He saved others; himself he could not save...

Easter 2013 video by yours truly:

 

 

Transcript:
“He saved others; himself he could not save…” (Matthew 27:42)
I cannot help but wonder if this phrase did not stick in the minds of those early disciples after Jesus died on the cross.
Some of his disciples had been with him for nearly his entire ministry, and believed almost as soon as they saw him.  Many went to their friends declaring that they had “found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write…” (John 1:45)
They were there when he boldly instructed multitudes, and quietly taught those that sought him by night.  These people were among those that were “…astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29)
They had seen him feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes.  They had seen him make lame men walk, deaf men hear, and blind men see.  They had followed him when others accused him of blasphemy, tried to kill him, or simply asked him to leave them alone.
Some of them had experienced the terror of being caught in a storm at sea and appealed to him saying “carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38)  In amazement they had watched as he commanded the winds and the waves to be at peace, and saved them.
They had listened to his thunderous condemnation of the scribes and hypocrites, and seen him overthrow the tables of money changers in the temple.  They had heard him compassionately stop to help those who desperately sought healing, and to mercifully promise peace and forgiveness even to those who had made poor decisions in their pasts.
They heard him command Lazarus to come out of his tomb, and had watched in shock and awe when he that had died came out alive and whole.
After he had been betrayed by Judas, some of them had seen as Pontius Pilate washed his hands and let his enemies torture him.  It had been too late to do anything when they watched the soldiers drive nails into his hands and feet.  Even as he died, his enemies declared those hurtful words, “…he saved others; himself he could not save…”
For some of his disciples, there was nothing left to do but pay respects.  The man they had believed to be the redeemer of the world had been killed.
After he died, several of the women who had believed in him went to the tomb in which he had been sealed, only to find the stone had been rolled away.  To their surprise, they saw two men in shining raiment near the entrance.  The men asked them “why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen…” (Luke 24:5-6)
They might as well have asked “did you actually believe what those men said?  Did you think he could not save himself?” 
Most of the women went to tell the apostles, but Mary Magdalene wept near the tomb, perhaps thinking that an enemy had taken his body to further disgrace him.  In her grief, she perceived a man that asked her why she was weeping.  Thinking that he was the gardener, she asked to know where the body of Jesus had been taken.  As he called her by name, she turned and realized the truth.  Standing before her was Jesus Christ himself, alive and well.
Over time, many disciples saw him and came to the same understanding as Mary did on that first Easter morning.  The words of the enemies of Christ might have seemed convincing… “he saved others; himself he could not save…”  But the truth was that he did save himself.  Even death was not sufficiently strong to stop the Son of God.
Though centuries have come and gone, the man that beat death itself is as alive today as he was then.  His power has not waned with the passing of time.  Though skeptics and enemies of Christ would have Christians despair, especially on Easter, we would do well to remember that the champion of right has not yet completed his plan.  Jesus Christ lives… and he is coming to save us all.

Credits:
Narration and recording on a mediocre microphone, done by me.
Artwork:
Various
Video Music:
Epic moving hearfelt beautiful dramatic trailer score by Audiomachine - Helios! 'Like' their official page on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/audiomachine Title: Apollo's Triumph Artist: Audiomachine Composer: Paul Dinletir (ASCAP) Album: Helios Genre: Epic Beautiful Intense Dramatic Orchestral Trailer Score Image: http://dinesiac.deviantart.com/galler... Website: http://www.audiomachine.com/ Buy Audiomachine's public music here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/audiomachine http://itunes.apple.com/de/artist/aud... http://www.amazon.de/s?ie=UTF8&se...

Let your hypocrisy so shine before men

In Jesus Christ's most famous sermon, he declared "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

In the following chapter, Christ seems to completely withdraw this concept in favor of being secretive in doing good to avoid hypocrisy:
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." (Matthew 6:1-8)

These two concepts seem mutually exclusive.  On the one hand, God wants people to openly stand for what is right by doing good publicly... on the other hand, God wants us to hide our good deeds to be rewarded for them, and to avoid being as the hypocrites are.  How can Christians reconcile these two points?

These points seem especially important in the field of missionary work.  Every Christian has a responsibility to witness for Christ.  Consider the words in the New Testament: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." (1 Peter 3:15-16)  Also, these words from the Book of Mormon that expound on the commitment made in baptism: "...and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God..." (Mosiah 18:9)  Also, contemporarily, consider the words in the Doctrine and Covenants: "Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." (D&C 88:81)

If Christians follow the advice of Paul to Timothy when he said "be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12), how can we simultaneously heed the words of Christ to do good in secret?

More to the point, how can a Christian ask someone else to follow Christ when they themselves are guilty of not following him as well as they should?  Did Christ not repeatedly and vehemently condemn such hypocrisy?

The answer is that he did condemn such hypocrisy.  The Pharisees were frequently subjects of such condemnation.  They openly prayed, gave alms, and fasted... which were all things that God had commanded.  Christ pointed out that they paid tithes, but devoured widows' houses and tolerated swearing by altar, as long as they did not swear by the gifts on it. (Matthew 23)

Of course every person that encourages someone else to make correct choices except for Christ himself takes on a degree of the same hypocrisy that Christ condemned, because every other person is guilty of sin.

Fortunately, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, even hypocrites can be saved.  Avoiding hypocrisy is not a valid excuse to put one's light under a bushel.  

Consider the parable of the talents.  (Matthew 25)  The servant that had received one talent hid it in the ground for fear of losing it.  When the Lord returned, he was displeased with the servant.  He had not given that servant a talent to be buried away... but to be used.  I suggest that the talent is symbolic of many things, and that one of them is knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The word gospel means good news... and news is meant to be spread, not to be buried or hoarded away.

Additionally, Christ declared that the greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-40)  When we arrive at the judgment bar of Jesus Christ, can anyone imagine that he would be pleased with those who refuse to share the message that cost his life and the lives of his Apostles?  Can anyone suppose that a valid excuse for withholding knowledge that could bring peace, hope, and joy from others would be "I wanted to avoid being hypocritical"?

I do not believe that God wants people to wait until they have eliminated every flaw before they share the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.  Of course, in connection with sharing the message that Jesus has power to save everyone, Christians are obligated to do all they can to eliminate those aspects of their thoughts, words, and deeds that are unchristian, but fulfilling the obligation is not prerequisite to sharing the message.

Furthermore, sharing the message of Christ does not require a Christian to loudly pray in restaurants or malls, or to announce their charitable contributions, or to babble in tongues before large audiences, or even divulging every personal spiritual experience.  There are some experiences that are intended to emphasize the personal connection between an individual and God.  Christ's power is not extended to the children of men to make them look good... it is extended to save them all.

The thing of which a Christian can be sure though, is that every person that they will ever meet has need of faith, penitence, and ordinances as prescribed by God.  The thing of which a Christian cannot be sure is whether others already know this, or whether they may need some encouragement.  Whether offered by men or God, it is a divine effort to make bad men good, and good men better.

With all the love in my heart, you're going to go to hell...

"Judge not that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1)

The passage about judgement is often quoted.  Some use the passage to persuade others to express Christian love and fellowship toward others.  Some use the passage ironically to condemn those that they believe are guilty of judgement.

Regardless of the purpose, the use of the passage has increased in society over the past several decades.  People are in generally more concerned with how people view one another than ever before.

I have had several individuals express particular concern over a certain demographic is treated.  Many people are worried about the feelings of individuals that struggle with a particular problem, and are worried that they are frequently and wrongfully judged.  Of course the group to which I am referring are those that struggle with smoking.

I know of people that are very kind, generous, God fearing, and virtuous, but that struggle with the terrible habit of smoking.  Many of these people go out of their way to try to keep the odor of tobacco away from those of us who find it distasteful.  These individuals can be sensitive to the disapproving looks of others.  There are some of these who feel ostracized even when they are honestly putting forth effort to stop this expensive and unhealthy habit.

For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, there is on top of the negative odor, a spiritual aspect to the the practice, as it is prohibited by divine commandments called the word of wisdom.  For people in the LDS church, the smell of cigarettes is the smell of sinful behavior.  There are some who find the look of disgust on the faces of others to be a sign of judgment.  Of course, every person who gives such looks of disgust are themselves guilty of sins, even if they are not detectable by scent.  A good Christian should not assume that more obvious sins are the same as more obvious condemnation.

On the other side of the coin is the person who is accused of being judgemental when in fact, they may be making no spiritual assessment at all.  I have had close friendships with individuals who used cigarettes, but not even my friendship can remove the foul odor that lingers on the breath and clothing of those that smoke.  My belief that smokers are good people can't remove the expression of repulsion from my face.

There are those that do not find the odor of cigarettes to be distasteful.  In such a case, imagine an individual that has explosive diarrhea leaking out of their clothing...   how should a Christian express love and a spirit of inclusion to such a person who is extremely repulsive?  Even if the Christian is able to purge their thoughts of any judgmental thoughts such as that person should control them self better or that person is not appropriately caring for their bodies, what if they are unable to force a smile and give the sensation that the person who smells like an outhouse is truly welcome? 

Back to the cigarettes, is a person being judgmental if they avoid coming into a home that is filled with smoke?  Are they being judgmental if they avoid letting their children go to such a home because of concerns about second-hand smoke?

What is the right approach to tell someone that their behavior or status makes you uncomfortable without giving the impression that you are saying "with all the love in my heart, you're going to go to hell" ?

Christ spent his time among publicans and sinners, much to the disapproval of the Pharisees.  Of course, when asked about his company, he responded as follows:
"And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9:11-13)

From this passage we get the implication that he was not simply "hanging out" with people, but he was asking them to change their behavior, or to call sinners to repentance.

Additionally, Christ did not seem ashamed to tell people that they were wrong, or even worse off than others.  Consider the following:
"... Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."  (Matthew 21:31-32)

Deriving appropriate behavior exclusively from Christ may be more challenging than it initially appears.  Jesus Christ will actually be the judge of all people, and he will have all the appropriate knowledge and authority to accurately threaten people with hellfire and damnation.  The rest of us are not always entitled to the same degree of perception.  Perhaps this is the purpose that Christ emphasized loving neighbor as self, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, and demonstrating discipleship through love.

That having been said, disciples are not to tolerate sin.  Joshua's armies in the Old Testament were not successful against the people of Ai until Achan and all his household were killed and their remains burned because they had kept some of the spoils of Jericho. (Joshua 7)  The spirit of forgiveness seemed lessened in the New Testament case of Ananias and Sapphira when they misrepresented their income and did not give as much of their substance to the apostles as they should have. (Acts 5)

Ultimately, the concept of judgment is complicated.  Christians have an obligation to be benevolent and welcoming, but also an obligation to stand for truth and righteousness.  I suggest that the exact way to act in every case cannot be boiled down to a formula.  To one person or group it may be appropriate to say repent or be destroyed.  To another it is appropriate to say God is merciful and he will forgive.  An individual effort must be made to stand against wrongdoing, just as individual effort must be made to welcome, forgive, and express love to those that may be guilty of wrongdoing.  In such efforts, following the conscience is the best way to determine the approach that expresses love toward fellow children of God and encourages repentance of unacceptable behavior.

In the end, God wants all people to love one another and to repent of wrongdoing.  It is possible to hate the sin and love the sinner, because it is what he does.  The message for the person who is quick to judgement is to be more loving.  The message for the person who accepts any behavior to be inclusive is to stand up for what is right.  The message for the person who feels upset because other people are judging them is to try not to take all reactions personally, and to try to follow their conscience in efforts to improve themselves.  God does not judge so that he can condemn mankind to hell... he's trying to save us all.