Those Boneheaded Apostles | Dr. Randy White | April 30, 2023
Is there a “Christian consensus” that sometimes overrides what the Bible actually says? I think there is. In fact, I think it is so strong that the Christian community is even willing to sit idly while its scholars accuse the apostles of being patently wrong. I find this especially true in the area of teaching about the Kingdom of God. Let’s look at two passages that seek to prove my point.
Mark 10:37-44 | A Request for power
The account of James and John seeking a power-position in the Kingdom of God is well-know, and enlightening. It is sometimes used to show the “carnal” nature of the Apostles, and the “spiritual” nature of the Kingdom.
R.T. France says, “it is probably asking too much of James and John to expect them yet to have worked out a theology of victory through the cross.” Rodney Cooper says, “they misunderstood what kind of kingdom Jesus had come to establish.” A.T. Robertson says, “They are looking for a grand Jewish world empire with apocalyptic features in the eschatological culmination of the Messiah’s kingdom. That dream brushed aside all the talk of Jesus about his death and resurrection as mere pessimism.”
Notice that each one of these comments is derogatory toward the apostles and dismissive of the “physical kingdom” doctrine. This derogatory commentary on the apostles is typical in Christian teaching, especially as it relates to their Kingdom understanding.
Were James and John looking for a physical kingdom? It would be hard to interpret the Scripture in any other way. Did Jesus rebuke them for looking for such? While He did rebuke them for their lack of humility, He did not rebuke them for their Kingdom views. In fact, He acknowledged these positions of power to be a reality (v. 40).
So, if we want to chastise the Apostles, it will have to be over arrogance, not ignorance.
Acts 1:6-7 | The Quickest Place To Throw The Apostles Under The Bus
To see the apostles collectively and quickly “thrown under the bus” by the scholars, make your way to Acts 1:6-7.
When the apostles ask about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, it causes many commentators to “blow a gasket.”
Let’s consider what had been going on. Jesus had just spent 40 days with his disciples after His resurrection, teaching them about the nature of the kingdom of God. Furthermore, the disciples had been present for Jesus' teachings about the kingdom for 3 ½ years prior to the 40-day seminar. In addition, the disciples based on their understanding of the kingdom not only on the teachings of Jesus, but also of the Hebrew scriptures, which gave a Jewish expectation of a restored Davidic kingdom. With all this, does it seem reasonable that they would ask about a political kingdom? I think so!
In fact, it would be difficult to convincingly argue that the disciples' understanding of the kingdom was either wrong or deficient. To do so would, it seems, throw doubt on the Hebrew prophetic teachings of the kingdom and the teaching abilities of Jesus, their teacher.
But look what happens! Polhill says that prophecies “were interpreted in nationalistic terms that saw a general outpouring of the Spirit on Israel as a mark of the final great messianic Day of the Lord when Israel would be “restored” to the former glory of the days of David and Solomon. Jesus corrected the disciples by directing them away from the question.” Hendrickson says, “In spite of Jesus’ emphasis on a spiritual kingdom, at the time of his ascension the disciples express their burning desire to be liberated from foreign oppression and implore him to restore the kingdom to Israel..” Gangle, “The disciples’ question revived their political goals, an ideal they could never quite stifle. Throughout the Gospels they wanted Jesus to throw off the iron hand of Rome, tell the nation he was their Messiah, and set up the kingdom. Surely now that he had risen from the dead and instructed his troops, it was time for the rebellion to begin.” The UBS handbook says that by the question “they indicate that they are still conditioned by the Jewish expectation of a national kingdom to be set up on earth.” Chrysostom says, “Indeed, to me it appears that they had not any clear notion of the nature of that kingdom.” And Packer brazenly proclaims, “Their stupidity is incredible. They had been carefully taught for three whole years, yet were as ignorant as if they had never heard a thing! There are as many errors in this question as words! The apostles ask about a kingdom but dream of an earthly kingdom, rolling in wealth, with every luxury, outward peace, and so on. …Therefore, as soon as the apostles saw their Master risen from the dead, they began to think about this kingdom—and at once revealed what poor pupils they had been.”
Conclusion
I am convinced that there is not a single passage in Acts through Revelation that teaches a “universal” or “spiritual” or “already/not yet” Kingdom of God. Every passage teaches a coming kingdom that is not here.
But I’m also convinced that the Christian world is committed to the core to the spiritual kingdom idea. So much so that they will accuse the apostles of stupidity and ignorance. What a sad state of affairs!
Ephesians 2:20 says that our doctrinal system in the Body of Christ is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Yet they consistently allow those apostles and prophets to be accused of folly in regards to one of the most important things of the Bible.
