Jesus did not offer any form of exclusive
social movement by dividing the Kingdom of God
with any kind of 'them-against-us' religion.
Instead, He offered an all-inclusive banquet
of God's love, acceptance and forgiveness.
Jesus rejected the tug-of-war pertaining to
the culture wars between the Temple and the
people.
He brought the goodness of God from His
Father directly to people without violating
the intent of the Temple.
His work was evidence that His Father
sent Him. For Jesus, the Temple sacrifices
would no longer be relevant once sin became
nailed to His Cross.
Jesus rejected the designation that He was
good. Jesus made manifest the goodness of
the One who sent Him into this world as a
living, true witness.
John 10:37-38 NASB
"If I do not do the works of My Father,
do not believe Me; [v38] but if I do them,
though you do not believe Me, believe the
works, so that you may know and understand
that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."
The Power-Group that dominated the Temple were
threatened by this message as it by-passed all
of their traditions, religious rites and need
for exchanging currencies. He was accused of
violating Moses, the Law, and the Temple.
John 10:32 NASB
Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good
works from the Father; for which of them are
you stoning Me?"
John 10:33 RSV
The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good
work that we stone you but for blasphemy;
because you, being a man, make yourself God."
Jesus rejected the tug-of-war perpetuated by
the Power-Group that the Temple should divide
between those who qualified and those who didn't.
Instead, Jesus reached out to the Lost equally
and qualified all people on the basis of faith
in His atonement on the Cross. He manifested
His Righteousness apart from the Law of Moses
yet uniquely completed the Law's intent.
The Samaritan woman received ministry.
Prostitutes received His forgiveness.
Lepers received healing and freedom.
Tax Collectors received forgiveness.
A Centurion received healing for one
of his servants.
The key question revolves around what are
the prerequisites before Jesus would minister?
Did Jesus first require something from those
to whom He ministered? Did they all need to
believe first before He ministered to them?
Luke 7:21-22
[v21 - ESV]
In that hour he [Jesus] healed many
people of diseases and plagues and
evil spirits, and on many who were
blind he bestowed sight.
[v22 - KJV]
Then Jesus answering said unto them,
'Go your way, and tell John what things
ye have seen and heard; how that the
blind see, the lame walk, the lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, to the poor the gospel is
preached.'
These verses lists what He provided as
His all-inclusive goodness for complete
restoration, healing, cleansing and
ultimately resurrection from death
to abundant life.
He identified six groups that functioned
as His proof that His message was the
fulfillment of God's good news. He backed
up His word by the work that was received
by these six groups.
1) The Blind
2) The Lame
3) The Lepers
4) The Deaf
5) The Dead
6) The Poor
He was challenging the very destructive
forces that worked against uniting the
people. He made it possible for people
to serve in the Kingdom of God in the
Holy Spirit, strength and power.
I noticed how the 'glad-tidings' message
was focused specifically for the poor. It
was His message that provided to the poor
the fulfillment of God's goodness.
This is not like the preaching as it has
been defined in our modern times. It was
the direct revelation of the Son of God
in His authority to deliver people.
While He did expect their faith to rise up
when He interacted with them, it was neither
a prerequisite nor a hard-and-fast requirement.
Can a Gentile enter into the covenant of
God without first converting to the Law of
Moses? The Temple Leaders would vote "No One."
Can a Gentile believer be a Christian without
first receiving the law of circumcision? The
false teachers would vote "No."
This line of reasoning equally applies to
the GLBT community. Can a professing gay man
rightfully claim himself as a Christian, to
be a believer in Christ, without first changing
his behavior?
It was our heavenly Father who sent His Son
to minister goodness and mercy to the people.
It was this compassion that activated His
initial outreach towards the people first
and foremost. As John the Baptist said,
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire." (Mat 3:11)
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to cleanse
a person's own internal temple with His Fire.
All outcomes belong to the LORD of the Harvest.
It is the role of the Church to offer others
good news, especially to the GLBT community.
The Church is to provide good opportunities
to fellowship, to serve and to support the
believers in developing their first fruits
of His goodness.
