REVIEWING "THE REAL STORY"
by Richard Burkard
The 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ inspired all sorts of follow-up evangelistic efforts, by Christian denominations large and small. The timing of Mel Gibson's film was perfect for one Church of God group, which had been working on an extensive booklet about the Savior.
Jesus Christ: The Real Story was designed by United Church of God to answer practically any question a seeking person might have about the Lord. It also counteracted the claim by Worldwide Church of God Pastor-General Joseph Tkach that spinoff groups don't really focus on "this Jesus stuff" - the emphasis on Jesus which may have led some WCG members to leave during the 1990's.
I was glad to see UCG publish this booklet, and began digging through it so I could "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (II Pet. 3:18) But as the pages went by, I found myself questioning some of the statements and explanations inside. While the 125-page booklet is based on standard UCG doctrine, does that doctrine stand up to a close review of the Bible?
This article will point out several statements in the booklet worthy of deeper examination, and whether or not they're truly accurate. Our point is not to tear down the booklet's author or any denomination, but to help all readers (there and here) move toward a proper Bible-based understanding of our Savior.
PG. 5 TITLE: "WHO -- AND WHAT -- WAS JESUS CHRIST?"
PAST TENSE? Today's WCG would stop right there and disagree. Several articles after the changes of the 1990's emphasized at some point, usually at the end as if correcting years of error: "It's who IS Jesus!" He's not a past being. He's a present One.
(Yet as I prepared this article in May 2005, the WCG web site featured an article called "Who Was Jesus?" - so take that for what it's worth.)
PG. 8: "'I AM' is related to the personal name for God in the Old Testament.... It is transliterated as 'Jehovah' in some Bible versions."
WHERE'S "THE ETERNAL?" The popular COG phrasing "The Eternal" is NOT here. My own searching through translations found only Moffatt used it. It's an old Church of God tradition, that's rather mysterious in origin.
PG. 8 BOX: "The apostle Paul affirms that the God the Israelites of the Old Testament knew -- the One they looked to as their 'Rock' of strength (see Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:2) -- was the One we know as Jesus Christ."
FATHER AND SON?! Based on this, was Jesus both? Psalm 18:2 has "The Lord" (Jehovah) and "my God" (el). They're two different words -- so could two parts of the God-Family have been under discussion?
PG. 9: "Jesus spoke of Himself as the coming bridegroom (Matthew 25:1)...."
WHERE? This is a parable which many have understood to refer to Jesus coming for His Church. But to flat-out say Jesus "spoke of Himself" that way here is a bit of a stretch with the text.
PG. 11 BOX: "They understood that Jesus was 'the express [exact] image of His [God's] person' (Hebrews 1:3)...."
IF THAT'S SO, then where were Jesus's wings and feathers -- and for that matter, where are ours today? (Psm. 17:8/91:4)
PG. 13: "When Jesus met the women who came to His tomb after His resurrection, they worshipped Him, as did His apostles (Matthew 28:9, 17)."
WHEN? The women clearly did so on a SUNDAY, not the seventh-day Sabbath Churches of God say is commanded for worship -- but it's less clear when the apostles did.
PG. 16: "Paul refers to Jesus in Titus 1:3 and 2:10 as 'God our Savior.'"
FATHER OR SON? To which do these verses refer? God is also called Savior in I Timothy 4:10, Jude 25 (especially seeming to reference the Father) -- and Luke 1:47, before Jesus is even born!
"But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher."
JOHN 13:13! Jesus said it was all right to call him a "Teacher." To be fair, WCG Superintendent of Ministers Dan Rogers also has taken a stance similar to the booklet He did this in sermons based on John 3:1-8 - but Jesus never corrects Nicodemus for calling Christ a teacher.
(Perhaps the issue in the quote is whether Jesus is a HUMAN teacher, as opposed to one from God.)
PG. 18: "He gently chided them...."
HOW DO WE KNOW it was gentle? To hear some COG ministers preach, Jesus was sternly corrective because the disciples didn't get it! (Of course, without the Holy Spirit, how COULD they?)
"....that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me." [Lk. 24:44]
WAS IT? Compared with Matt. 5:18-19, is Jesus saying all WAS fulfilled? The booklet does not address this -- but other UCG literature contends it's NOT all fulfilled until the second coming.
"Peter speaks of the death of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, in Acts 1:20, quoting from Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8...."
DID PETER HAVE the proper context of these verses, since this was stated before the Spirit was given in Acts 2? And can we conclude Judas had a wife and children, based on Psalm 109:8-13? (Also, does this mean there's a "Psalm of Judas?")
PG. 19: "....Peter quotes from Joel 2:28-29. telling us that the sending of the Holy Spirit was a fulfillment of that prophecy (Acts 2:14-18)."
"A" FULFILLMENT -- OR "THE?" Should we assume more than one, if the events of Acts 2:19-21 really haven't happened yet? Also, should we assume from this that women prophesied in Acts 2 -- something COG's normally don't let them do in a church service?
PG. 21 BOX: "In this answer to his prayer, he is told of a period of 70 sevens -- clearly meaning 70 sevens of years in this context, i.e. 70 seven-year periods." [Dan. 9:2]
WHY NOT the "week for a year" principle revealed in Gen. 29:26-30?
PG. 21 BOX: "But the one [decree] that was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C. (Ezra 7:11-26) points us specifically to Christ's ministry."
HOW DO WE KNOW this 457 date is accurate? No backing is offered for it.
PG. 21 BOX: "The Jews of Christ's day were certainly familiar with Daniel's prophecy."
HOW DO WE KNOW the rank-and-file Jews were? The elitists might have been, but would they have passed on this prophecy necessarily to the ordinary worshiper? How widespread was prophecy availability at that time?
PG. 22: "David was the son of Jesse from whom the line would come that would produce Jesus of Nazareth some 30 generations later."
IT'S 27 GENERATIONS, if you accept the account of Matt. 1:6-16 as accurate.
PG. 23: "Moses.... wrote the messianic prophecy that God would raise up a Prophet like himself from among Israel...."
SO? GOD SAID IT -- to Moses! (Deut. 18:17-18)
"Jesus was regarded as a prophet (Matthew 14:5....")
NOT THERE! This verse refers to John the Baptist!
PG. 24 BOX: "The Romans would have known better than to have taken such a census in the dead of winter when.... roads were in poor condition for traveling."
NO REFERENCE is given for this claim.
PG. 25 BOX: "John's father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah.... Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year...."
AN ALTERNATE TIME might have been the Holy Day seasons twice a year, when ALL priests were on duty. Could this have happened then, under Luke 1:8-9?
PG. 27: "Matthew 27:38 tells us that 'two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left.'"
WHAT ABOUT Dean Blackwell's claim in WCG 20 years ago that two OTHERS were crucified as well -- "malefactors" as opposed to robbers? (Lk. 23:32-33, 39; "criminals" in NIV) Has this challenge to the mainstream thinking about Jesus been rejected?
"'Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered...' (Zechariah 13:7) When Jesus was arrested, all His disciples 'forsook Him and fled' (Mark 14:50)."
WHAT ABOUT 14:27 -- where Jesus quotes the verse in Zechariah directly? Do verses 28-30 indicate this did NOT happen with Peter until after he denied Jesus three times?
PG. 30: "God will not compromise with His holy and righteous law. Jesus said that 'one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled' (Matthew 5:18). The penalty for breaking that law will be paid."
WRONG CONTEXT?! Matthew 5:17 refers to Jesus's mission, not law penalties. Besides, doesn't UCG in effect say some jots ARE "passed away" today -- such as animal sacrifices?
PG. 32: "One of the criminals who was crucified with Jesus added his testimony.... 'this Man has done nothing wrong'" [Lk. 23:40-41].
HOW'D HE KNOW THAT? How would this common thief know Jesus did NOT deserve to be at Calvary? This is purely speculation on our part, but could it be he was one of the disciples who "went back and walked no more" with Jesus, from John 6:66?
PG. 43: "John then explains parenthetically how Jesus had already died so that His bones did not need to be broken...." (John 19:31-34)
HUH? The KJV and NIV say "one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side" -- not HAD pierced, as the booklet puts it. (The CEV text comes closest to stating this had occurred already, but still does not say so directly.) So when did Jesus scream, as cited earlier on this page from Matt. 27:50 -- based on a spearing mentioned translations such as the Twentieth Century and the RSV, but not KJV?
PG. 45: "....He certainly couldn't have appeared as One who would inspire His disciples to proclaim that He had been resurrected to a glorious and powerful state. He would've been a severely broken, wounded man...."
WHAT ABOUT the wounds which remained in Jesus's hands and side -- the ones which remained as proof to Thomas? (Jhn. 20:24-27)
"The next day... the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate...." [Mt. 27:62]
ON A SABBATH! The ellipse leaves out the fact that this day "followed the day of the preparation." (KJV) Why would obedient priests be meeting with Pilate on a "Holy Day," instead of conducting a service?
PG. 49: [I Cor. 15:5-8] "How did Paul receive this information? He was acquainted and had spoken with the people involved."
CONJECTURE?! Paul had an encounter with Jesus, remember -- so couldn't He have briefed Paul on His whereabouts?
PG. 51: "Had they all been only participants in a giant hoax, could we believe these men would give their lives for something they knew to be a lie?"
QUESTION-BEGGING. The same claim could be made about followers of cult/sect leaders Jim Jones and David Koresh, for instance.
"His boldness on the Feast of Pentecost was amazing. At the temple he addressed a huge crowd of people..."
HOW DO WE KNOW this was at the temple? Acts 2:1-2 says is they were "in one place.... the whole house."
PG. 56: "Why did Christianity succeed, especially when it was such an exclusivist faith which frowned on syncretism?"
DID IT REALLY? Doesn't Acts 15 reflect an effort to accommodate Gentiles, as opposed to exclusivism -- with nothing commanding circumcision or eating clean meats?
PG. 58: [Matt. 1:20] "...that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
TRANSLATIONS DIFFER. NIV/CEV/Moffatt have "FROM" the Holy Spirit -- KJV has "OF." This matters in light of....
PG. 59: "But since the Holy Spirit engendered Jesus in Mary's womb, how could God the Father be Jesus' Father?"
DID IT REALLY? "Do "come upon" and "overshadow" mean the same thing as "engender?" "Overshadow is NOT a euphemism for 'beget.'" (New Bible Commentary: Revised, 1970 edition, pg. 891) Also, go back to the verse we cited from page 58. What about John 3:6, 8: "the Spirit gives birth to SPIRIT" -- not flesh, the way Churches of God long have argued it? Yet Romans 8:2 says "the Spirit of life" was "in Christ Jesus...." (KJV)
"The Bible nowhere teaches that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person."
II COR. 3:17!?! This verse says, "The Lord is the Spirit...." Do a search for this verse at the UCG web site and you'll find no matches to any articles mentioning it. We address this verse and others in our article on the Holy Spirit.
"....the Arian misinterpretations of phrases like Christ is 'firstborn' (Colossians 1:15) or 'beginning of creation' (Revelation 3:14) are wrong." [fr. Christian Apologetics, Geisler, 1988]
TRANSLATIONS DIFFER. The NIV has "ruler of creation" in Rev. 3:14.
"Christ is 'firstborn' in the sense of being the unique (not created) Son of God." [fr. Christian Apologetics]
COULD THIS MEAN firstborn as in "born anew" -- as spirit, via a resurrection? Churches of God don't like to use the phrase "born again," although UCG accepts "born from above."
PG. 62: "The oneness between the Father and the Word has to do with their complete harmony and agreement in working together -- not that they only constitute one Being...."
WRONG CONTEXT?! This line follows the quoting of John 10:30: "I and my Father are one." But examine how the Jews took that declaration in verse 33: "....you, a mere man, claim to be God." They understood Jesus as saying He WAS God. Jesus's words in verse 38, "the Father is in me, and I in the Father," didn't change their outrage as shown in verse 39.
PG. 66: "He grieved and wept over the mourning of Lazarus's family and friends...."
WAS THAT WHY? Herbert Armstrong and other Church of God ministers have claimed Jesus really wept in John 11:35 because of the lack of faith among the mourners.
"'I can of Myself do nothing' (John 5:30) -- that is, nothing supernatural on His own."
SUPERNATURAL ONLY? The context admittedly involves Sabbath-day healing (vs. 8-9). Or was Jesus speaking in humility that he could do nothing AT ALL without the Father -- as is the case with us?
"He knew the thoughts of both His friends (Lk. 9:47) and His enemies (Matthew 9:4)."
WAS THIS OMNISCIENCE -- or the result of good perception? WCG seemed to turn in the 1990's to the latter explanation, while other groups seem to give God-plane power the benefit of the doubt.
"He knew which disciple would betray Him long before Judas had made the decision...."
SAME AS ABOVE -- did Jesus know He was choosing a turncoat, when He selected Judas as a disciple?
PG. 67: "There was knowledge that He did not have and therefore asked to find out. He inquired from the father of the child who had the mute spirit...." (Mk. 9:21)
REALLY?! Did Jesus lack this knowledge, or did he have the father explain the situation merely for the benefit of the crowd all around them?
"Paul says that Jesus 'knew no sin' (2 Corinthians 5:21)."
TRANSLATIONS DIFFER. NIV says "had no sin...." Jesus knew OF it, because sin was all around Him.
PG. 69 BOX: "James and John.... Jesus was evidently close to these two cousins in particular...."
COULD HE BE, yet remain a sinless Son of God? Would not this qualify for being a "respecter of persons?" (Acts 10:34, KJV)
"In Galatians 2:9 Paul refers to James as a 'pillar' of the church. James also wrote the New Testament book that bears his name...."
ARE WE SURE this is the same James? The gospels show Jesus had two disciples with that very name (Matt. 10:2-3). But the NIV Study Bible agrees with this view, in its introduction to the book of James.
"Another brother listed above, Judas or Judah (Matthew 13:55), wrote the short epistle of Jude (Jude 1)."
"MOST LIKELY" WAS, says the introduction to the epistle in NIV.
PG. 71: "Hebrews 5:9 explains that Jesus became 'the author of eternal salvation....'"
IF THAT'S SO, can you "lose" salvation? (Say, by walking away from it?) This is a major debating point between today's WCG and spinoff groups.
PG. 72: "He already was the Son of God by virtue of who He was (verse 3)...."
HUH!?! This is Romans 1:3, which says Jesus "was a descendant of David" by His "human nature." Wasn't Sonship determined by things other than bloodlines? (e.g. Jhn. 1:1, 14) Could the author have meant Hebrews 1:3, which describes Jesus as the exact representation of God?
PG. 73 BOX: "The Gospels tell us that on at least two occasions Jesus slipped away into the crowds when people were trying to kill Him (....John 8:59)."
TRANSLATIONS DIFFER. NIV has for this verse, "Jesus HID himself" to get away.
"He was a carpenter, a builder.... He knew how to cut down trees and make wooden beams...."
CONJECTURE?! Are we assuming Jesus had to do all these things in that time?
PG. 75: "After a 3 ½-year ministry, only 120 followers were there for the miraculous beginning of His Church (Acts 1:15)."
WERE THERE MORE? NASB/Moffatt/CEV put the total crowd at 120. But the Greek word is "brothers" (NIV margin) -- and KJV has "names," which COG ministers have claimed really means SURnames. With women and children included, couldn't the number really be higher?
(We should note the Greek word that COG ministers say means "surnames" is used for "names of the 12 apostles" in Matthew 10:2 - where FIRST names are recorded! It's also used for "the names of the 12 tribes of Israel" in Revelation 21:12 - and those were first names also!)
PG. 76 BOX: "Kings.... were given the title 'the Lord's anointed' (e.g.... Psalm 2:2....)"
NOT ABOUT KINGS?! This comes from The Oxford Companion of the Bible's study of the word "Messiah." But Psalm 2:4 refers to "The One enthroned in heaven...." and 2:2 in the NIV has "Anointed One" capitalized. So does this really refer to Jesus as God?
PG. 77 BOX: "Jesus Himself was 'anointed.... with the Holy Spirit and with power' (Acts 10:38)."
ARE THEY SEPARATE? Over the years COG's have taught the Holy Spirit WAS the power of God -- so why would this verse separate them? (Unless the Holy Spirit was something else -- maybe God?!)
PG. 85: "Most people don't understand that the Kingdom of God is a literal kingdom.... This is not merely a symbolic or a spiritual rule, a sentiment that exists only in human hearts."
WHY THE "MERELY?" Is UCG allowing for the possibility that the Kingdom CAN be symbolic or spiritual as well? (Historically this has been rejected.)
PG. 86 BOX: "....eternal life, being saved and entering the Kingdom of God are all synonymous.... 'you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel... and inherit eternal life.'"
IT'S OURS NOW! At least eternal life appears to be -- and that's a point some UCG ministers are starting to embrace, although other Church of God groups resist it. Matthew 19:27-29 should be compared with John 6:54, I John 5:10-11, and John 17:3.
PG. 87 BOX: "Jesus said in Mark 1:15 that you have to believe the gospel of the Kingdom of God if you want to be saved!"
WRONG. The word "saved" is nowhere in this verse!
"They knew the Kingdom of God would be a literal kingdom; they just didn't know when it would be established."
NOT EXACTLY. King David referred to a PAST Kingdom of God when he said God "has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel." (I Chr. 28:5) David then wrote in Psalm 145:13: "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations" -- implying it was in effect then, and now!
PG. 88 BOX: "In short, it is the Kingdom of heaven because it is the Kingdom from heaven (not because, as some now contend, it is a kingdom in heaven)."
THEN WHERE IS IT? Given the previous note about a Kingdom of God being everlasting -- doesn't UCG teach a Kingdom must have territory? Psalm 103:19 says, "The Lord HAS established his throne in heaven" - as if it's finished - "and his kingdom rules over all."
"....when one committed himself to total obedience to God's laws and His revealed way of life, he was submitting himself to the authority of the 'Kingdom of God' or 'Kingdom of heaven' in contrast to all other human or worldly authority."
HOW? Can this be done if a kingdom does not exist yet, as the author contends?
PG. 90: "And what is their reward in this parable? It is having authority over cities -- physical cities filled with men, women, boys and girls." [Lk. 19:17, 19]
ARE WE SURE that these are "physical cities," since Jesus was presenting a parable?
PG. 93: "....Jesus said He came to complete the law and make it perfect. How? By showing the spiritual intent and application of God's law."
WAS LAW INCOMPLETE? Was it an unfinished thing from the Old Testament -- and Jesus came to "complete" as in FINISH it? David didn't think so: "The law of the Lord is perfect...." (Psm. 19:7)
"Some distort the meaning of 'fulfill' to have Jesus saying, 'I did not come to destroy the law, but to end it by fulfilling it.'" [Mt. 5:17]
CONSISTENT USAGE?! What about the other places where "fulfill" is used in the book of Matthew? Is Mary still giving birth (1:22-23)? Is the family still in exile in Egypt (2:14-18)? BUT admittedly healing of the sick still is being "fulfilled" today (8:16-17, 12:15-17).
PG. 94 BOX: "Jesus also fulfilled the law in the sense that He met the law's requirement by paying the penalty each of us incurred for disobedience.... Thus He 'put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself' (Hebrews 9:26)."
STILL BEING CRUCIFIED?! Would UCG say that, given that Jesus "sacrificed for their sins ONCE for all"? (Heb. 7:27; see also the quote from Hebrews 10:14 on page 95 of the booklet)
PG. 95: "With these words [Matt. 5:18], Jesus likened the continuance of the law to the permanence of heaven and earth."
REVELATION 21:1! Eventually there will be a NEW heaven and earth, according to John's vision -- "for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...." (See also II Pet. 3:10, 13) So if THIS heaven and earth aren't permanent, can we be sure the law will be as well? And note a key word in Jesus's statement: "TILL heaven and earth pass...." (KJV) - which could be understood to mean they WILL.
BOX: "What Jesus was saying is that the Old Testament in all its parts and elements.... was accomplished by Him. He fulfilled all aspects of what the Law and Prophets required...."
THE SECOND COMING?!?! UCG usually argues it's NOT all fulfilled because Jesus hasn't come back yet! So there's an inconsistency in explanations here.
PG. 96: "He is saying that we cannot diminish from the law of God by even a jot or tittle...."
WHAT ABOUT UCG? Does the Church do this by NOT keeping new moons, or invoking its own distinctive Feast rules such as allowing people to stay in motels?
"Since Jesus obeyed the commandments of God, it follows that His servants, too, must keep the commandments and teach others to do the same (I John 2:2-6)."
WHOSE COMMANDMENTS? "His commands" refers back to verse 1: "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (This is how today's WCG seems to look at this passage.) Yes, Jesus is God. But if Jesus changed Passover instructions, could he have changed some commandments as well?
"It is in this way that the true ministers of Christ are to be identified -- by their following the example He left them (John 13:15)."
WHAT ABOUT LOVE? In this same chapter Jesus says, "By THIS all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (v. 35) Jesus says THAT'S the sign -- and of course, it's the second "great commandment" He mentions in Matthew 22:37-40. Does this mean the last six commandments should be our focus today, more than the first four -- which means more than the "test commandment" of the Sabbath?
PG. 99 BOX: "We comply with Jesus's new commandment when we obey every commandment of God in a genuinely loving manner...."
ALL TEN?! Relating to our last comment, Paul explored this principle in Romans 13:8-10 - and some infer those verses to mean his focus was on only the "last six."
PG. 100: "God tells us in Malachi 3:6, 'I am the Lord, I do not change...'"
YET CHANGE HAPPENED -- at least in some respects, especially in how believers kept and understood the Passover. We'll note one example of that below.
PG. 101: "Jesus' custom was to attend the synagogue for worship on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). This was His regular practice."
THE ONLY TIME?! Was it wrong to worship at other times and places, and is it now? (Note John 4:21-24) Should we go to synagogue, and not a church?
By the way: considering Jesus was God, who did HE worship on the Sabbath? In John 4:23, Jesus indicates the answer is "the Father" -- and UCG ministers have used this to say the Father has preeminence over the Son. But does each member of the Godhead worship the other?
"Interestingly, we later find that Paul's custom was also to worship and teach in the synagogues on the Sabbath day (Acts 17:2-3)."
TEACH, YES.... but worship?! These verses don't specifically say that.
"Neither he nor Jesus ever so much as hinted that.... they should worship on a different day!"
NOT DIRECTLY, BUT.... consider Matthew 28:9, where women "clasped his feet and worshiped him" after Jesus's resurrection. This was likely SUNDAY worship -- yet Jesus didn't tell them it was the wrong day. Then there's Luke 24:52, where the disciples "worshiped him" after Jesus's ascension to heaven. If this occurred 40 days after the resurrection, as Acts 1:3 indicates, this worship would have happened on a THURSDAY!
PG. 104: "Thus it is foolish to argue that Jesus would abolish or annul something that He had personally created for the benefit of every human being!"
THEN WHY A FLOOD? From birds to wild animals to people, God ("The Lord") wiped out massive amounts of His creation in Genesis 7! Even beasts who would have known nothing about sin were destroyed, along with countless clean animals for eating and sacrificing.
PG. 105: "If Jesus were here today, which day would He observe as the Sabbath? It would be the day He commanded in the Ten Commandments, the seventh day."
...AND HANUKKAH, TOO?! Why isn't this argument applied to John 10:22-24, where Jesus attends the "Feast of Dedication?" We admittedly don't know on which day of the week that passage occurred, but it at least appears Jesus kept this festival -- while no Sabbath-keeping Church of God seems to do so.
(There's also the "after eight days" question of Jhn. 20:26 KJV, as many commentaries and translations claim that really means seven days. We comment on that in a separate article.)
BOX: "....the Gospels do not show Him ever being accused of violating the Holy Day observances."
WHAT ABOUT JOHN 7:14? If Jesus went to the temple courts to teach "halfway through the Feast," was that a violation? (BUT there's no record He was "accused" of a violation here -- and verse 10 leaves open the possibility that He showed up on time, but in secret.)
"After His death and resurrection the apostles continued to keep these biblical feasts (Acts 18:21; 20:6....)"
DEPENDS ON TRANSLATION. Only the KJV/NKJV has Paul's words in 18:21 about keeping a Feast in Jerusalem -- "a 'western' addition to the text." (N.B.C., pg. 998) And in 20:6, does sailing "after the days of unleavened bread" necessarily mean the disciples kept it?
"If Jesus had wanted His church to observe festivals different from those that He observed, shouldn't He have left this instruction?"
SEE NOTE ON pg. 104 above.
"It's hard to imagine that Jesus would have set an example of observing the biblical Sabbath and festivals but later led or inspired His Church to dismiss them or replace them with alternate observances that originated in paganism."
JOHN 13:1-17! This probably did not originate in paganism -- but based on how UCG teaches this passage, Jesus introduced foot-washing as a different sort of Passover observance.
PG. 112: "The very Creator God comes to earth as a human being. He relinquishes the privileges and power He had in His past self-existence...."
HOW MUCH SURRENDERED? Jesus still had power to heal, prophecy, turn water into wine, produce great catches of fish and large meals, stop violent storms, walk on water AND resurrect dead people. He also claimed to have the ability to call down legions of angels (although He chose not to do so).
PG. 113: "Jesus is claiming to be the sole Revealer of God."
ARE THERE OTHERS? The statement is based on Matthew 11:27: "....no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." But what about the Holy Spirit -- "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (Eph. 1:17) It could also be argued Old Testament prophets revealed God (Hab. 2:2-3) - and Paul claimed God revealed Christ in him (Gal. 1:16).
PG. 122: "Jesus explained the laws of the Kingdom of God in His Sermon on the Mount.... And Jesus said that if a person diminishes them in the least way, that person himself will be regarded as least (Matthew 5:19)."
DOES UCG DIMINISH today, by not keeping the new moons and "updating" the rules about keeping the Feast of Tabernacles? Also, the exact wording of 5:19 is "least in the kingdom of heaven" -- so won't such people still be IN the kingdom?
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We've seen that Jesus Christ: The Real Story is about much more than our Lord and Savior. The United Church of God uses the booklet to explain many of its core doctrines -- but some of those positions may be open to question.
We encourage you to do as Jesus suggested at one point, and "search the Scriptures.... The Scriptures tell about me." (Jhn. 5:39, CEV) Follow what the Bible shows you about Christ, not necessarily what a church denomination might claim it says. And pray for the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all truth" (Jhn. 16:13) -- truth which is real, and not tossed and blown by various teachers (Eph. 4:14).
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© 2005 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.