There are some dates
that seem to be seared in our mind as a culture. Dates like July 4th
and December 25th are dates that are seared in our collective
consciousness and provoke a collective response as a culture. Another date that
is seared in our consciousness and that provoke a collective response as a
culture is September 11th. Simply mention the date “September 11th”
and a mental image immediately comes to mind doesn’t it? And collectively as a
culture, September 11th provokes an image to mind and provokes a
collective response in our minds.
However, for some
people, September 11th provokes another image to mind. You see, on
September 11th 2012, eleven years after the events
of September 11, 2001, which most people associate the date September 11th,
Christopher Stevens, who was stationed as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, was
killed when the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by
radical Islamic terrorists. The events surrounded Stevens death were portrayed
in the movie “13 hours the secret soldiers of Benghazi”.
And while the deaths of Christopher Stevens and those
who tried to protect and save Stephens in 2012 were different in size, scope,
and location, than the deaths of almost 3,000 civilians in 2001, the response
to both events that occurred on September 11th was very similar.
Americans across the political, social, and cultural spectrum called for a
swift and devastating response, many advocating for military intervention.
But this call for swift and devastating response was
not limited to those who lived in the United States. For example, the London
Telegraph proclaimed "Put bluntly, the destruction of diplomatic premises
resulting in the murder of an ambassador would amount to an act of war." But
why did the death of Christopher Stevens provoke such a collective response
across the world? Why would the death of Christopher Stevens provoke such a
similar response to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people?
I mean, while both events were tragic reminders of the
forces of evil and violence in the world, the difference in the size and the
scope of the evil should have resulted in a similar difference in terms of the
universal response that such evil provoked. But both acts of evil and terrorism
provoked a nearly identical outcry for war. But why was that the case?
The reason for the collective outcry for war when it
came to the death of Christopher Stevens was based on the position that he held
as an Ambassador for the United States. You see, an ambassador, by very
definition, is a representative of someone or something who speaks or acts on
their behalf.
In Christopher Stevens case, as Ambassador of the
United States, his responsibility was to represent the President of the United
States and to speak on behalf of the United States. And because of that
reality, the brutal assassination of Christopher Steven was viewed as an
assassination of Barack Obama, who was the President of the United States. And
throughout human history, to attack an ambassador in such a way has always been
viewed as an act of war.
What I find so fascinating about this concept of an
ambassador is that we find this very concept in the letters that make up the
Bible. So for the next two weeks we are going to answer the questions “what is
the position of an ambassador?” and “What is the mission of an ambassador?”
Now you may not buy the
whole Jesus, Bible, church thing. You might not be sure about whether or not
there is a God, let alone whether you should follow Him or live for Him. If I
have just described you, I just want to let you know that you are off the hook
when it comes to what we are going to talk about. If you do not buy the whole Jesus Bible,
church, thing, you do not have to do anything that we are going to talk about.
However,
what you will discover is that there is a reason why followers of Jesus are
commanded by Jesus to do what they do when it comes to engaging you. And there
is a way that followers of Jesus are supposed to do what they do when it comes
to engaging you. And my hope for you is that you would see what Jesus calls His
followers to do when it comes to engaging you so that you can see how Jesus
feels about you and what He calls His followers to do, and what Jesus calls His
followers not to do, when it comes to engaging you and inviting you to follow
Jesus.
Now
this week I would like for us to answer the first question that we are going to
address during this series, which is “what is the
position of an ambassador?” And we find the answer to that question in a
section of a letter that was written by a man we know today as the Apostle Paul
that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 2
Corinthians.
Just prior to the section of the letter that we are
going to jump into, Paul had explained how living with an eternal perspective that is based on God’s
promises and built on faith impacted His daily life as a follower of Jesus.
Paul explained that his ambition, what he aspired to do, whether while living
life here on earth or in Heaven for all eternity with Jesus, was to be pleasing
to Him. Paul explained that the reason why he had this ambition was due to the
fact that he would appear in Heaven after his death to give an account for his
life as a follower of Jesus to Jesus.
Upon appearing before
Jesus at the end of his life, Paul explained that he, along with all humanity,
will be held accountable and responsible for what they have accomplished on
earth, whether to advance His kingdom mission or to hinder His kingdom mission.
All humanity will receive from Jesus what we have earned by how they invested their
time, treasure, and talents toward His kingdom mission.
And because of that
reality, Paul explained that he was driven to persuade as many people as
possible of the reality that at the end of their life they would be held accountable
for how they lived their lives in relationship to God and others. And it is in
this context that we are going to jump into this letter together, beginning in
2 Corinthians 5:14-15. Let’s look at it together:
“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one
died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that
they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and
rose again on their behalf.
The Apostle Paul begins
this section of his letter to the members of the church at Corinth by providing
the motivation that drove him and other early followers of Jesus to share the
claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with those who were far from
God. When Paul uses the word controls here, this word, in the language that
this letter was originally written in, literally means to compel or to
motivate.
Paul’s point was that
the love of Jesus drove him to tell others about Jesus. The love of Jesus
compelled and motivated Paul and other early followers of Jesus to share God’s
message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel
throughout the known world.
Paul then explained
and unpacked the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the members
of the church at Corinth. And that message was that Jesus, as our
representative and substitute, died for all. As our representative and
substitute, Jesus died on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and
rebellion. Jesus selflessly placed humanity before Himself as He placed Himself
on the cross in our place.
And the reason that
Jesus died for all, was so that all died. But what does that mean? Paul provides that answer to that question in
verse 15, when he states that He died for all, so that they who
live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again
on their behalf.
Paul’s point to the
members of the church at Corinth, and to followers of Jesus throughout history,
is that just as Jesus placed humanity before Himself as He placed Himself on
the cross in our place, as followers of Jesus we are to place Jesus before
ourselves and live our lives in way that reveals and reflects Jesus and that is
engaged in the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus. As followers
of Jesus, the selfless love of Jesus should compel and motivate us to live our
lives in a way that places Jesus as large and in charge of our lives and that
shares that claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with those around us
who are far from God.
Tomorrow we will see
Paul further unpack how the love of Jesus compelled and motivated Paul and
other early followers of Jesus to share God’s message of rescue through the
claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout the known world…
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