Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
"May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!"
For my brothers and companions sake
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
(Psalm 122)
Jerusalem isn't just a place mentioned in Christmas carols, or disputed over in political negotiations. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is praying to usher in justice through the restoring reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. Now THAT is social justice.
Just a poignant nugget of truth to chew on.
If you read anywhere in scripture - Old Testament or New Testament (Torah or Nevi'im or Ketuvim...) - Jerusalem is the vessel God has declared He will use to establish His redemptive purposes. It's amazing when you start to search and find His purposes in this light. I challenge you to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to ask God to reveal what that means wherever you live and whatever work you are doing.
Ah, but the perennial question remains:
ReplyDeleteWill Jesus alone bring peace and justice to His earth- and Jerusalem- or can humans cooperate with Him? If the new Jerusalem is where Jesus will reign, and not the present one (Revelation 21), can humans do anything to affect the reign of Christ in the here and now?
Given what Jesus taught about the kingdom, many people get the concept of social justice incorrectly as it relates to the Kingdom. Consider this passage from old-time biblical scholar G.E. Ladd:
"The Kingdom can draw near to men (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; etc.); it can come (Matt. 6:10; Luke 17:20; etc.), arrive (Matt. 12:28), appear (Luke 19:11), be active (Matt. 11:12). God can give the Kingdom to men (Matt. 21:43; Luke 12:32), but men do not give the Kingdom to one another.
Further, God can take the Kingdom away from men (Matt. 21:43), but men do not take it away from one another, although they can prevent others from entering it. Men can enter the Kingdom (Matt. 5:20; 7:21; Mark 9:47; 10:23; etc.), but they are never said to erect it or to build it. Men can receive the Kingdom (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17), inherit it (Matt. 25:34), and possess it (Matt. 5:4), but they are never said to establish it. Men can reject the Kingdom, i.e., refuse to receive it (Luke 10:11) or enter it (Matt. 23:13), but they cannot destroy it.
They can look for it (Luke 23:51), pray for its coming (Matt. 6:10), and seek it (Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31), but they cannot bring it. Men may be in the Kingdom (Matt. 5:19; 8:11; Luke 13:29; etc.), but we are not told that the Kingdom grows. Men can do things for the sake of the Kingdom (Matt. 19:12; Luke 18:29), but they are not said to act upon the Kingdom itself. Men can preach the Kingdom (Matt. 10:7; Luke 10:9), but only God can give it to men (Luke 12:32). (The Presence of the Future, 193)"
The concept of kingdom must be separated from social justice as it relates to Jerusalem. We must absolutely pray for the peace of Jerusalem, just like we would for any city (Jer. 29 and Babylon). But Jerusalem doesn't get special privilege. Just my own musings...