Jesus Wants to Save Christians

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COUNCIL OF REFERENCE

Dr. Richard Averbeck

Rev. D. Stuart Briscoe

Dr. Paul Cedar

Mr. Dave Coleman

Dr. & Mrs. Larry Crabb

Mr. Roger Cross

Rev. & Mrs. Lud Golz

Dr.Howard G. Hendricks

Mr. Olan Hendrix

Dr. David Jeremiah

Rev. Knute Larson

Dr. John C. Maxwell

Dr. Bruce McNicol

Mr. Dean Merrill

Mrs. Elisa Morgan

Dr. Luis Palau

Dr. Gilbert A. Peterson

Rev. Wes Roberts

Rev. & Mrs. Jamie

Rassmussen

Mr. J im Warren

Dr. Rick Warren

Publishers

Catherine & DavidMartin

Editors

Cheryl & MichaelChiapperino

by Rob Bell and Don GoldenZondervan Publishing

ISBN: 0310275024

A Quick Focus

Eight Main Points22345678

The Boo k's Purp o sePresent a manifesto calling Christians tobe the church G od designed her to be

Paint a disturbing picture of w hathappens when Christians participateand support the very things Jesus cameto deliver people from

Articulate a theology from a New Exodusperspective

Follow the progression of the biblicalnarrative in order to t each the thingsJesus wants to save Christians from

The Bo o k’s MessageIf one thing stands out about the ministry of

Jesus, it is H is focus on caring for those on themargins of society. U nfortunately, the Americanway of life and even the attitudes and practices ofChristians promote the very things Jesus came toeliminate.

Througho ut the biblical narrative, G od hearsthe cry of the oppressed. Whether in slavery or inexile, H is plan has always been to lead H is peopleto the hope of Sinai. Failure to be a light to theworld always drives people back to slavery. Jesus

died to set people free from oppression; but H ealso calls them to be a light to the world.

East of Eden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Biblical Story of Oppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Second Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The New Son of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Away from Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The American Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Eucharist and New Humanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Conclusion: Jesus Wants to Save Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jesus Wants to Save ChristiansA Manifesto for the Church in Exile

Volume 5 . Issue October 2009

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The First Dysfunctional FamilyTo say that the very first family on earth was dysfunctional is an under-

statement. C ain, a farmer who w orked the soil, became angry with his broth-er Abel, a shepherd, who tended flocks. Why was Cain upset? Because G odaccepted Abel’s offering but not his.

The story of C ain and Abel is one that suggests the unavoidable forwardmovement of civilization. It is a story about innovation and progress. Itdescribes the strife that results when society moved to a nomadic orientationand away from an agricultural one. And sometimes the conflict results inmurder.

The G enesis text reads, “ C ain went o ut from t he Lord’ s presence andlived in the land of N od, east o f Eden” (G enesis 4:16). I n Eden everything

is just right, t he perfect place, and the place where the favor of G od rests.But C ain is east o f Eden. And east of E den he puts his root s.

This east-of-Eden concept appears thro ughout G enesis. It serves as ametaphor suggesting that something has gone terribly awry with humanity.

The High Cost of ProtectionKeeping Americans safe is a very profitable line of work. For example,

one well-known American company that earns hundreds of millions ofdollars manufacturing appliances is now making a huge profit on a new airport security device called the air puffer.

Walk throug h the airport, and yo u can catch world news on one of themany television monitors located in every waiting area. On this particularday w e learn of a new plane for t he military that costs fifty billion dollars

just to create. It can hover like a helicopter and take off like a jet.

Then we learn that the war “ over there” is costing a trillion dollars, andto keep us safe “ over here,” the H omeland Security needs a staggeringamount of money. And then we hear about the declining supply of oil. Andthen walking th rough the airport, w e see an advertisement for a hug eautomobile that seats seven and has a television (it gets very few miles tothe gallon).

Could it be that all the harm we’re seeking to be protected from is notnearly as destructive as the harm we are bringing upon ourselves? We areliving east o f Ed en. Things are not right.

In Exodus 3:7-9 we read that G od saw t he misery of H is people andthat H e heard their cry. “God alwayshear s the cry of the oppressed.” Imaginefour quadrants identified by four geographical locations, each representingan important chapter in the redemption story.

EgyptWe must go back to Eden to get the bigger picture. Eating the forbiddenfruit set in motion an ever-increasing deterioration. What started there af-fected the who le globe. Egypt is the place where God ’s people suffer thehardships of extreme slavery. Egypt is what results when sin runs rampant.Egypt demonstrates how easy it is for the powerful to manipulate and con-trol the weak.

222U r spr ache

The G ermans use the wordursprache to describe the notionthat things are not right in theworld. Something is not right withhow humans relate to one another.When the Roman Empire put Jesuson the cross, it insisted that it was

using crucifixion (military force)to bring peace to the world. Themessage of C hristianity is that G odhas brought peace to this worldthrough a naked man hanging,bleeding, and dying on a cross andnot through weapons of war. Mo reand more it is becoming an accept-ed belief around the world thatChristians are supporting some ofthe very things Jesus came to de-liver people from.

Back to the G enesis story …G od to ld Cain that H e heard hisbrother’s blood crying out fromthe ground (4:10). G od still hearsthat cry. We need to hear it too.

Exodus is the story about a peo-ple G od rescues from the th roesof oppression. H e used a man namedMoses to lead the people out ofEgypt. When the people crossedthe Red Sea miraculously, theycelebrated. But that’s not the endof the story. We must go to Sinai.

SinaiAt Sinai, G od reminded the

whole nation that it w as H e who

continued on page 3

CBS

“A Christianshould get very

nervous when theflag and the Bible

start holdinghands. This is nota romance we want

to encourage.

Eastf Eden

The Biblicaltory of Oppression



33THE BIBLICAL STORY OF OPPRESSIONcontinued from page 2

delivered them from Egypt. At Sinai, H e invited the people into a covenantrelationship with H im. H e informed them that they would be a kingdomof priests who wo uld show the world who G od is and what H e is like.They had experienced Egypt. N ow H e was inviting them to be anti-Egypt.

At Sinai H e issued the Ten Commandments to teach them how tobe human again. The commandments taught them how to experienceliberation to the fullest. B ecause of the grace G od had shown them, theywere to take them to the world around them.

All these blessings were contingent on their complete obedience toG od . O therwise, the covenant deal was off. H ow did they respond? Toanswer, we must now go to Jerusalem.

JerusalemWe move forward in time to Jerusalem. The people are living in the

Promised Land. The Queen of Sheba pays a visit to King Solomon andshe is given the grand tour and experiences firsthand the blessings Godhas bestowed upon the people. Not ice her response: “ Because of theLord’s eternal love for I srael, he has made yo u king to maintain justice

and righteousness” (1 Kings 10:9).

H er words suggest that there is one primary reason that G od blessedthis nation so abundantly~to use the wealth to bless the weak and poor.The Queen of Sheba saw the God of Solomon as the God of the oppressed.

But Solomo n turned a deaf ear to the wo rld’s injustices. H e built theTemple using forced labor. “I n ju st a f ew gener at i ons, the oppr essed have become the oppressors.” By his actions the king perpetuated the very thingG od delivered his people from in Egypt . H e used his massive resources tobuild military bases and a top-rated homeland security operation. And don’ tforget all his wives and concubines, w ho led him further away from G od.

Israel had become the new Egypt and Solomon the new Pharaoh.Sinai is long forgotten. What is G od supposed to do when the body looks

not hing like H im? Let’ s travel to B abylon.

BabylonThe Bible teaches very clearly that G od hears the cry of the oppressed.I t also teaches clearly that H e calls out H is people and blesses them sothat they will be champions for the o ppressed. So, what happens whenH is people don’ t carry out t his mission? Exile.

The glory days of Solomon are no longer. The people of G od findthemselves in a foreign land.

The Value of TearsThe H ebrews had been on to p of everything; they were admired by

the wo rld. They had great pow er. But they lost it all because they forgotG od, and they forgot to care for the orphans and widow s.

H ow ever, they turned their exile into poetry. They sang ab out theirharps no longer playing. They longed for the days of celebration and thego od life that t he harp represented (P salm 137). They cried o ut t o G od .And, remember, God always hears the cry of the oppressed. C rying remindsus that w e are dependent and that w e need to reconnect with G od .

Exile is just as much a conditionof the mind and heart as it is a geo-graphical location. G od sent H isprophets to warn of judgment if

the people did not turn from theirevil ways. Amos rebuked the peoplefor stockpiling resources insteadof sharing with the poor. Isaiahsaid G od will not hear their prayersbecause of their heavy emphasison warfare.

These prophets came to call peo-ple back to their Sinai experience.The results? Amos was removedfrom the palace. Jeremiah go t bea-ten up and throw n into a pit. Thepeople didn’t change. They en-joyed their comfortable living andturned a deaf ear to the cry of theoppressed. So G od brought judg-ment and sent many I sraelites intoexile in Babylon, where they endedup serving the king against theirwill. The word for this? Slavery.They’re back in “ Egypt.”

continued on page 4

CBS

“To forget this, tofail to hear the cry,

to preserve

prosperity at theexpense of thepowerless, is to

miss what God hasin mind.”

The Secondxodus “Our tearsare sacred.They water

the ground aroundour feet so that

new thingscan grow.”



44

CBS

THE SECOND EXODUScontinued from page 3

Hope in ExileIt didn’t take them long to connect their experience with their an-

cestors’ bondage in Egypt. And they began to dream of a better future.They needed a second exodus. And t hat’ s what t hey long ed for andprayed for.

Out of the exile, there arose prophets who helped them rebirth imag-

ination of a new day filled with joy and peace. H ow ever, their messagespictured an exodus that would draw people from all corners of the earthand include all of humanity.

The Real ProblemEgypt is more than a location. It represents the real problem in each

of o ur hearts, the problem of sin. We all are born in Eg ypt; and we allneed an exodus from Egypt. The prophets helped the Israelites to seethat salvation involved mo re than just their particular race. G od ’s planincluded every race. But to experience this second exodus, they wouldhave to g o by way of Sinai again and deal with the big “ if” issue. “ I f ’”they obeyed, G od wo uld deliver and bless.

A New MarriageThe Sinai covenant was like a marriage between G od and H is people.Since the first marriage didn’ t work out, they would need a new marriagewith G od if they were to be delivered from the rivers of B abylon. H oseaspoke vividly of G od wo oing H is bride back. Jeremiah preached that thecovenant would be different than the first. I t would be a covenant writtennot on tablets of stone but on human hearts.

A New LeaderThe future hope described by the prophets centered on a new leader.

Solomon, the son of D avid, did not wo rk out. So, there would have tobe a d ifferent son o f D avid. Isaiah referred to this new leader as a servant.H e would use power properly and purely. H e would b e a champion o fthe poor. H e would rule forever.

This concept really wasn’t anything new for the people. They remem-bered from G enesis that G od w ould send someone who w ould crushthe serpent, thereby liberating all of humanity (G enesis 3:15). H e wouldbe a prophet like Moses and a prince of peace. These promises generatednew ho pe for the people of I srael. And that is how the O ld Testamentends~ unfulfilled, hanging, waiting~ with the people longing for this new son o f D avid.

The Israelites returned home from exile and rebuilt the Temple. Butit was much smaller, and things just weren’t w hat t hey used to be.

In Exile at HomeImagine growing up in a Jewish family. Your parents teach you reg-

ularly that Israel is the chosen people of G od … chosen to be a light tothe entire world. You go to the festivals where song s of celebration aresung about the days of D avid and the great pow er of G od.

But there is an obvious disconnect. Why is the Roman military centerbuilt right next to the Temple? You wonder why your people are so op-pressed and why Roman soldiers control your streets.

Such w as first-century life inIsrael. At home, yet still living inexile. Still hanging on to the prom-ises of the prophets that a new sonof D avid would emerge and leada new exodus.

The New ExodusFour hundred thirty years afterNehemiah’s return to Jerusalem,Jesus was bo rn, marking the endof bondag e and a new exodus. Allfour G ospels quote I saiah 40:3 toannounce its beginning: “ Preparethe way o f the Lord, make straightpaths for H im.”

The mother of a dying daughter,a blind man, and a beggar get Jesus’attention by calling H im “ Son ofD avid.” It was as much a question

as a stat ement. Would H e be likeSolomon, t he other son o f D avid?Would H e promote justice andrighteousness, or wo uld H e buildmilitary b ases?

Jesus performed H is first miracleat a wedding feast as a symbol sig-nifying that H e was leading thepeople into a remarriage with G od.They could reach for their harpsonce again.

The new son of D avid who in-

augurates a new marriage covenantand who leads a new exodus repre-sents the way for people to returnfrom exile.

A New Kingdomand a New Humanity

In this new kingdom, Jesusteaches what new humanity loo kslike. H is power flow s to the lame,the blind, and the broken. H e usesH is power as a servant who admin-isters love and compassion.

The first C reation, according t oG enesis, happened out of chaos. Inthe same way Jesus enters a worldof chaos to bring new creation. H epromises that when H e is lifted up,H e will draw all people to H imselfand bring renewal to all things.

continued on page 5

The Newon of David



55THE NE W SON OF DAVIDcontinued from page 4

The Road to EmmausAfter the C rucifixion, tw o C hrist-follow ers are returning from

Jerusalem to their home in Emmaus. They are dejected and embarrassedthat t he one they gave their lives to follow is now dead and gone. Theyare joined by another traveler who probes what they’re discussing.

After hearing the story, the traveler calls them foolish for not under-standing the big picture. H e reminds them that t he prophets predictedthis new son of D avid would have to suffer and die. And then H e explainswhy Jesus had to suffer.

D id the traveler teach them about the history of violence? D id H eteach them about exile? D id H e teach them about Adam? D id H e teachthem about the prophets predicting that someone would come and bewilling to pay the price?

Whatever approach this stranger used, it worked. Their eyes wereopened. Everything began to make sense. U sing the Scriptures, t histraveler turned their deep despair into a fresh hope and a clear visionof t he future. The strang er, of course, is Jesus H imself.

In the previous chapter, we talked about tw o men traveling homefrom J erusalem. L et’s look at another man w ho is leaving Jerusalem.H is name is Philip.

To the Ends of the EarthPh ilip was one of the early followers of Jesus. H e was from the small

village of Bethsaida, known for its strict religious rules. But when hemet Jesus, everything changed. In Acts 8, we find him on a road leaving

Jerusalem, where he meets an Ethiopian eunuch.This movement away from Jerusalem is symbolic of the entire story

of the early Church. The story begins on the Mount of Olives (rememberMount Sinai?) where the resurrected Christ over a period of 40 days(remember 40 years in the wilderness?) talked to the disciples aboutMoses and the exodus. Luke want s us to see that Jesus is the new Mo sesand that H e is leading a new exodus.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples that they would be witnesses “ inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Basically, H e was saying that w hatever happens in Jerusalem will havesuch a powerful effect, the whole earth will be influenced, just as theprophets had predicted.

The Ethiopian eunuch is headinghome to Africa. Someone from the

“ ends of the earth” is asking aboutthis new exodus. And certainly fora small-town Jewish man like Philip,Eth iopia is located at the ends ofthe earth.

Sinai Not ForgottenLet’s go back a little and look

at a previous story. Acts 2:1 informsus that on the day of Pentecost allthe believers were gathered in oneplace. Sinai taught us about cove-nant, a group of people gatheringat the foot of a mountain agreeingto be G od’ s representation t o t hewo rld. Sinai was about all peopleto the ends of the earth regainingtheir edenic relationship with G od .

On the day of Pentecost, the be-lievers had g athered to read aboutSinai from the book of Exodus whena supernatural pow er overwhelmedthem. It was reminiscent o f Sinai,except o n this occasion G od choseto reside in their lives and not juston a mountain or in a tabernacle.Included in this group were peoplefrom all over the world. G od and

man are coming together once again.We call this gathered people thechurch.

Breaking the RulesThe Ethiopian eunuch requests

baptism from P hilip. To oblige,Philip would be violating the Jewishrulebook. But what do you do whenyour religious system is falling apartand being replaced by somethingfar superior? This tension is a commontheme throughout the book of Acts.

continued on page 6

“This new son of David isn’t just leadinga new exodus for a specific group of people;

he’s bringing liberation for everybodyeverywhere and ultimately for everything

everywhere for all time.”

Awayrom Jerusalem

CBS

“If it’s liberationfor all of humanity,for all of creation,

how couldsomething thatmassive, that true,

that good, thatcompelling stayin Jerusalem?”



CBS

66AWAY FROM JERU SALEMcontinued from page 5

We find it in Paul. H e is on his way to D amascus to bring back C hris-tians as prisoners to Jerusalem. D amascus is in Syria, away from Jerusalem.Paul is trying to counteract the ends-of-the-earth commission by bringingthese people back to the H oly C ity. But on the way, he meets Jesus.

We also find the tension in the dispute in Acts 15 where the religiousleaders are stuck in the old rituals. Not only are they stuck there; they aretrying to bring o thers back there.

A Story of MovementThe early church is a story of movement from Jerusalem to the ends

of the earth. The church by its very nature must expand. In Acts 13, weread where the Spirit prompted the believers to “ set aside” Paul andBarnabas to take the mission to other parts of the world. Once again weare reminded o f Sinai where the mo untain, Aaron and his sons, and theob jects of the Temple were “ set apart. ” “Thi s passage i n A cts 13 i s the fi r st ti me i n human hi story when … t he gather ed people of God joi n together as wi l l i ng pr i estl y agen ts to the wor ld.”

At the end of Acts, we find Paul in Rome (to the ends of the earth)where he wi tnessed all day long to the Jewish leaders (28:23). The wo rd

wi tness takes us back to Acts 1:8 where Jesus commissioned the believersto be H is witnesses to the ends of the earth. The book of Acts ends in Romewith Paul sharing the message o f Jesus with anyone who w ould listen.

The road to Emmaus reminds us that it’ s entirely possible for someone

to be with Jesus every day and yet still miss who H e actually is. Jesus hada completely different view of what happened back in Jerusalem.

From Accumulation to PreservationAmerica is an empire; and the Bible talks a lot about empires. Most

of t he Bible was written abo ut a people who lived under the w orld super-powers (Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, P ersian, Roman). I t is difficultto read it from the perspective of the oppressed when you see things fromthe paradigm o f the superpower.

Every empire accumulates wealth and resources. Remember Solomon?America represents only 5 percent of the world’s population; yet it owns20 percent of the world’s wealth. Almost one billion people survive onless than the equivalent of 1 American dollar a day. The average American

teenager spends about 150 dollars a week.Another problem is that people develop a sense of entitlement. They

think they have a right to have all these things. The biggest temptation,how ever, is to forget the G od who provided all the blessings. People forgetG od w hen they forget the people G od cares for.

Once entitlement settles in, it becomes imperative for the empire topreserve what it has accumulated. Why do you t hink America has such aninterest in the M iddle East? Because tw o-thirds of the wo rld’s oil is locatedthere. Consequently, we build massive defense systems and do all we canto protect our dear friends in Saudi Arabia. So preservation of the entitledlives we enjoy becomes priority number one.

Missingthe Biblical Message

This vicious cycle makes it verydifficult to empathize with the stor-ies of those who don’t share ourfaith. In empire, for example, it isdifficult to hear stories from the per-spective of Native Americans whoseland we raided. When you have thepower and when you have enoughfood, it is hard to understand the

voice of those who have no powerand who have no food. Just like themen going to Emmaus missed theBible’s central message, the samehappens today because of empire.

Take the book of Revelation,for another example. Most Christianstoday see the book only in light offuture events instead o f understand-ing it from the paradigm of its initialrecipients.

John w as a pastor who wrotethis book in a subversive form of

language called apocalyptic. Thebelievers would have understoodperfectly that he was addressing theevils of the Roman Empire. H e ex-horted them not to take the markof the beast. H e let them know thatJesus is Lord, not Caesar. Peace andcompassion are the right way, notviolence and domination. The re-cipients of this book were not think-ing about how it wo uld be helpfulto believers two thousand years later.

continued on page 7

Themerican Empire

“In empire, youbelieve in that

which you preserve,

you preserve thatwhich you are

entitled to, and youare entitled to that

which you haveaccumulated. Thisis the religion, theanimating spirit of

empire.”



77THE AMERICAN EMPIREcontinued from page 6

H ow is it possible to t ranslate these messages in to day’ s culture? Wehave multi-million-dollar church campuses and expensive technolog y thatallows us to worship in state of the art facilities. We have youth pastors,a luxury that until recent generations was never heard of. We have accumu-lated the financial resources to afford all of these things.

H ow can our people today ever relate to the oppression and hung erin our world? H ow can they truly understand w hat Jesus meant when H esaid H e came to preach the good news to the poor? They hear the Sundaymessage, go home in t heir nice cars, and close the garage do or b ehindthem. The only hope possible in communicating with impact is to remindthem of the blood on the do or posts.

In Egypt, life was nothing but despair as the Israelites daily tried to

satisfy the Pharaoh’s increasing quota of bricks. G od was seemingly absent.But that was about to change.

Symbol of the LambG od heard the cry of H is oppressed people. Moses finally convinced

Pharaoh to let the people leave. Before they left, they ate the Lord’sPassover.

The symbol o f the revolution w as a lamb~ an innocent, slain lamb,sacrificed for each family. Its blood was sprinkled on the door posts toprotect the firstborn from the angel of death. But before the journey couldbegin, G od t old them to eat the roasted lamb. They were to rememberthis date because their history would be marked by this significant event.

As the prophets connected the exile with their ancestors’ slavery inEgypt, they recognized that the whole world was in a type of exile, onewhich would take more than an innocent lamb’s blood to resolve. Theyforetold the birth o f G od’ s own firstbo rn who would t ake upon H imselfthe burden o f the w hole wo rld. Jesus is the lamb

Jesus and the PassoverO n the night Jesus was arrested, H e and the disciples ate the P assover

meal. At t his meal, H e too k the bread and t he cup and said, “ This is Mybody; this is My blood .” H e too k the annual Passover event and made itabout H imself. H e knew that H e would not be spared a cruel death. H isblood was shed for all of creation.

What should our response be? We are to remember, and we are to bethankful. The word for thankful is eucharizomai , based on two Greek words

meaning “ goo d” and “ to give.” O ut of these root s comes our Englishword Euchar i st , literally meaning “ go od g ift.” “Jesus i s God’ s good gi ft to the wor ld.”

Today, believers take part in a ritual called the Eucharist (Communion)to remember and to b e grateful for G od’ s good gift of Jesus, H is Son. Butwe must realize that the significance of the Eucharist extends far beyondthe ritual itself.

Living EucharistWe are talking about a whole new way of life. Paul captured this sig-

nificance when he talked ab out Jesus being revealed t hrough our bod ies(2 C orinthians 4:10). H e’s living a life that go es beyond himself. This lifeis difficult and costly.

Identifying with our hurtingneighbor always costs something.And that is how the Eucharist is sup-posed to work. The church is thebody of Christ, a living Eucharist.The most powerful sermon preachedis when someone is struggling hurt-ing, doubting, and barely hanging

on, and a believer with heartfeltcompassion says, “ Me too .”

Through the death of J esus allcreation has been reconciled to G od.Peace has been made, and t he wallhas come down. There is a new hu-manity. And the church embod iesthis new humanity where labels areinsufficient, rigid stances are nolong er possible, and perspectivesare no long er black and white.

The Eucharist Is the Answer

If the goal of a church is to getpeople to come and get t hose whocome to invite others to come, thensomething critical is missing. Churchis not about attendance. Church ispeople living out the Christian lifeand becoming champions of the suf-fering, the poor, and the oppressed.When there is a disconnect fromthose on the margins of society, theresult will always be despair becauseG od created us for so much more.

C ain asked, “ Am I my brother’skeeper?” The answer to t hat q ues-tion is yes. The Eucharist says yesto the community with all of itssuffering. Where is G od when o neloses his job, another tests positive,and another is alone? The answer?The Eucharist. The church is G od’sgoo d g ift for t he world becauseJesus’ blood has been shed on thedoo r posts of the wo rld.

CBS

The Eucharistnd New Humanity

“The church isthe living,

breathing, life-giving, system-confronting,

empire-subvertingpicture of the new

humanity.”



We have looked at life from the perspectives of Eg ypt, Sinai, Jerusalem,and Babylon. I n Egypt we cry out to G od and find rescue and redemption.From E gypt w e travel to Sinai where we discover identity and purpose.I t is here that G od invites us to join H im in doing something abo ut allthe b rokenness in the w orld.

In J erusalem, we face the ongoing question: H ow will we manage ourblessing? Will we use it to benefit the oppressed? Or will we develop a senseof entitlement and end up in exile in Babylon where we live in despair?In exile, if we confess and repent, we can have a fresh start and begin re-imagining.

In our fresh start we must understand the stark reality of slavery, hun-ger, suicide, and AID S that enmesh our wo rld. In o ur reimagining werealize that Jesus wants to save us from irrelevancy and use us to make adifference. We must seize any voice, power, or energy we have and turnthem into blessings for those who don’t enjoy these privileges.

Jesus want s to save the world; but H e also wants to save us. H e wants

to save us from the kingdom of comfort, from the empire of indifference,and from the priority of preservation. H e wants us to understand that thepriests are not someone else. Every believer is a priest.

Jesus wants to save us from the misconception that salvation is aboutindividuals and not about t he systems that enslave people. H e want s tosave us from watering down the gospel to the removal of sin while neglectingG od’ s desire to redeem all of creation.

The Bible begins with Cain’s cry emerging from the ground. It endswith G od wiping away every tear in a world where there is no mourningor crying or pain. And that, my friends, is hope.

“God doesn’t just want to save us;God is looking for a body, a people

to incarnate the divine.”

88

Volume 5, I ssue 16

Publishers

C atherine & David Martin

Editors

C heryl & Michael Chiapperino

Published on the World Wide Web atChristianBookSummaries.com.

The mission of Christian BookSummaries is to enhance the ministryof thinking C hristians by providing

thorough and readable summariesof not eworthy books fromC hristian publishers.

The opinions expressed are thoseof the original writers andare not necessarily those of Christian Book Summariesor its Council of Reference.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians:A Manifesto for the C hurch in Exileby Rob Bell and D on Golden, copy- r i ght 2008 by Rob Bell and D on Golden. Summar i zed by permissi on of t he publ i sher , Zondervan ,Grand Rapids, Mi chigan. I SBN : 0310275024. 218 pages. $19.99 USD . Avail able at your favor i te bookstore or onl i ne booksel ler .

The authors: Rob Bell lives withhis family in G rand Rapids, Michi-gan, where he is the founding pastorof M ars H ill Bible Church. Ro bteaches in a short film format calledNOOMA, and has written twobooks. D on G olden is senior vicepresident of church engagement atWorld Relief in Baltimore, Maryland.

H is passion t o help churches helpthe poor and oppressed has takenhim to more than 60 countries.D on and his wife, Lynn, have threedaughters.

The summarizer: Ken Kelly is agraduate of Southwestern BaptistTheological Seminary. D r. Kellyhas served as pastor of ChapinBaptist Church in Chapin, SouthCarolina since 1986.

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Conclusion:esus Wants to Save Us

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Jesus Wants to Save Christians