Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The Pharisees, leaders of the Jewish Ruling Council (called the Sanhedrin), called the newspaper, the Jerusalem Times, about a fellow called “Jesus Christ”. This uneducated son of the carpenter Joseph was going about Jerusalem and the outlying areas preaching “The kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. The Pharisees said this man was making shocking claims, blasphemous claims that He was somehow related to God. This Jesus, the Pharisees said, healed a man sick of the palsy (Matthew 9:2) after saying,

“Son, be of good cheer! Thy sins be forgiven thee!”

Who can forgive sins but God? When the disciples of the honorable John the Baptist, asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t fast like they did, the Pharisees said:

“The children of the wedding cannot mourn while the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) is with them” (Matthew 9:15)

When the Pharisees asked Jesus why do you eat with sinners, this same Jesus, it was reported, said:

“I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”
(Matthew 9:13)”

This last statement got the attention of the editor at The Jerusalem Times. He sent a crack reporter out to ask this Jesus fellow some questions. Jesus has gathered twelve men around Him that He called “Apostles” (ἀπόστολος apóstolos, pronounced ap-os’-tol-os). These men were “disciples” or students of Christ’s before He named them “Apostles”. The Apostles were:

Matthew 10:2-4 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and his brother John were simple fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector. No one knows what

Simon the Zealot,
James the son of Alphaeus,
Thomas,
Philip,
Jude,
nor Bartholomew (also called Nathaniel)

did prior to following Jesus. One of Jesus’ “Apostles” was Judas Iscariot, a particularly greedy little man. Every one of these twelve “Apostles” had one thing in common – they WERE common. They occupied the least places among the leaders of Israel. If there were a “Who’s Who” these people would not even deserve a footnote or an honorable mention. They were just common people, rejected people, the least and the less among the elites of Israel. The reporter from the Jerusalem Times didn’t know what to say about this Jesus and His followers, but then he heard Jesus send these twelve, motley men out,

Matthew 10:5-7 COMMANDED them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Reporter had his news headline. He went back to the paper, and once the headline published every news channel throughout the world picked up on it. CNN, ABC, NBC, CSNBC, NPR, and even FOX broadcast the headline:

“Jesus Christ Is A Racist!”

Is Jesus Christ A “Racist”?

Though this little story is just something I made up, it is certainly something that would be written about Jesus today if He did what He did back then. Did you read the text. Jesus told His disciples, literally “COMMANDED them” {παραγγέλλω parangéllō, pronounced par-ang-gel’-lo: to order or charge, as if directing a subordinate}:

Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel

One of the harshest charges that can be laid on anyone in our day is “that person is racist”. We hear reporters of color calling President Trump “racist” because he has called the Coronavirus “The Chinese Virus”. I heard an Asian American reporter call the President “racist” just the other day at a press conference.

To win an argument, I am told, if you cannot disprove what someone is saying, find a way to attack the character of that person.
This is called the “Ad Hominem” attack.

The Pharisees did this with Jesus earlier when they said:

Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

and when Jesus called out the Pharisees for plotting to kill Him, they replied:

John 7:20 … Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

Jesus tells us as His people to

John 7:24 … Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

I have been concerned about the killing of a young man named Ahmaud Arbery. Two white men, Travis McMichael and his father Greg McMichael shot and killed Ahmaud while he was apparently out jogging one day. A video of the shooting incident was recorded and released online, and people on both sides are coming out accusing one another. Celebrities and politicians – including ex vice president Joe Biden, LeBron James, LL Cool J, and Kim Kardashian West have been demonstrating – along with great crowds of people – that justice be served. What made the case so very messy is that the men guilty of killing Ahmaud were never arrested or tried after doing what they did. They should have been immediately arrested. Investigators should have been assigned, and the two should have been judged by a jury of their peers, according to United States code.

What disturbs me is that people are making judgments as to what actually happened based on what was seen on a few minutes of video. What happened earlier in the day? I know some people will use an Ad Hominem attack on me for just suggesting that not all the facts are yet revealed.

I DO want these men to receive justice.
I DO believe these men exceeded their authority.
I Do want these men to be tried according to U.S. Law.
I DO NOT want to be part of the mob that riots, twisting law.
I DO NOT want to depart from the commands of my Lord Jesus Christ.
I DO want God’s Church and God’s people to be “the Light of the World”.
I DO NOT want God’s Church to be part of the darkness.

The Apostle Paul commands us – through the power of God’s Holy Spirit – to

Ephesians 4:17-24 … henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Christ’s Church cannot afford to chase the darkness with the world. Again, I DO want justice to be served. But I do NOT want to be drawn into the darkness with the unbeliever.

There are three driving forces for the Christian. First and foremost, we are driven by Jesus Christ. That’s why we are called “CHRISTian”. Second, our driving force is “It Is Written”, what the Bible says. Third, our driving force is the Holy Spirit of God.

Jesus Christ Is NOT Racist

When Jesus said:

Matthew 10:5-6 COMMANDED them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

it sounds as if Jesus is racist. “Don’t go to the Gentiles or Samaria, but stick with bringing the Gospel to the Jews”. If you read ONLY these words without turning to the rest of the Scripture, it would be easy to brand Jesus a racist. But what does the Bible say? Jesus prayed for His Church before going to Calvary:

John 17:15-17 I pray not {dearest Father God} that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil {One, that is, Satan}. 16 They {my Church} are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 SANCTIFY {set them apart} THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH.

The Word of God is where the Christian finds our truth. It is what God has said. Jesus, throughout His ministry, repeatedly used these THREE WORDS:

“it is written”

Written in what? The fictitious Jerusalem Times that I made up? In the T.V. Guide? In the magazines, newspapers, or televised news? No, the Word of God. The Bible. What God has said. When Jesus said:

Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But GO RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

he was not being RACIST. Jesus was being OBEDIENT. When God promised Abraham that he would be blessed, and through him a nation would come forth to bless the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3), God never forgot this promise. God established Israel – one of Abraham’s children who was previously known as “Jacob” – as His Chosen people. God was going to bless Abraham by giving Him a people {Israel}, through which people the Messiah would come. Jesus Christ is that Messiah. Jesus Christ came according to prophecy:

Isaiah 42:6 … a Covenant of the people {Israel}, for a light of the Gentiles

God said that He would send Jesus the Messiah,

Isaiah 49:6 … to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

God prophesied of Israel:

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a promise that God was going to keep. Jesus Christ came to be the Savior and Lord of Israel FIRST. God would bring Messiah out of Israel and to Israel first. But God is no Respecter of persons, as Peter preached:

Acts 10:34-36 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But IN EVERY NATION he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

And the Apostle Paul preached:

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

The Gospel of salvation is given to all people. Again, the Apostle Paul said:

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Jesus Christ is NOT racist. Jesus Christ came to give His life for the sins of the whole world. He sent His twelve Apostles to the twelve tribes of Israel FIRST. But Jesus ALWAYS intended to reach EVERYONE with the Gospel of salvation. Here’s a few more texts to jot down that proves this point.

Hebrews 10:9-10 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first {covenant}, that he may establish the second {covenant}. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once FOR ALL.

John 6:40 {Jesus said} … And this is the will of him that sent me, that EVERY ONE which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 1:29 {John the Baptist said} … Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away THE SIN OF THE WORLD.

John 3:16 {Jesus said} For God so loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 2:1-3 {Jesus Christ} My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD. 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

Romans 10:9-13 … if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich UNTO ALL that call upon him. 13 For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We Represent Jesus To The Whole World

Our Lord loves you and I so very much. Beloved, we MUST follow Jesus. We MUST heed His commands. We MUST NOT allow the world to draw us into the darkness of hatred, prejudice, and evil. We must not be drawn into worldliness. We are to go out into the world with Jesus’ words. Jesus said:

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

We must not allow ourselves to become part of the empty, nihilistic, vain, and useless
dialogue of the worldly.
We are to DO as Jesus said DO.

We are to DO what Jesus said, not what the world said. James (1:22) said:

“Be ye DOERS of the WORD, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves”

We who are Christians are saved by and carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us:

Matthew 10:11-15 … And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

We carry immortal words and an amazing Gospel. We are to share this Gospel with every person. If they will not receive that Word, then we are to shake the dust from our feet – and move on. The world of darkness does not understand the ministry of Jesus Christ. The religious person believes they are going to Heaven because they are better than those they stand next to. The self righteous person believes that they have all the answers. The world believes humanism, Darwinism, science, anything but Christ. But Jesus tells us that we are to go into the world, but to not let that world enter into us. He said:

Matthew 10:16-17 … Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men …

The world will never understand the light that is Jesus Christ. We must never compromise with the darkness. On my website I never allow comments to be posted. Why? Because I have seen other websites with a comments section with nothing but darkness in it. God calls us to shine, to be the light of the world. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). When we love as Jesus loved then we have fulfilled the Law – for love toward others fulfills the Law (Romans 13:8-13).

I am praying for Ahmaud Arbery’s family. It is the darkness of sin that took his life. I am praying for those who took Ahmaud’s life. If they die in their sins without Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will spend an eternity in hell. But I am also praying for Christ’s Church that we not be caught up in the darkness, but that we love as Christ has loved us. After all, did He not say? …

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Ahmaud‘s killers need Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So do we all. We will all stand before God one day, and give an account for our lives. If Jesus Christ was to us no more than a “Facebook Friend” or a hobby that we occasionally dabbled in, then we have no hope for Heaven. Christ must be our “all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:6; 15:28; Ephesians 1:23). May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen!