Not Jerusalem

Jesus made a strong statement in Luke 13:

Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem has to be the place where Jesus (the prophet) dies. The fall of Jerusalem takes place in the Jewish wars of 66-70, but the ‘fall’ of Jerusalem took place over centuries prior to this. It had become the place of which Jesus said,

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! 

Far from being a city set on a hill as a light to all, it has plunged into darkness. We all killed Jesus, all failure to be human (sin) killed Jesus, but it seems that religion in all forms and shapes (and pulling on imperial power) killed Jesus.

I have been reading for the final two months of this year the Spanish new testament and thus read a little slower not always being so familiar with what comes next. In Acts I have just noticed two occasions that Paul was to be killed on the way to Jerusalem / in Jerusalem.

In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy (Acts 23:12,13).

They appealed to him [Festus] and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way (Acts 25:2,3).

‘Prophet’ Paul is not going to be killed in Jerusalem for once religious power (the ‘glue’ that holds so much together) had been broken there has to be a relentless push for Rome the centre of imperial oppressive power. Religion and imperial power together are so destructive, hence we have to be on high alert when we hear the oxymoron ‘Christian country’!

Religion says who is in and who is out; imperial power promises so much to one and all, seeks to reward those who comply (you can buy and sell) but the rewards flow back to the few at the centre. Put those two together and the imperial power claims divine blessing for what is done.

And the gospel of the kingdom? A God whose arms are open wide, who embraces the depth and shame of humanity with the ‘rewards’ flowing to the uttermost parts. (John records 28 cargoes flowing to Rome – including human souls; he also records the ‘Lamb’ 28 times. The fullness (7) from (for in the case of the Lamb) the whole earth.)

Paul your destiny is Rome not Jerusalem.

There are many, small and big, ‘Romes’ in our world. Some are tough to crack, particularly those that combine religious and imperial power. But the gospel of freedom has triumphed.