Jesus spoke about God in a way that no one had ever done. His revelations of the character of God were so profound that those who heard him speak remarked that no man had ever spoken like he did.
John 7 (KJV)
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⁴⁶ The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
⁴⁷ Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
⁴⁸ Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
⁴⁹ But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
It is clear from the remark of the Pharisees that Jesus said things that were contrary to the law, and they testified that those who believed him were people who were not versed in the law for they would have rejected his teachings because of its disparity with the things written in the Torah.
Need I mention that the crux of Jesus’ conversations was on the revelation of God, his love for everyone without discrimination, and our oneness with him.
While the Pharisees and Sadducees of the day regurgitated the written character of “God” in the Torah, Psalms, and Prophets, Jesus poised himself as the living, breathing, walking, and talking manifestation of the true God.
The Pharisees had so much concern about his new doctrine that on multiple occasions, they tested the wisdom of his teachings against the Torah like in the case of the woman caught in adultery.
From plain teachings to parables, Jesus spoke about the Father of light; and those who considered his words saw a God of love even in the face of human shortcomings.
One such parable that spoke a thousand words about how differently the Father of Light behaves in contrast to the God that national Israel knew from experience is the parable of the prodigal son.
I believe you are familiar with the parable as recorded in Luke 15:11-32.
Following the context of the conversation as seen in verses one and two:
Luke 15 (KJV)
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¹ Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
² And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
They had an issue with the fact that Jesus received sinners and had a deep communion with them as signified by eating with them.
The Greek word translated “Received” means to admit and be hospitable towards a person. So, Jesus responded to them with parables to show the behavior of the Father as opposed to the behavior of the God they had always known from the records in the Torah and the experiences they had.
Let me highlight key traits of the true God in contrast to the false God as presented in this parable.
The Father in the parable of the prodigal son represents God, the prodigal son represents sinners, and the elder son represents righteous people according to the law.
Narrating a story that presents the unrighteous son and the righteous son as offspring of the same father puts a dent in the revelation of God the children of Israel had.
The Jewish law, as given by their God, prohibits communal association with their brethren who are considered sinners.
This discrimination began at the giving of the law when Moses commanded the children of Israel to kill their brethren who served the molten calf.
Exodus 32 (KJV)
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²⁶ Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
²⁷ And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
²⁸ And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
It then graduated to a law in Israel to kill those who have sinned according to the law.
Deuteronomy 17 (KJV)
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² If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
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⁵ Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
If Jesus was the prominent God of Israel or one who came from him, the Pharisees expected him to abhor sinners and company only with those who were righteous according to the law – but Jesus did differently.
The parable of the prodigal son also revealed the Father giving to the prodigal son even though he was not famous for best behavior like the elder brother.
While the older son expected the Father’s blessings as a reward for his obedience, the Father taught him that receiving his blessings was not based on merit but on sonship.
The Father revealed that those who ask from him, irrespective of their good or bad conduct, will receive from him.
James re-echoed this character of God in his letter.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
— James 1:5 (KJV)
Here is the Oxford dictionary definition of the word “Upbraid.”
verb
find fault with (someone); scold.
So, James teaches that God would give to anyone who asks a thing of him without finding fault with them.
This is exactly what Jesus revealed about the Father in the Sermon on the Mount.
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
— Matthew 5:45 (KJV)
This outplay of love from the Father of the two sons is in stark contrast to how the God that the children of Israel knew acted.
His blessings were conditioned on obedience, and he considered it just to lay curses on his people because they did not observe all his commandments and statutes. (Refer to Deuteronomy 28:15-68) Sadly, they only had 14 blessings for obedience and 54 curses from the Lord God for disobedience.
Still on the parable of the prodigal son.
All the while, the younger son was devouring his father’s possessions with harlots; his father kept on yearning for his return. On seeing him a great way off, his father had compassion on him and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Even while the son was telling the Father that he had sinned against him, his words fell on deaf ears as the Father focused on throwing a party to celebrate his son’s return.
The younger son felt he had sinned against his Father, but his Father didn’t consider his son’s action as a sin against him – this is not how the God of the Jews behaved.
God does not impute sin to mankind.
Sin, in its consciousness and consequence, is an invention of Satan; it is his weapon of domination over man; it is how he gets humanity to live below their identity as sons of God.
There is a lot I have to write about sin in relation to human existence. We will continue the conversation in the next article where I will point a finger at satan in the Old Testament book.
Light is here!
Dr. Destiny Kingston
Destiny Kingston Ministries
#thegodconflict