Faith First Media

The following is an excerpt from the book A Theology of Peace by Matthew Elton, copyright 2009 Matthew Elton.

The Example of Christ

As demonstrated in the previous sections, when we view Christ’s words in their historical context, we see their true beauty like never before. Jesus teaches us that repaying evil with evil only brings you down to the low moral level of the one who committed evil against you. Jesus offers the alternative of repaying evil with good, and thus catching the one who committed evil against you off guard, and forcing him to seriously rethink his actions.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

--Matthew 5:43-48

Why would someone love their enemies? Even if this action is not successful in bringing about positive change in the world, it is worth doing, because it is what God does. The Law of Moses had already taught the Jews to love their fellow Jews. However, the Law of Moses had said nothing about loving those who were not Jews or those who lived in foreign nations outside of Israel. For thousands of years, Israel struggled against oppression from Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, Persia, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and the Roman Empire. The Jews had hated these oppressors with a burning vengeance. But Jesus asks a very important question: “If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?”

By loving their fellow Jews but hating the oppressive Romans, the Jews had sunk to the moral level of the Romans, who loved their fellow Romans but hated the Jews. In Christ’s day, a group of Jews called the zealots were attempting to liberate Palestine from Roman rule using military force. But Christ reminds his people that doing so only brings the Jews down to the low moral level of the Roman oppressors – who conquered Palestine with military force.

As discussed in the previous sections, Jesus instead offers an alternative to repaying evil with evil, and this alternative is the concept of repaying evil with good. For thousands of years, God repaid Israel with good by forgiving the Jews even after hundreds of times when they turned away from Him and worshipped idols instead. God could have justly destroyed Israel, but instead He revealed his patience, longsuffering, and loving kindness which peacefully led Israel to repentance. Jesus instructs us to follow the example of our heavenly Father by forgiving those who sin against us and praying for them. Even the most evil individuals show imperfect love to their friends. But Jesus instructs us to live at a higher moral standard in which we emulate the perfect love of God – a love that transcends war, nationalism, racism, sexism, and every kind of injustice.

Some Christians seem to have given up on the challenge of following Christ’s commands, claiming they are too radical, too idealistic, or too unrealistic for use in real life. But Jesus was not a hypocrite. He followed his own teachings, showing peace and love to even the most unlovable individuals. This is what separated Christ’s moral standard from the moral standards of the rest of the world. Even the most evil people will love those who are lovable. But Jesus commands us to love the unlovable.

Jesus said “Blessed are the those who work for peace,” and Jesus himself worked for peace when he calmed storms, cast out demons, and offered himself on the cross as a sacrifice that made peace between God and mankind. Jesus said, “Do not resist an evil person,” and when he was arrested by Roman soldiers, stripped naked, beaten severely for many hours, and left to die on a cross, he never fought back, but instead, in his dying breath, whispered, “Forgive them, Father, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus had thousands of angels at his command that he could have easily called in to fight off the Roman soldiers. But if he had done so, he would only have been perpetuating violence. Instead, through self-sacrifice Jesus revealed to the Romans just how brutal and savage their ways were in comparison to his perfect gentleness, forgiveness, and compassion.

Jesus even washed the feet of his betrayer Judas, acting as a humble servant. It would be easy to betray and crucify an evil man, but when the Romans looked upon the perfect, sinless man who had never committed a crime dying on the cross, and when they heard him utter those incredible words, “Forgive them, Father, for they don’t know what they are doing,” the Romans must have wondered in their hearts, “What have we done?” The radical compassion that Jesus lived by has the power to convict hearts, challenge systems of oppression, and cause repentance that leads to salvation and peace. We are now called to live like Jesus. Just as Jesus suffered the injustice of this world but will one day return as the King of kings to establish true and everlasting justice and world peace, so we have been called to suffer the injustices and oppression of this world through self-sacrifice, knowing that it is wrong and it is useless to seek vengeance now, for Jesus is returning soon to set the world right again, and at that time Jesus will judge both the living and the dead (who will be resurrected) with a justice far more true and just than any form of “justice” mankind has ever known.

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.

--Psalm 71:20-21

If we remain faithful, then at that time – when the Kingdom of God is at last fulfilled on Earth – we will rule the world with Jesus as co-heirs of the promise of the Kingdom of God.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.  Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

--Hebrews 2:14-15

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.  Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

--Hebrews 9:13-14

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.  Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.  So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.  At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view.  How differently we know him now!  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

--2 Corinthians 5:13-20

This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia.  Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world.  All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.  He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

--Revelation 1:4-6

And they sang a new song with these words:

   “You are worthy to take the scroll

      and break its seals and open it.

   For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God

      from every tribe and language and people and nation.

 And you have caused them to become

      a Kingdom of priests for our God.

      And they will reign on the earth.”

--Revelation 5:9-10

With this glorious hope always in our minds and hearts, we are to live today according to the example of Jesus Christ:

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?  Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?  Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.  Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.  We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.  For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.  And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.  We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.  When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.  So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

--Romans 6:1-11

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

--Romans 8:16-17

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

--Ephesians 5:2