lonely, ugly, awkward, unwanted, or unworthy.

Forgiving is confused by the world for acquitting. To be acquitted is to be found innocent. Christ does not find any of us innocent! This is why we each need His mercy which enables us to be pardoned. Without genuine forgiveness a person often just throws themself deeper into sin in the hope that it won’t hurt anymore. The final instalment of the Godfather movie Trilogy powerfully illustrates how futile this can be. The murderer is wracked with guilt so murders again and again and again all the while hoping that he won’t feel guilt anymore to no avail. 

We, the forgiven by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s forgiveness toward those who feel guilty, ashamed, unclean, or unworthy.

Love is a verb (a doing word) which produces a feeling. The world swaps these around and comes up empty every time. Consider First Corinthians 13:4-6. Count how many actions flow out of the decision to love are in that passage. The world confuses lust, infatuation, or desire for love, and then wonders why they “fall” in and out of it so often! Christ’s kind of love involves commitment and a cost. It is other-focussed. It is grounded in rightness, goodness, and truth, rather than mere attraction, lust, or desire. Christ’s cross is the ultimate example of love and we who have experienced Christ’s love cannot but help to have our hearts transformed and lives realigned to care for others in committed way that will cost us.

We, the loved by Christ are called and enabled by the Holy Spirit to be agents of God’s love toward those who feel empty, lost, unneeded, or unworthy.

Ordinarily I would close these weekly pastoral epistles by urging us to reflect each of these traits this Sunday. But there’s no time to waste. We need to commence right now – and keep doing them each Sunday for as long as there is breath in our lungs! The solution to society’s biggest, most complex ills, are as simple as A. F. L. – Acceptance | Forgiveness | Love.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Andrew