Tools for Monday: The Radicalism of Jesus and Real-World War
You’ve likely heard by now of the horrific violence and carnage in Israel. The escalation of war in the Middle East makes one shudder to consider the pending consequences. The world already seems to have enough on its plate with the bloodshed between Russia and Ukraine. The drip-drop of bad news about conflict between China and Taiwan also makes us uneasy at best.
A natural question for the Christian is, “What would Jesus say about all of this?” The biblical record reflects Jesus’ blunt radicalism as it pertains to human relationships. He never tap- danced around issues of violence. In fact, Jesus pushed well beyond the boundaries of the Mosaic Law (especially the Ten Commandments). A careful reading of Matthew 5 clearly suggests that the mere consideration of a violent outburst against a neighbor makes one liable to eternal damnation (Matthew 5:21-26). When asked to define exactly the identity of one’s neighbor, he told the story of the Good Samaritan, signaling that Jesus desires for us to live under a pretty big tent (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus’ bar is a high one, indeed.
Perhaps the bluntest teaching of Jesus on this matter is found in Matthew 5:44, as he said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” No amount of exegetical gymnastics can get us out of our obligation to this one. In fact, the word which Jesus used for “love” means something like, “to not only love someone sacrificially through concrete action but also to take pleasure in loving another.” And this kind of love is to be expressed explicitly towards an enemy. The word for “enemy” here is not just referring to someone with whom we don’t get along. The enemy Jesus refers to is someone (or a group of people) whom we despise and even hate.
So, if we take Jesus at his word, we understand the radicalism of his teaching about relationships. He commands us to sacrificially extend a joyful commitment to those we utterly despise and to prostrate ourselves in worship and prayer before God for their well-being. But what could such a radical teaching possibly mean in terms of this fresh wave of violence? We at some level should admit that it is probably not the best idea for a nation like Israel to roll out a welcome carpet to Hamas, especially when the welfare of innocent women and children are at stake. Hamas has already committed itself to the total annihilation of the Jewish people in its original charter. This is Hitler level stuff here, and we saw what appeasing him turned out to be like.
Now that we know about Jesus’ radical ideal will for human relationships, we ought to consider its real-world applications. Here are a few ideas for disciples of Jesus to examine critically and prayerfully.
- War is incompatible totally with the teaching of Jesus. Yet, there is no easy way out of the problem of war for the Christian. There are situations that arise in our fallen world in which protecting one’s community almost inevitably involves violence. Should the Christian either participate in or support a war, he/she ought to do so confessing that war is not God’s ultimate will and that any participation shows a preference for the lesser of two evils. Protecting one’s freedom and way of life, however, can be an honorable and loving thing—even if that protection involves the use of force.
- Christians differ widely on the subject of war. We can respect one another’s freedom of conscience without compromising our faith and ethics. In fact, it is widely regarded by historians that most of the first Christians were pacifists. The evidence at hand suggests that few Christians served in any military for about the first 150 years of the church’s existence. This means that both pacifists and supporters of just war can agree to disagree while respecting the other.