Binary and multiple fissions I thought were only reserved for Amoebas. Who thought essays too could undergo such metamorphosis. This essay is divided into three parts. Each part has its own life but together culminate into something grand and exciting. I hope that as the reader journeys through this path to the destination, he finds himself plucking flowers he didn’t think he needed.
Part one: The Word
When it is night and gross darkness covers the earth. A blackness so great that it drowns out every form of consciousness related to the sight, and the eye is no longer useful. The only assurance you seek as a means of solace in your immediate neighborhood is the recognition of a sound. A voice. A word.
Could the same be said of beliefs? When doubts like darkness invade the land. And the inner critics take the center stage of a person’s mind. And the faith-filled members who once had the stage acquiesce to the reasoning of the inner critics and become audiences now. What then becomes of a word? Does it still serve as a solace, or it becomes a weapon?
Viktor E. Frankel in his book: Man’s search for meaning puts it this way “A man who could not see the end of his ‘provisional existence’ was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life”. The same is true for a man without assurance in time of difficulty. When adversity strikes, and the end of it is not seen, and comfort in words is not administered to the point where the end of the struggle is envisioned, decay sets in. A word doesn’t only function as a companion here but also serves as a weapon through which we fight. Truth be told, even the strongest of us would not survive had it not been this implied meaning of a word lingering in his heart.
So, by the way of a conversation, in the Land of Caesarea, Philippi. Where a mildly cool breeze ruffles their hair and attires, Jesus asked his disciples one simple question. “Who do men say that I am?”. The goal was not just to ask a question but by the way of a question, extend an invitation into something grander. Something more noteworthy. Something more sacred.
Part Two: The Mission Statement
“Some say you are Elijah; others say you are Jeremiah…” the disciples responded to the question Jesus asked early on. “But who do you say that I am though?” Jesus pressed. “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”, Peter replied.
When is identity most relevant? Why would such a question be relevant at this time other than you wanting to reveal something big. He was the one the old books were referring to: The one to bring healing to the broken hearted, the one to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and most importantly, the one to establish a kingdom that has no end. He was the long-awaited Messiah.
When his identity was brought to light, you would expect the natural course of action to follow was to tell his disciples how he was going to have all those prophecies fulfilled. Including the one they had in their minds_ overtake the political and legislative influence of the Romans over the Jews. In hindsight he did; they just weren’t expecting that route.
Instead, He went on this lecture on how he was going to die a gruesome death: to brutally endure beatings, mercilessly whipped with cane of thorns, slapped, spitted on, die and be raised back up on the third day. This was ludicrous. It was so absurd that peter who had a revelation of who he was chided him. “Never Lord, this shall never happen to you”. “You are only concerned with mere human things”, Jesus retorted.
And though you could feel the tension rising in his voice due to the contention between what he wanted to be true and what was true, he regardless had to deny what would feel good. “You are only concerned with mere human things”. Jesus needed them to understand what was at stake here. He was going to pick up a bloody cross for his name sake! He came to deliver not only the oppressed but also the oppressor. For the oppressor who is the obvious enemy, himself needs deliverance from the real enemy. Peter should thus get behind him with his half-baked understanding.
To really appreciate the absurdity of this imagery Jesus was painting to his disciples, we first need to acknowledge the gravity of his claim. It wouldn’t have hurt to say or demonstrated that yes, I am the Messiah, the chosen one and to proof that I am the son of man, I will walk on water (which he did) and when I do, you will know that I am the son of man, or I would cast out evil spirits from people and that will serve as a testament to my divinity or better still raise someone from the dead. Which to be clear had never been done before. My question therefore is how did he know those things were even possible? We cannot say he was running on the imagination of others since they were the first of their kind. How could he have known? Instead, he, the one performing miracle and doing great things was going to have ‘signs and wonders’ being performed on him. An interesting display of events to have people witness of you who claim to have a superpower as your mission statement! _ ‘For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many’.
What did he know was woven into the fabric of creation that all those mighty miracles could not have sufficed but to be slaughtered. And die a substitutionary death as a criminal, even though he had a clean sheet.
Part Three: The Church
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Proclaims the greatest prophet born to man, John the Baptist. For there is one who comes after me who is preferred before me, and whose assignment I am unable to carry out. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
John was reiterating what was already known and what was already prophesied about. A man was going to bring down the kingdom of God. Except, except it was now. He was with them, eating, drinking and making merry but also telling an extraordinary story. Speaks in high IQ parables and has a knack for life. It’s him. Jesus. The man to bring down the kingdom.
“Blessed are you Peter, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you but my father in heaven”. Jesus told Peter who had an epiphany of who he was when he asked his disciples about his identity. “…and upon this rock I will build my church…” he added. That was the puzzle Peter had unlocked. His identity was the key to the kingdom. A kingdom which was not man-made but eternal. One that wasn’t going to be made up of people from any particular social class or people with a common ancestry but will hold in high esteem a conglomerate of people whose core identity hangs on the revelation of who Jesus was regardless of their background. And posthumously, a kingdom that has its laws and statutes written on the heart of its citizens. A great contradiction to popular kingdoms and culture.
Anyone who was able to recognize and acknowledge who Jesus was and be willing to follow him will he crown as a royal priesthood. A holy people. A people separated. They were going to be the called-out ones. The ecclesia. The church. And though there are other kingdoms alive, none would be able to prevail against it.
Which kind of kingdom enlists its citizens by the recognition of something unseen and spiritual. I like the way Jesus puts it in his reply to Peter. Flesh and blood did not reveal it to you. If a spirit could reveal something to a mortal flesh unbeknownst to the person in question, then the world is a more mysterious place than we thought. Anyway, I digress.
It is kind of epic how this was done though. Not through strife, not through intimidation and force as the signatures of the worldly kingdoms when they invade. A nature antithesis to Jesus. Rather, he gathered by laying down his life. He garnered by love. How is it that someone from Africa and someone from Asia, someone from North America and someone from South America, someone from Europe and someone from the Middle East not forgetting Australia, regardless of the religion they were born into could testify of the solace they have found in Jesus. He, Jesus, not only giving rest to those who labor and are heavily burdened but also giving them the keys with which they ward of attacks against them.
The word therefore had to proceed. The disciples had to be in the know of what was going to happen so that when the lights go out, and the faith-filled members in the minds of the disciples give in to the strong reasonings of the inner critics, would have nothing but assurance of getting back in power with time. But until then, keep still!
