Conquest…a different method?

“And having disarmed the powers & authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  Colossians 2:15

A new method of conquest.  Not a conventional one, nor a popular one.  The way of sacrifice.  The way of the servant.  The way of God.  It was a conquest.  Jesus won a major battle.  No doubt about it.  But it was a different method.  A method that got Jesus murdered, mocked, ridiculed, spat upon, and yet glorified, praised, worshipped, and loved. 

The way of the cross.  This is part of the Gospel.  This new method of conquest is littered all throughout the New Testament.  We especially see it in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  For instance,

“Blessed are the meek/gentle, for they shall inherit the earth/land.” Mt. 5:5

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Mt. 5:7

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Mt. 5:9

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Mt. 5:44

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mt. 16:24 (I must suggest that this denying of self, is far greater than behavioral modifications.  It is a denial of self for the betterment of others.  The way of Jesus.  We are to follow Him, His ways.  How how He is to God and to people)

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you (disciples).  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Mt. 20:25-28

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (neighbor includes everyone within your reach to love).  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets.”  Mt. 22:37-39

You probably realized that I have only pulled passages out of Matthew.  Let that serve as an example that more can be found in the other 3 Gospels.  Further, there are numerous passages in the other letters of the New Testament about this, I will record just one though:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!”  Philippians 2:3-8

The conquest is by servanthood.  By living your life in order to be a blessing.  This is the way of Jesus.  This is, or should be, the heartbeat of Christianity.  We should live by a different method.

The way of Jesus is against empire-building, which Christendom has been known to be part of.  Taking things by force or by conversions for the sake of conversions instead of love.  The conquest of Jesus was done by sacrifice.  It was done by servanthood, by tangible and intangible expressions of love.  The conquest refused to fight the powers & authorities on their terms & by their methods.  He defeated them by appearing to be defeated, as it were.  But it was the cross, now a symbol of sacrifical love, that disarmed them, nothing else.  It was the only way.  It was the way of God.  We are called to follow that way, and furthermore, Jesus promises to call us His sons and daughters when we do follow that way.  This is the Life of the King who reigns in the Kingdom of God.

The cross is the diarming weapon of choice.  It is important to understand two things here.  First, the powers & authorities were disarmed by sacrifical love.  Second, still, the way of the cross is the only way to build God’s Kingdom.  It supersedes conversions, it is opposed towards empire seeking Christianity.  It is a love activator.  It builds up inwardly and transforms lives and societies.  This is the reign of God.

For additional study on this, read Luke 4:1-13, and notice that Jesus is showing us the way of God by refusing those specific temptations.  More on that later.