Change the World!

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ - Luke 16:30

That line kept running through my head as Easter approached and still does after Easter day.  It is from Jeus’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man; the rich man is saying that if someone comes back from the dead then his brothers will no longer store up treasures for themselves and will provide for those in need such as Lazarus.  

Easter is of course the day the Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus comes back from the dead. Do those that believe this believe the message of Jesus?

Jesus says to love him and be His disciple, we must follow in His life and teachings. 

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” - John 14:21

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. - Matthew 16:24-27

Jesus’s teachings are radical and not easy to follow for those that have wealth and power.  It is much easier to look at those without power or wealth as lesser or even as the servants.  Jesus flips that, the least are first!!!! WOW do we believe that?

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” - Mark 9:3

Those that have wealth and power are to use that wealth and power to elevate those that do not. The earth and everything in it is God’s; we are stewards.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - Matthew 24 45-51

I heard alot about Jesus offering forgiveness of our sins and I believe it; however there is a catch.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. - Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus is trying to convert people to a new kingdom, as kingdom where - your kingdom 

Come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. - Matthew 6:10

In the Bible; we see how accepting Jesus changes people. First, I don’t want to minimize the healing Jesus provides. 

The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. - Matthew 11:4

Jesus heals people; He cares about people, but He is creating a culture where His followers are servants to the least of these.  Zacchaeus was a rich man and Jesus tells him that they are going to have dinner at Zacchaeus’s house. Zacchaeus has one thing to get straight first; he gives away half his wealth and vows to use some of the rest to repay people he has wronged. 

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” - Luke 19:8

Further, the early Church found in Acts, no longer considers wealth to be held by one person, but something that needed to be shared with those in need.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales  and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. - Acts 4:32-35

Wealth is a problem because God has abundantly provided for all His children, so it is wrong to store up personal wealth without providing for those in need.

In addition, the Bible tells how the followers of Jesus rejected violence.  The apostle Paul was persecuting the early Church before he became a follower of Jesus. He even approved of the murder of Stephen.

And Saul approved of their killing him.- Acts 8:1

After his conversion, he is the one being persecuted.  He suffers great violence against him but never uses violence or encourages his followers to use violence.  Actually, there is plenty of violence in the Old Testament by the followers of God, but there's none in the New Testament.  The example in the Bible is clear, the followers of Jesus no longer accept violence. We will die for our enemies but not kill for our neighbors.

Following Jesus requires a change from an earthly view to a Kingdom of Heaven view. I feel this is what it means to believe in Jesus and in His resurrection. It is truly radical, it is all about love and it will change the world!