For some people the demands that Jesus makes, in particular in the Sermon on the Mount, are only impossible ideals. But if his demands cannot be realised, Jesus is expecting the impossible and no one can expect the impossible and there is no point in making the demands in the first place. Jesus expects the Christian to be SALT. Salt gives taste to food and also keeps it from going bad quickly, at the same time if it loses its power, it becomes tasteless and no longer preserves and is fit only for throwing away; the good Christian will make his environment wholesome and those in it by his good influence; the bad Christian will spoil his environment and those in it by his bad influence. The difference is that the Christian can have his goodness restored, whereas the salt cannot. Jesus expects the Christian to be LIGHT. He said: I am the light. He also said to those who follow him: You are the light. The Christian must walk in the light of Christ and not in the darkness of evil any more; if the Christian does what is bad he is darkness, instead he must do what is good and shine like a light; the Christian must be different from those who do what is bad as the light is different from the dark. Light is the great sign of our baptism; the Christian life is like a light; there are many things that try do quench that light; the Christian must struggle, like the candle in the breeze, to keep alight; there are so many Christians whose light has quenched; they can be re-lit if they want to.
This is from third Isaiah (cc 56-66) some of which at least refers to the time after the return to Judah and Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon which began in 538. The prophet reminds the people of their duty to their neighbours who are in need, their duty to provide food, clothing and shelter. If they do all these things they will be like a light and the wounds of their sinfulness, which brought about the punishment of the exile, will be healed and they will show that they truly love God, and God will be ready to listen to their prayer. At the same time they must give up cursing and abusing their neighbours and the rich must stop oppressing the poor and the lawyers must stop giving false judgement against the poor in return for bribes received from the rich. And if they do not give up all these then all their prayers and their sacrifices and their fasting in sackcloth and ashes will be unacceptable to God and their professions of faith in him will be just so many lies. We might note here that for the Jew, his neighbour was his fellow-Jew, because he was forbidden to have anything to do with people who were pagans. This was very much emphasised also after the return from exile. The attitude of Jesus, that your neighbour is anyone who is in need, comes out in the parable of the man on the road to Jericho who was beaten and robbed. We presume the man was a Jew, but it was a man from Samaria, a non-Jew, who came to his aid.
Paul seems to accept in this reading that he is well aware of two things. First, the message of a crucified Messiah as the person whom people must follow is weakness and foolishness and something impossible to accept for many people. Second, the preacher of the message is not impressive to look at, is not a good speaker and does not, express his message in the language of the educated people of the day. In 1 Cor. 1:23 the crucified Messiah is a stumbling-block. to the Jews and madness to the pagans in 1 Cor. 2:1 Paul docs not. come with a show of eloquence and philosophical language; in 1 Cor. 1:17 the message he preaches just cannot be expressed in terms of human philosophy. And so he just tells the story of the crucified Christ, and the crucified Christ must speak for himself to those who are ready to receive the message and who are not closed to it because of their own ideas. And he will call to salvation those who are ready to be saved. Paul had come to Corinth from Athens. In Athens Paul had tried to express the Christian message in the philosophical terms of the Greeks (Acts 17:22-31) and he seems to have failed (Acts 17:32-34), because his sermons seems to have had little effect. Perhaps that’s when he realised the message of a crucified Christ could not be expressed in terms of human wisdom. He may have decided never to try it again. Therefore, in Corinth he preached only the straight facts about Jesus and relied on the story itself and the power of the Holy Spirit to produce the effect. And that’s what happened, even in a morally bad place like Corinth. It is not arguments about Christ that will bring people to him but Christ himself, and likewise it is not our arguments that will bring people to Christ but our lives. It is Christ-like lives thet will draw people to follow Christ and live Christ-like lives in their turn.
Kefa W. MHM – 1984
What you’ll find here is my personal wrestling with and reflection on Scripture. I don’t claim to have all the answers, only a sincere desire to seek truth. Some of the references used are drawn from past study and experience, and the author may no longer be able to recall all their exact sources. This reflection is not intended to establish doctrine, theology, or official teaching. Feel free to leave your comments or personal reflections below as we continue to grow deeper together in the Word of God. I’ll see you next Sunday.
