In the previous article we made the argument that the primary reason why God sent his own Son to earth was to “preach repentance.” We argued there that “primary” referred to sequence or timing, but not to significance. We intimated then that Christ’s offering himself on the cross was of greater significance that was his preaching repentance. Without the death on the cross there could be no salvation from sin. Jesus Christ had to die and be raised again in order to save his chosen people from their sins.
Of necessity, we had also refreshed our understanding of jealousy. Our culture continues to confuse jealousy with envy and thus considers jealousy to be a horrible sin. Shakespearean plays often cite jealousy as the prelude to tragedy, disaster, and death. Reading through the early church fathers, I encountered Clement of Rome (ca. AD 96), who claimed that Adam and Eve “conceived an unrighteous and ungodly jealousy, through which also death entered the world.”1 Clement found jealousy to be a cardinal sin and the primary contributor to the fall. That mentality is still present and prevalent today.
What bothers me is that some of our leading theologians seem to have no awareness of or appreciation for the fact that God tells us that his name is Jealous. Books on systematic theology or on homiletics should at least make mention of this important concept. It is almost as though the word jealousy is a dirty word that should never cross their lips or escape from their computers. However, what the Bible emphasizes we should not ignore.
Against such a background, it may seem strange and even misguided to claim that Christ’s death on the cross is an ultimate act of jealousy. Most pastors and theologians would much prefer that we describe the crucifixion as an ultimate act of love. I would not quarrel with such a statement, but I would want to insist that Jealousy is a more powerful, more emotive word than is love. Love conveys a sense of approval, of kindness, of affection. Love demonstrates a feeling of doing something because you meet my approval standards. By contrast, Jealousy conveys a sense of passionate emotion, of belonging, of powerful possession, of intense desire to protect a personal belonging. Jealousy conveys a sense of willingness to die for you because you are mine. I cannot and will not lose you. I do not approve of what you are doing. In fact, what you are doing and continue to do is evil. I know that you cannot save yourself; therefore, I will be crucified as the only way to save you. I will be your substitute. I will take your place. There is no other way. I love you so much. I will go the ultimate mile because you belong to me!
Jesus and his disciples preached repentance faithfully. Some folks did pretend to repent, sometimes as the easiest route to free fish or a loaf of bread, sometimes as a cure for an illness or injury. On Palm Sunday they lined the road into Jerusalem because they hoped for an overthrow of Rome. But four days later, they chanted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” outside of Pilate’s court. In the face of such orchestrated hostility, Jesus said, in effect, “You are still my people. I am still your God.” Even though you want to see me hang on this cursed tree, I will voluntarily choose to die for you. I choose to save you from your horrible, twisted, distorted selves. You cannot save yourselves. We need to ponder the question: Why did these chosen people, so loved by God, not repent? Why would they not respond positively to Jesus’ most poignant message? Why not say, “I am truly sorry. I beg your forgiveness”?
Simply put, they did not want to repent. They loved what they loved. The story of Rachel comes to mind. When Jacob decides to move back to Canaan, Rachel steals her father Laban’s idols. She hides them in her saddle bag and then prevents detection by fabricating a clever lie (see Gen. 31:32–35). The same kind of attitude is displayed by the Jews who were left in Jerusalem after the first invasion by King Nebuchadnezzar. For generations, God had warned his people about his brooding anger against idolatry. Nebuchadnezzar came with powerful destruction as God’s punishing agent, but the remnant continued to worship a variety of idols, many within the temple itself (see Ezek. 8:1–18).
For most of the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, God’s special people continued in a variety of sins. God had promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after those seventy years, but he would not take them back in their sinful, rebellious condition. To take them back without their having repented would be a disgrace to his holy name. For the sake of his holy name (Ezek. 36:20–23). God the Holy Spirit promises, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezek. 36:26–27, English Standard Version).
In a very real sense, human beings, in and of themselves, cannot repent. Paul makes that point clear in his letter to the Ephesians. He reminds them, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:1, 8–9). That same inability to repent is powerfully illustrated in the story of Pentecost. Without waiting for the apostle Peter to issue a call for repentance, the Holy Spirit goes to work, filling thousands of listeners with that same Holy Spirit and making them receptive to the gospel. Peter follows that amazing event with a sterling call for repentance (Acts 2:38), “so those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). The Holy Spirit’s power and presence guaranteed that there would be repentance.
When we scan the book of Revelation, we see repeated calls for repentance. Jesus Christ comes to five of the seven churches with clarion calls for repentance. Only Smyrna and Philadelphia are spared that sharp rebuke for their sins. When the seven angels poured out the seven bowls of the wrath of God, the recipients of those warnings “cursed the name of God who had the power over these plagues. They did not repent” (Rev. 16:9). That is followed by people who “gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds” (Rev. 16:10–11), That mentality, displayed so graphically in the book of Revelation is acutely prevalent in our society today. It is not uncommon to hear men and women and children cursing God when difficulties come into their lives. That does not represent passive behavior, but willfulness. They are consciously, deliberately displaying their hatred for God, for his law, and for his people.
The Larger Catechism articulates this doctrine so pointedly when it asks,
Q. 27. What misery did the fall bring upon mankind?
A. The fall brought upon mankind the loss of communion with God, his displeasure and curse; so as we are by nature children of wrath, bond slaves to satan, and justly liable to all punishments in this world, and that which is to come.
The Heidelberg Catechism asks a similar but shorter question:
Q. 8. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined to all evil?
A. Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God.
The point is simple and precise: We do not have a free will. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot repent. Apart from the grace of God, we will suffer eternal death in hell. God himself has to intervene. Jesus Christ does not scan the crowds of humanity and pick out the ones who had chosen to believe. He does not embrace the idea of divine foreknowledge, as did the followers of Jacob Arminius. Quite the contrary. At the time of the crucifixion, Jesus Christ was surrounded by “church people” who were demanding his crucifixion because he had supposedly committed blasphemy. Against that display of hatred and anger, the Lord marched steadily up that hill.
His people were not pretty. They were vicious and ugly. They spewed hatred. But they were his people. He had promised his Father that he would suffer and die in order to save them. His death was motivated by intense jealousy. He had to die because they would not and could not repent. They were his people.
But where does that leave us? Do we marvel at his love and do nothing? Do we conclude that there is no point to preaching repentance because of an impossibility of getting results? That should never be our response. We are called to be God’s ambassadors. We, like the apostles, are called to preach repentance. We need to confront sin and rebelliousness, no matter where or when it occurs. We, especially as parents and as pastors need to confront sin even when such confrontation brings rebuttal and persecution.
If we preach repentance, do not expect praise and adoration. Quite the opposite. Expect resistance and hostility. Expect rebuttal and persecution. Do it because repentance is a necessary precursor to salvation. Without repentance, there is no salvation. Do it because you love your neighbor. Do it because God loves you.
1. David L. Smith, With Willful Intent: A Theology of Sin (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1994), 20–21.
Norman De Jong is a semi-retired pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.