The neighbour of the Beast
~ Gerald Bray's T-shirt
Showing posts with label eschatology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eschatology. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Sickness & the timing of the Shalom
How healthy can Christians expect to be? Is Isaiah talking about physical wellness in his fourth Servant Song? Can we claim full healing as one of God’s promises?
My friend and I have asked these questions of each for a little while now. He’s a doctor who is Charismatic Christian. I am an Evangelical Christian and a nurse. We both trust in Jesus’ mercy and power, and see sickness all around. But we approach these questions very differently.
My friend reckons Jesus offers total wellness to those he saves, and Christians with enough faith should claim this blessing from God. He sees sickness as an evil to be cast out in the name of Christ. I reckon Jesus offers Christian total forgiveness, but we may or may not be blessed with physical wellness. I see sickness as part of this fallen world and something which God gives us sometimes, in his wisdom, goodness and purpose. But sickness is not inherently a good thing and, ultimately, God will abolish it in the new heaven and the new earth. How should Christians think of sickness and healing? What does the Bible say?
Translating Isaiah's Servant Song
Isaiah 53:4-6 is very interesting:
(If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you may want to crack open a Bible and read all of the Servant Song in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. The song is about God’s chosen man, The Servant. The New Testament reveals Jesus to be that man. So when we read the Old Testament, we are trying to work out what it’s saying about Jesus and his life.)
Is this song about Jesus bringing physical healing?
Translators of 53:4 have to make a tough call. Should they go with:
… as they did in the NIV? That is, Jesus came to relieve us of our physical ailments.
or:
… as they did in the ESV? That is, Jesus came to relieve our sufferings.
Either translations are possible from the Hebrew word. The word primarily means sicknesses, but it can also mean general suffering (our “groanings”!). The more specific or the widely encompassing? The difference may seem small, but if you go with the “infirmities” you’d be expecting physical healing from God.
What's the Servant Song about?
The whole Servant Song gives us more clues (52:13-53:12). First, it introduces Servant’s role (52:13-15). Secondly, it goes through Jesus’ life (53:1-12): from the start (“he grew up like a tender shoot” 53:2), to how he was treated through life (“he was despised and rejected by men” 53:3), to the significant events of his life, focusing squarely on his death (53:4-9). Thirdly, it explains why those things happened (53:10-12). Overall, the Servant Song is about Jesus’ life of suffering and death.
Why did Jesus live and die? The main thing Isaiah sings about is Jesus’ death on the cross: “he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (52:13). This is a Bible way of talking about the cross which was raised in crucifixion. Other verses enrich this theme: stricken for the transgression of my people (53:8), his soul makes an offering for sin (53:10), he shall bear their iniquities (53:11). The end of the song throws all the emphasis on his death: “he poured his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (53:12). The song crescendos and climaxes in Jesus’ sufferings and death. The song is mostly about Jesus suffering and dying to deal with our sin.
... Sickness or Sufferings?
Back to our question. How does our sickness / sufferings fit in the overall picture of Jesus’ carrying other people’s burdens and death? How are we to understand, “By his stripes we are healed” (53:5). Which translation is better?
Amazingly, the Bible itself tells us!
In Matthew 8:14-17, Jesus goes around Capernaum, casting out demons and healing people. Matthew points out that, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (v17). (My Charismatic friend graciously showed me this verse when I had my ‘atonement’ blinkers on and failed to see the fuller picture).
So here’s our answer! Matthew reads Isaiah 53:4 as physical healing. That is, Christ’s coming has brought physical healing, casting out of evil and forgiveness of sins. Negatively, Isaiah shows that Jesus has taken on all the rubbish that was on us and dealt with it all on the cross. Positively, the Servant Song points to how Jesus brings about our fullness by taking care of all our rubbish.
Jesus brings the “Shalom”! This Hebrew word means wholeness, wellness, full health, abundantly blessed, wealth, prosperity, joy, peace between two parties (e.g. man to man, God to man, country to county). So for Christians, we have every blessing in Jesus. He fills our cups to overflowing. And he brings this fullness to us in his life and death.
What can we expect?
But do we see these things fulfilled now? We can fully enjoy one of the aspects of the Shalom today. As we’ve said, his life and death’s focus was on our sin and Jesus’ climatic death on the cross was to deal with our sin and its consequences. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins here and now, when we trust that Jesus has died for us. (Romans 3:21-24) Wow ~ he deserves all our praise for fulfilling our deepest need!
But what about illness? Even Christians get sick. If Jesus has taken on that burden in his life and death, shouldn't we expect to be healed?
Our question is actually one about timing (it’s an ‘eschatological’ question). We should add one more question: “When are we going to be completely well?”
When can we see God's promises fulfilled?
Before Jesus became flesh, human history was marked by suffering and death. The Bible announces that when Jesus first came to earth, he begun a period called the ‘new age’. At the end of this period, Jesus will return to judge and renew all things on the “last day”. That will be the end of human history and we will see the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. But at the moment, we are living at a time when these two ages overlap: we see both the suffering / death and some of the promises fulfilled.
Living in the overlap of the ages is a bit strange. There’s a “now and not yet” tension. We have Christ and his promises now, but they are not yet in their fullness. We have some healing, but we don’t have a full physical restoration (i.e. we are still waiting to get new, perfect bodies).
What now? The bad news is that we can expect things to get much worse. In fact, things are going to go straight down hill before Jesus comes back to renew all things and set things right. (Mark 13) So, it’s unrealistic to expect things to be perfect now, you’ll just be disappointed. God asks us to hope for the future. That’s how we are to express our faith (Romans 8:18-25 is helpful on this point).
What about now?
Some say healing can be yours, for those who have enough faith. That physical illness is a sign of weak faith or sin. I’m not sure that this is what the Bible says. Lots of godly people with strong faith in Bible suffer from illnesses (e.g. Paul the apostle and Timothy). We shouldn’t be quick to say that illness is the result of sin (as Job’s friends did, who were condemned by God. When my mum was diagnosed with cancer, someone said that it’s because of her sin or weak faith. This kind of comment only adds to the sick person’s sufferings, and fuels their daughter’s wrath!).
God will do away with sickness and death on the last day (Revelation 21:4). Hooray!! But to get there, we have to follow Jesus’ footsteps. The path to blessing is a narrow and steep road, filled with suffering and hardship. We cannot take a short cut. But we can take comfort in knowing that we are going with Jesus. Isaiah's Servant Song takes us down this path which leads to the glorious end.
My friend and I have asked these questions of each for a little while now. He’s a doctor who is Charismatic Christian. I am an Evangelical Christian and a nurse. We both trust in Jesus’ mercy and power, and see sickness all around. But we approach these questions very differently.
My friend reckons Jesus offers total wellness to those he saves, and Christians with enough faith should claim this blessing from God. He sees sickness as an evil to be cast out in the name of Christ. I reckon Jesus offers Christian total forgiveness, but we may or may not be blessed with physical wellness. I see sickness as part of this fallen world and something which God gives us sometimes, in his wisdom, goodness and purpose. But sickness is not inherently a good thing and, ultimately, God will abolish it in the new heaven and the new earth. How should Christians think of sickness and healing? What does the Bible say?
Translating Isaiah's Servant Song
Isaiah 53:4-6 is very interesting:
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows
yet we considered him stricken by God,
Smitten by him and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep have gone astray
each of us has turned his own way
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
(If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you may want to crack open a Bible and read all of the Servant Song in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. The song is about God’s chosen man, The Servant. The New Testament reveals Jesus to be that man. So when we read the Old Testament, we are trying to work out what it’s saying about Jesus and his life.)
Is this song about Jesus bringing physical healing?
Translators of 53:4 have to make a tough call. Should they go with:
Surely he took up our infirmities
… as they did in the NIV? That is, Jesus came to relieve us of our physical ailments.
or:
Surely he has borne our griefs
… as they did in the ESV? That is, Jesus came to relieve our sufferings.
Either translations are possible from the Hebrew word. The word primarily means sicknesses, but it can also mean general suffering (our “groanings”!). The more specific or the widely encompassing? The difference may seem small, but if you go with the “infirmities” you’d be expecting physical healing from God.
What's the Servant Song about?
The whole Servant Song gives us more clues (52:13-53:12). First, it introduces Servant’s role (52:13-15). Secondly, it goes through Jesus’ life (53:1-12): from the start (“he grew up like a tender shoot” 53:2), to how he was treated through life (“he was despised and rejected by men” 53:3), to the significant events of his life, focusing squarely on his death (53:4-9). Thirdly, it explains why those things happened (53:10-12). Overall, the Servant Song is about Jesus’ life of suffering and death.
Why did Jesus live and die? The main thing Isaiah sings about is Jesus’ death on the cross: “he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (52:13). This is a Bible way of talking about the cross which was raised in crucifixion. Other verses enrich this theme: stricken for the transgression of my people (53:8), his soul makes an offering for sin (53:10), he shall bear their iniquities (53:11). The end of the song throws all the emphasis on his death: “he poured his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (53:12). The song crescendos and climaxes in Jesus’ sufferings and death. The song is mostly about Jesus suffering and dying to deal with our sin.
... Sickness or Sufferings?
Back to our question. How does our sickness / sufferings fit in the overall picture of Jesus’ carrying other people’s burdens and death? How are we to understand, “By his stripes we are healed” (53:5). Which translation is better?
Amazingly, the Bible itself tells us!
In Matthew 8:14-17, Jesus goes around Capernaum, casting out demons and healing people. Matthew points out that, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (v17). (My Charismatic friend graciously showed me this verse when I had my ‘atonement’ blinkers on and failed to see the fuller picture).
So here’s our answer! Matthew reads Isaiah 53:4 as physical healing. That is, Christ’s coming has brought physical healing, casting out of evil and forgiveness of sins. Negatively, Isaiah shows that Jesus has taken on all the rubbish that was on us and dealt with it all on the cross. Positively, the Servant Song points to how Jesus brings about our fullness by taking care of all our rubbish.
Jesus brings the “Shalom”! This Hebrew word means wholeness, wellness, full health, abundantly blessed, wealth, prosperity, joy, peace between two parties (e.g. man to man, God to man, country to county). So for Christians, we have every blessing in Jesus. He fills our cups to overflowing. And he brings this fullness to us in his life and death.
What can we expect?
But do we see these things fulfilled now? We can fully enjoy one of the aspects of the Shalom today. As we’ve said, his life and death’s focus was on our sin and Jesus’ climatic death on the cross was to deal with our sin and its consequences. Jesus offers forgiveness of sins here and now, when we trust that Jesus has died for us. (Romans 3:21-24) Wow ~ he deserves all our praise for fulfilling our deepest need!
But what about illness? Even Christians get sick. If Jesus has taken on that burden in his life and death, shouldn't we expect to be healed?
Our question is actually one about timing (it’s an ‘eschatological’ question). We should add one more question: “When are we going to be completely well?”
When can we see God's promises fulfilled?
Before Jesus became flesh, human history was marked by suffering and death. The Bible announces that when Jesus first came to earth, he begun a period called the ‘new age’. At the end of this period, Jesus will return to judge and renew all things on the “last day”. That will be the end of human history and we will see the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. But at the moment, we are living at a time when these two ages overlap: we see both the suffering / death and some of the promises fulfilled.
Living in the overlap of the ages is a bit strange. There’s a “now and not yet” tension. We have Christ and his promises now, but they are not yet in their fullness. We have some healing, but we don’t have a full physical restoration (i.e. we are still waiting to get new, perfect bodies).
What now? The bad news is that we can expect things to get much worse. In fact, things are going to go straight down hill before Jesus comes back to renew all things and set things right. (Mark 13) So, it’s unrealistic to expect things to be perfect now, you’ll just be disappointed. God asks us to hope for the future. That’s how we are to express our faith (Romans 8:18-25 is helpful on this point).
What about now?
Some say healing can be yours, for those who have enough faith. That physical illness is a sign of weak faith or sin. I’m not sure that this is what the Bible says. Lots of godly people with strong faith in Bible suffer from illnesses (e.g. Paul the apostle and Timothy). We shouldn’t be quick to say that illness is the result of sin (as Job’s friends did, who were condemned by God. When my mum was diagnosed with cancer, someone said that it’s because of her sin or weak faith. This kind of comment only adds to the sick person’s sufferings, and fuels their daughter’s wrath!).
God will do away with sickness and death on the last day (Revelation 21:4). Hooray!! But to get there, we have to follow Jesus’ footsteps. The path to blessing is a narrow and steep road, filled with suffering and hardship. We cannot take a short cut. But we can take comfort in knowing that we are going with Jesus. Isaiah's Servant Song takes us down this path which leads to the glorious end.
~ Isaiah 53:10-11…it was the Lord’s will to crush him
and cause him to suffer
and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering,
He will see his offspring and prolong his days,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
Friday, 17 August 2007
Through a Glass Darkly III
In Ancient Greek, the language "person" is from the domain of Theatre. Drama was pantomime, so persons on stage were masked, whether that character was human or symbolic. So the Early Church resisted adopting "person" language for the Trinity since it seemed to be saying that they wore masks (i.e. the heresy of modalism [hiss! boo!], where God dons a "Father" mask in the Old Testament, a "Son" mask in the New and the "Spirit" mask after Pentecost).
Does 1 Cor 13:12's notion of "face" suggest this idea of masks?
"Face" here cannot mean "mask" ~ in fact, it's the opposite of mask. For now we see through a glass darkly (obscured view) but then, we will see each other face to face (true unveiling ~ perfect vision).*
More than that, we will know as we are fully known. I scratched my head over this bit ~ What? Who?
It'll help to see how Paul splits up time: now and future in verses 8-13. Paul oscillates between what remains now and a future time when perfection comes. Since love endures beyond the now, love is greatest (13:13) (we won't need faith and hope when Jesus comes back). Love in personal relationships are permanent, and span beyond this life.
"... even as also I am known". Who am I known by? God is the implied subject. He already sees and knows us truly and fully. In the future when all is revealed we will see clearly face to face. Then shall we know God and each other fully.
What a glorious promise for a world, whose cry is so often:
Does 1 Cor 13:12's notion of "face" suggest this idea of masks?
For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known.
"Face" here cannot mean "mask" ~ in fact, it's the opposite of mask. For now we see through a glass darkly (obscured view) but then, we will see each other face to face (true unveiling ~ perfect vision).*
More than that, we will know as we are fully known. I scratched my head over this bit ~ What? Who?
It'll help to see how Paul splits up time: now and future in verses 8-13. Paul oscillates between what remains now and a future time when perfection comes. Since love endures beyond the now, love is greatest (13:13) (we won't need faith and hope when Jesus comes back). Love in personal relationships are permanent, and span beyond this life.
"... even as also I am known". Who am I known by? God is the implied subject. He already sees and knows us truly and fully. In the future when all is revealed we will see clearly face to face. Then shall we know God and each other fully.
What a glorious promise for a world, whose cry is so often:
I don't want the world to see me,*Kudos to Gerald Bray for the above discussion from MTC Doctrine 2 lectures.
'Coz I don't think that they'd understand
Well, everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am
("Iris" by Goo Goo dolls)
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Through a Glass Darkly II
Others have played with ideas from 1 Cor 13:12.
In the Bergman's movie, the expression carries the theme of distorted reality induced by schizophrenia (in its adaption, the Scanner Darkly, the delusions are secondary to psychotropic drug use).
I'm not sure if C.S. Lewis was conscious of 1 Cor 13:12 when he wrote "Till We have Faces" . But it interlocks the themes of masks, blurred perceptions and reality. It is a re-interpretation of Lucius Apuleius Platonicus' Metamorphoses, the Greek myth about Psyche and Cupid. Its working title was originally "Bareface" (according to Wiki).
Lewis veils his characters and they are blind to certain truths. The narrator, Orual, cloaks her ugly face from the world and her self-justifications to the gods have an undercurrent of self-delusion. Cupid initially hides his face from his beautiful lover Psyche, visiting her only at night. When Orual visits her sister Psyche's stately palace, the finery and splendors were invisible to her mortal eyes. C.S. Lewis writes in a letter to Dorothea Conybeare:
[cited at Constance Babington Smith, Letters to a Sister from Rose Macaulay, 1964, 261; also at Hooper, Companion (see IX) 252] (Wiki)
In the Bergman's movie, the expression carries the theme of distorted reality induced by schizophrenia (in its adaption, the Scanner Darkly, the delusions are secondary to psychotropic drug use).
I'm not sure if C.S. Lewis was conscious of 1 Cor 13:12 when he wrote "Till We have Faces" . But it interlocks the themes of masks, blurred perceptions and reality. It is a re-interpretation of Lucius Apuleius Platonicus' Metamorphoses, the Greek myth about Psyche and Cupid. Its working title was originally "Bareface" (according to Wiki).
Lewis veils his characters and they are blind to certain truths. The narrator, Orual, cloaks her ugly face from the world and her self-justifications to the gods have an undercurrent of self-delusion. Cupid initially hides his face from his beautiful lover Psyche, visiting her only at night. When Orual visits her sister Psyche's stately palace, the finery and splendors were invisible to her mortal eyes. C.S. Lewis writes in a letter to Dorothea Conybeare:
| How can they (i.e. the gods) meet us face to face till we have faces? The idea was that a human being must become real before it can expect to receive any message from the superhuman; that is, it must be speaking with its own voice (not one of its borrowed voices), expressing its actual desires (not what it imagines that it desires), being for good or ill itself, not any mask, veil, or persona. | ” |
[cited at Constance Babington Smith, Letters to a Sister from Rose Macaulay, 1964, 261; also at Hooper, Companion (see IX) 252] (Wiki)
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