Michael Green in his book “Evangelism in the Early Church” writes the following about Jesus and the types of followers who flocked to him.
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He came preaching the kingly rule of God; he exemplified it in his community of followers, which embraced Pharisees like Nicodemus, Herodians, ordinary patriots like James and John bar Zebedee, collaborationists like the tax collectors Matthew and Zacchaeus, and extreme Zealots like Simon the Zealot, and perhaps Judas Iscariot and Peter. He welded this collection of political irreconcilables into a deep and united fellowship as a foretaste of what he could do in reconciling political and social tensions anywhere.
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That’s just plain cool. Can you imagine one church, one movement, where Democrats, Republicans, members of the Green Party and the Libertarians, representatives of whatever polar opposites of the political spectrum you can dream up, all came together under the singular influence of the gospel? What would that movement look like?
Well, we have only to look at Scripture to truly see what occurred. Men were transformed and a movement was begun, empowered by the Holy Spirit in which enough of the various “cheese in charge” types got so upset they murdered or exiled many of this movements leaders. Exciting, huh? And yet read the rest of the story. The world was transformed.
What is holding us back today? Is it fear of repercussions? Are we afraid that the first to pop his head up may loose it? Do we fear loss of reputation? What will others think of the crazy dude rocking the boat? More frightening yet, are we so comfortable with the existence we currently maintain, that we actually fear the Holy Spirit showing up and doing a work that we have not penciled into our plans?
May the God of both comfort and dis-comfort grant us the grace and peace, both in His eyes and in the eyes of one another, to pursue with undivided hearts the Kingdom of God.
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