What is coupled with the name Christian never ceases to amaze and frustrate me. Recent headlines proclaim the arrest of a “Christian Militia” group in Michigan. The ironic fact is that this arrest took place just before Easter.
The disciples of Jesus were equally amazed and dismayed before Easter some 2000 years ago, but for polar-opposite reasons.
They had expected a King, a Ruler who would come and wipe out Israel’s enemies and set them free from Rome. They watched their Messiah get arrested, charged with blaspheming and rabble rousing, and sentenced to die, all without a fight. They must have felt they had somehow they’d pinned their hopes on the wrong man.
Yet Scripture, hundreds of years earlier had predicted this scene:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)When questioned by Pilate, Rome’s Procurator of Judaea, Jesus answered: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36)
The word “Christian” originated in the Near East city of Antioch (in modern day Turkey). It meant to be a follower of Christ, one who adheres to Christ’s teachings.
“A new commandment I give to you,” Jesus had instructed His disciples, “that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Blowing up synagogues, as some have done in the name of Christ, killing abortion clinic workers or police, gathering soldiers to crusade against those of other faiths—none of these are what Christ taught His followers to do, none have anything to do with love. All these actions derive from an earthly kingdom estranged from God.
This is the Ultimate Blasphemy: to call yourself by the name of Christ and to live like the devil.
