The Bible is a collection of ancient writings that tell the story of God's guidance offered to human beings on earth, who have come to place their own will above that of their creator. The story develops through thousands of years, beginning with the eviction of very first humans from the idyllic Garden of Eden for disobdience to God. After humans propagate the earth for hundreds of years, God visits a man named Abraham to lead humans back to His divine will. God makes a promise to Abraham: faithfulness to God will be rewarded with a homeland in Caanan and prosperity for Abraham and his descendants. Within a few generations, however, there is a severe drought in the land of Canaan and Abraham's entire clan migrates to Egypt. And within a few more generations, the Hebrew clan finds itself enslaved to the Egyptians.
Even under slavery in Egypt, the Hebrews continue to grow in number and eventually God empowers Moses to lead the people out of slavery and back to their promised land. Moses visits Mt. Sinai along the way and is given the 10 Commandments to define for his people what faithfulness to God entails. The migration becomes bloody, however, when Moses, acting as God's agent, slaughters thousands of his own people for worshipping the gods of other tribes. The bloodshed continues as the Hebrews seize land and power from the other inhabitants of Canaan. In each of these campaigns, God empowers the successors of Moses and directs their undertakings.
After several generations of rule by their religious leaders, the Hebrew people decide they want to have a king, like so many of the tribes they contend with. The prophet Samuel consults with God, and God reluctantly grants their wish. There are inevitable power struggles between the first two kings, Saul and David, but David and his son Solomon find God's favor, and Solomon's reign, marked by the building of the temple at Jerusalem, represents the golden age of the Hebrew kingdom.
The glory of Solomon fades quickly, as subsequent kings are as likely to violate God's law as to follow it. At the same time we see a paradigm shift with regard to the relationship between God and the Hebrew leaders. God speaks not to the kings, but to prophets who raise their voices in opposition to the iniquity of the kings. As the Hebrew kingdom declines, the prophets promise a new King David, a Prince of Peace whose kingdom will last forever, that will lead the people back to God. As corruption persists among the Hebrew kings, the Hebrews are eventually conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the temple is destroyed, and the Hebrews are hauled off to Babylon in exile.
A few generations later, the Hebrews return to their homeland and are allowed to rebuild their temple. Over the next several hundred years, however, their kingdom remains under occupation by foreign empires -- first the Syrians, then the Greeks, and finally the Romans. A hundred years or so before Christ, the Macchabees have some success in a military rebellion against their oppressors. But their success is short-lived, and at the time of Jesus Christ's birth, Judea is occupied by the Roman army. The Hebrews are allowed to practice their religion, but they have no military power. The religious authorities and King Herod have some judicial power over the Hebrews, but they are subordinate to the Romans. In exchange for religious freedom, they are expected to help enforce allegiance to Ceasar among their people. A statue of Augustus Ceasar, referred to as the Abomination of Desolation, stands at the gate of the temple.
It seems likely that the Hebrew people longed for a savior that, like Judas Macchabeus, would lead a military rebellion to drive the Roman Pagans out of their homeland. But Jesus calls us to follow another path, the way of peace, along which we love our neighbors as ourselves. We are even asked to love our enemies, and to do good to those who persecute us. At the same time, he offers us eternal life in the Kingdom of God, where justice is accomplished, where the last are first and the first last, where the poor and oppressed are rewarded and the oppressors are subject to judgment. Jesus tells us to repent of our wrongdoings and to love and forgive those who trespass against us, that we ourselves may be worthy of forgiveness.
It seems paradoxical that Jesus' harshest words are directed to the Hebrew religious and political authorities. But these leaders had become preoccupied with their own status and power in the world. Like so many of the Hebrew kings before them, they were seduced by the power of men; they had lost touch with the Kingdom of God. While Jesus does not hesitate to condemn the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees, he also does not suggest the use of force to remove them from power. He continues to heal the sick and to preach repentance, forgiveness, and love for one other. There is no need to resist the evil-doer -- God will ultimately separate the wheat from the chaff. There is no need for humans to usurp God's role in the implementation of justice.
Jesus frequently used parables, metaphor, and even hyperbole in his teaching and preaching, sometimes to the confusion and consternation of his disciples. All doubt about the meaning of his command to love our enemies, however, is removed by the example of his actions in the last few days of his life on earth. After a triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, accompanied by a crowd of thousands of followers, the religious leaders become concerned about the risk of insurrection. They meet and decide that Jesus is too great a threat to their delicate power-sharing agreement with their Roman oppressors, and that he must be put to death. Jesus allows himself to be taken without resistance when the chief priests send a band of armed men to apprehend him. He even rebukes a disciple for attacking one of his apprehenders with a sword. He offers few words in his own defense when being questioned about the charges against him by Hebrew King Herod and Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. He allows himself to be scourged and crucified by the Roman soldiers, and as he is dying on the cross, he asks God to forgive his executioners.
On the night before his death, Jesus told his disciples they would have trouble in the world, but not to worry, for he had conquered the world. This prophecy was fulfilled a few days later by his resurrection. Human authorities may claim to have the power of life and death over the people of the world, but they are powerless in the Kingdom of God, where life is eternal. The Roman and Hebrew leaders exercised their ultimate power to end the life of Jesus, only to find themselves subject to judgment in God's kingdom by the very person they executed. Jesus calls us to make the Kingdom of God manifest on earth by keeping his word, by following his example of forgiveness and love for all. God alone has the power of life and death over humans, and no human authority can legitimately usurp that power. We must bear witness to truth in all our words and actions, but we should never presume to be the administrators of God's justice on earth. We are called by the Gospel to the Way of Peace -- the Good News is that we don't have to kill each other.