Here we would be looking at Israel. What was God really after with them? Was he after their worship (sacrifices) and their religious obligations and ceremonies?
"“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!”" (Isa 1:11-14).
"‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." (Isa 58:3-7).
Several times God complain about their sacrifices and religious ceremonies when they ignore the main thing he is really after. God wanted to use Israel to produce a picture of his reign (Kingdom). God is righteous, and his reign is the reign of righteousness. Hence, the Kingdom of God is the reign of righteousness. So God is not happy when the people are so busy worshipping him that they ignore the reign of righteousness. God wanted the world to have a picture, a type, of his Kingdom on earth.
"Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer." (1Sam 8:4-7).
It was never really about worship and the blood of sacrifices. It was never really about their self-righteousness and their pious living. God wanted to be their king. He wanted his reign on earth. The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about God coming to be their king and setting up his Kingdom on earth through Israel. Generations and generations of the Israelites lived with an earnest expectation to see the Messiah come and establish the Kingdom of God in Israel.
The Kingdom is the reason God called Abraham, chose Israel, constitute them as a nation, gave them their religion and national identity. And when finally the Messiah came, he declared that he is the fulfillment of all the law and writings of the prophets. That means everything in the whole Old Testament — all the laws, the religion, the history and the identity of the nation Israel — only existed for the coming of the King and the Kingdom. And when the King came it was all fulfilled, completed and finished.
No wonder the Jews struggled to accept this. How can you say their religion and national identity has become irrelevant because Jesus had come? The whole saga in the Old Testament is geared toward this one thing, "thy Kingdom come". And then Jesus came and declared, "the Kingdom is already among you" (Luke 17:21). When we come to the New Testament we see the predominant of the use of Kingdom term.
The new testament people called themselves "the ecclesia". This ecclesia is the word translated as church in many English versions of the Bible. Ecclesia is a government. It is not a religious assembly but a governmental assembly. The word gospel is also a governmental and military word in the first century. Even salvation speaks of being delivered from one kingdom or government to another.
"He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son." (Col 1:13).
When we became saved we were translated from one kingdom realm to another, not necessarily from one religion to another. This thing called Christianity is not about religion, worship, rituals and ceremonies. It is rather about Kingdom, government, power, reign and dominion. The early Christians didn't know they've started a new religion. Their intention was not to start a new religion. God's intention was not to start a new religion either. The early Christians still saw themselves as adherent of Judaism. Yes, Judaism remained their religion while Christianity was their government.
"Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, teaching that there is another king named Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7).
The apostles were not going about teaching a new religion. Rather they were teach about a new King, a new government and a new Kingdom.
What Is Christianity (Part 1): From The First
What Is Christianity (Part 2): Kingdom, City and a Bride
What Is Christianity (Part 3): Man's Perception Of Religion
What Is Christianity (Part 5): The Origin Of Worship Service
What Is Christianity (Part 6): Towards A New Structure
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