Kingdom Come

I used to have a walking buddy who was an elitist humanist. Her answer to every social problem was “education.” Totally denying the highly intelligent and well educated serial murderers.

What she really meant was “re-education centers” by the elites, of which she considered herself because she listened to NPR and attended the Forums of those who set the educational, political, and media standards of right and wrong. We stopped being friendly when she tried to enforce her personal agenda on me contrary to our condo association handbook laws.

• “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened  us together with The Chosen One / Messiah / Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
• And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Yahweh’s Chosen Savior / Messiah Yeshua / Christ Jesus: 
• That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Yahweh’s Chosen Savior / Messiah Yeshua / Christ Jesus. 
• For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Now that’s really offensive.

“all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

• “neither circumcision [any religious rite] availeth anything, nor uncircumcision [abstaining from legalism]..
• but faith which worketh by LOVE…the offense of the cross…
• For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Galatians 5:6-15)

Bottom line – No-one is better than anyone else. The ultimate level playing field.

The people who have the hardest time admitting their need for God are the ones who don’t do anything wrong according to their legalistic standards, meticulously following the rules whether Save The Planet by setting out their recycling or religious by not wearing makeup. But notice how judgmental they are, always blaming others for social problems. Missing the point that right-eousness is not so much what you don’t do as it is what you do – losing your own sense of self-worth, entitlement, and value in order to merge your identity with a merciful God, whose greatest defining likeness is compassionate love.

Self-righteous individuals need inferiors to whom they can contrast themselves to feel good, while God’s righteousness is to elevate each individual to equal standing with him.

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican / tax collector.

1. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
2. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” (Luke 18:9-14)

John Chapter 6

^“And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh…Yeshua then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him…in number about five thousand. And Yeshua took [five barley] loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the [two small] fishes as much as they would…

• Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Yeshua did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world…
  • When Yeshua therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed…
• the people therefore…came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him…
  • Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour / work not for the meat which perisheth [rebuking them for dropping everything to run after him looking for another free meal], but [work] for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed [with signet ring, authorized, guaranteed ownership].

• Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
  • Yeshua answered and said unto them, [Seriously people? Were you not listening at all when I preached all day yesterday?? Deep sigh…] This is the work of God, that ye believe on him he hath sent.
• They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert [hint, hint, for forty years, not just one meal]; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. [So if you are like Moses feed us again!]
  • Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father [who also] giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world…I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger [unlike the Israelites who went out daily to collect more manna]; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst [unlike the Israelites who were always in need of fresh water]. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
  • For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will [unlike you guys who are trying to set me up as earthly king] but the will of him that sent me…And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him [as being the Promised Seed of the Woman], may have everlasting life [restored as promised]: and I will raise him up at the last day [when death therefore time is ended].
• The Jews then murmured at him, because [picking for a rationale because the real reason is that he’s not letting them control him] he said, I came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Yeshua, the son of Yusef, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
  • Yeshua therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him [through the written word, as]…It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
  • Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread / purveyor, transformer from one carbon-based form to another carbon-based form of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead [so don’t you get it that it is pointless for me to simply feed you more earthly bread and fish?]
  • This [pointing to his body vehemently] is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my [carbon-based life form of] flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 
• The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
  • Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, [Honestly people! You guys have been sacrificing for a thousand years now! Didn’t you learn ANYTHING?]
  • I say unto you [emphasizing his point], Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is [life-sustaining] food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
• Eww, gross!! as they’re all visualizing this concretely. Clearly the millennia’s-long Passover – which was nigh – had degenerated into a cultural festival and had lost its abstractly hyper dimensional purpose.
  • [Deep sigh, explaining the abstract hyperdimensional concept here] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood [consumes, unites himself with]  dwelleth [is permantly as opposed to sojourns temporarily] in me, AND I in him [the two life forms become one, like shrimp and flamingos, united by the carotenoids in the shrimp that turn the flamingos’ feathers from gray to pink]. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live [am one with, connected to] by the Father: so he that eateth [becomes one with] me, even he shall live by me…
• Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear [respond to] it?
• • When Yeshua knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life….

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Bear in mind, this is a deeply literate spiritual culture that really did understand abstract concepts. The hard saying is not thinking Yeshua was talking about cannibalism, but losing one’s independence just when they were convinced that the Messiah was going to give the nation of Israel freedom from Rome, from taxes, from having to work for a living. Life is just a permanent picnic for the Chosen Ones!

This isn’t just a Jewish thing. Christianity is full of smug entitlement.