Lamb of God

 

If we look at the facts about Jesus through the life of Jesus; from his actions and how he walked his talk we can see a picture emerge where Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God.

   Jesus was living in a time of Roman occupation, and yet he said that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Rather than a violent uprising against Rome he called for a spiritual revolution from within as he came to bring peace.

   Many Christians today know that the Jews did not accept or recognize Jesus as their Messiah, but only few know that about a hundred years after Jesus the Jews did actually believe that they had found their Messiah. During the second Jewish Revolt in 132 – 135 AD, the Jewish rebel leader Bar Kokhba was proclaimed to be the Messiah of the Jewish people.

   The reason not many know about this is that Bar Kokhba’s messianic status was recanted after the Romans violently crushed the rebellion causing devastating losses on both sides, and the belief in militarism brought immense bloodshed to the Jewish people.

   This was not the only revolt and not the only time a Messiah was proclaimed, and Jesus was very aware of the politics of the time that he was living in. Therefore, to realize his message it is helpful to understand this underlying struggle against Rome as the backdrop of his ministry.

   Upon Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem we are told that he weeps over the state of the city as he clearly sees things to come. 

   Luke testifies in Chapter 19:42-44 that:

 

If you had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close in on every side. They will level you to the ground and kill your people. One stone will not be left on top of another, because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to help you.

 

   It is very easy to take one line out of context, but if we look at the history and politics of the time of Jesus, it is hard to make the case for war in the name of Christ. As the Jewish people, Jesus would have had plenty of reason and occasion to fight violently against Rome, if he was politically motivated and it was this kind of revolution that he was talking about. 

   But the indisputable fact of how he lived his life shows us how to understand his teaching. In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus even warns us that many will come in his name saying; “I am the Christ” and that many will be let astray: “For you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. Take care that you do not be alarmed, for these things must come to pass.”

   I believe that the living testimonies that we have today from the Light behind God through research of NDEs, weighs heavy in support of the interpretation of Jesus as the Prince of Peace and a Lamb of God.

   I think religious people who support war or resistance in the name of God should at least try to listen to these testimonies from a living God, before they jump to the conclusion that God is angry. Just because we humans get angry it does not follow that God therefore also must be angry.

   If it were so, then there would be nothing to look up to, nothing to hold sacred, and nothing to be inspired by. As people experience in the NDE, the Light is greater than what we can perceive and comprehend, so God must ultimately be something to look up to.