Kingdom of Heaven: Part 2

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah
b' khol levavkah, uve' khol naphshekah, uve' khol m' odekah.
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

In our western churches and in Christianity in general we tend to give the Jews a very hard time for being so stubborn and defiant. We see them whine in Egypt and are quick to judge. We see them struggle with Jesus' message and we question their love of God or their devotion to him. But very few of us know what was actually going on at these times. After reading the following horrors, you may find yourself less quick to judge the commitment of the Jews and definately wondering if you would have had the kind of commitment that even they did.

In 722 B.C. Assyria conquered the North. As Isreal married with them the Samaritans came about and the Isrealites were exposed to pagan religions. Babylon then conquered the South and exiled them. So the Israelites were forced to leave their homes. When Persia conquered Babylon they allowed the Jews to return. Under Alexander the Great the Jews were forced to become hellenized (adopting Greek religion and culture). They were persecuted relentlessly for their intense commitment to God. The Maccabee Revolt took place in 167 B.C. The Jews fought in guerilla warfare at times against each other in an attempt to restore religious freedom. They did eventually win those series of battles (the reason for the Hanukkah celebration) and gained their religious freedom- but obviously at a high price. War had become all they knew and they were accustomed to death and devestation. But they returned to Jerusalem and ritually cleansed the temple. However, in 45 B.C. Herod and Rome took control and attempted to once again take away their religious freedom. The Jews resisted, knowing that defeat was likely. There were several intense battles. The men would hide and fight in guerilla warfare, as that was the only chance they had. However, Herod decided he had enough and killed the women, children and elderly while the men were hiding. So the men took the women, children and elderly up into caves on a mountain to hide them from Herod. But Herod found them. His army would light fires in the opening of the caves and when the people rushed out hoping to be saved, they would push them off the edge of the cliff to their deaths.
So the typical male Jew of this time period had fought in guerilla warfare against the Romans, had witnessed horrible atrocities committed against his buddies, may have seen his mother nailed to a tree outside his home, his wife raped, his children burned and pushed to their death off a cliff. Jews were tortured in ways we cannot even imagine for their faith. They were beaten severely. They would get cut from the top of their head to the sole of their feet and their skin peeled off in strips. And yet they stayed true to their faith. In fact a story goes of a group of young people who stood in the center of town and began reciting Genesis (an act that was forbidden) and as the first was being tortured in front of them, then next would step up to take his place and begin where he left off.
I have a feeling we would be hard pressed to find that level of commitment in our churches today. How convicting! Would I have been willing to go through what the Jews did for my faith? How much easier it would have been to just go along with whatever god they were pushing on me at the time! And we're worried about hurting someone's feelings or offending someone or being considered "insensative" of "politically incorrect" and that in and of itself is enough to get us to shut our mouths and abandon our faith.
The Jews were not wishy washy in their faith. They were devout. They didn't always get it right, but who on earth are we to judge them when we've caved for far less. Now imagine a man comes along who is supposed to save you. You've been anxiously waiting your whole life, enduring suffering the likes of which few have ever seen, for this promised one who is supposed to bring peace. And finally he is here. And you want war. It's time to give those Roman's what's coming to them. They killed your parents, your children, your spouse. And now you think you'll be able to finally get out from under them and what does he say?
Love your enemies.
Yeah, we might have had a bit of trouble with that message too. Their hatred of Jesus' message was not due to stubborness or lack of faith...it was a natural reaction to centuries of persecution. But Christ knew that forgiveness and the Kingdom of Heaven are the only ways to survive. The disciples desperately wanted war, but the kingdom comes with the love of God.