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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Speaking
Truth To Power "When
the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman"
(Galatians 4:4). Jesus, the Son of God, was born around 4 to 6 BC.
The specific time in which Jesus was sent was when self-serving emperors
were considered "sons of a god". I find that interesting. Augustus
Caesar, the first Roman Emperor who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD was adopted
by Julius Caesar who was deified by the Roman Senate upon his death in 44
BC. Augustus, then, was considered the "son of a god" and
like Julius was deified upon his death. Augustus adopted Tiberius,
who in 14 AD became the second Roman Emperor and so was known as a
"son of a god". The cultural concept of a man being a
"son of a god" is one reason why I think the time had fully come
for Jesus to be born as the Son of God as Galatians 4:4 states.
Although
Jesus was sent primarily to Jews, He did speak to the power of Roman
politicians. He said "the kings of the Gentiles lord it over
them. They call themselves benefactors" (Luke 22:25).
Jesus, God's universal King, said Roman politicians dictated their own
will to the Roman people. They were narcissistically arrogant,
self-pleasers, all along calling themselves benefactors. A "benefactor", from the Greek "euergetes", means "giver of good". It's like a "philanthropist" which consists of the Greek "philos" (love) and "anthropos" (mankind). Roman emperors called themselves "givers of good" or "lovers of mankind" when in reality they were "givers to themselves" and "lovers of themselves". Jesus
viewed Jewish politicians in like fashion. He called them
hypocrites. Whether Roman or Jewish politicians, Jesus commanded His
disciples that "you are not to be like this. The greatest among
you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one
who serves" (Luke 22:26). Disciples of Jesus, adopted sons and
daughters of God, are to be servants. Jesus then said "I confer
on [give] you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me"
(Luke 22:29). Jesus' kingdom is a counter-cultural kingdom, in stark
contrast to all kingdoms, and so disciples must live accordingly. What
Jesus commanded His disciples, He commands us in 2026. How, then,
must we relate to self-seeking, emperor-like politicians claiming to be
philanthropists when they aren't? If Jesus commanded us never to be
like them, we must seriously consider the degree to which we support,
align and give ourselves to such a politician. Some are giving
unquestioned support to narcissistic dictatorialism because it claims to
support a couple Christian causes concerning transgender issues and
abortion, both of which were commonly acceptable in Greco/ Roman culture.
Such alliances turn a blind eye to an ever-increasing multitude of
dictatorial sins, like sexual manipulation, financial fraud, covenant
breaking and crucifying the competition, all of which Jesus forbids us to
engage in. The
Bible is more than a book of theological beliefs. It has daily
relevance to our lives, no matter the culture or the era. It's one
reason why I believe we need some John Baptist style prophets today who
dare to speak truth to power. We need some Jeremiah style prophets
who denounce dictators by saying "woe unto you who build palaces by
unrighteousness ... who say 'I will build my palace with spacious upper
rooms'" (Jeremiah 22:13 - 14). They
ask, "Does it make you a king by having more and more cedar"
(Jeremiah 22:15)? We need some Isaiah style prophets who prophesy
judgment to a Godless nation by saying God "will make mere youth your
leaders, children will rule them" (Isaiah 3:4). Unlike John the
Baptist, Jeremiah and Isaiah, today's self-anointed prophets speak
glowingly to and of a narcissistically arrogant, self-proclaimed
philanthropic authoritarianism when they should be speaking truth to power
which includes the word "repent".
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