A Correction
“Now these Jews [the Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” – Acts 17:11
When Paul and Silas traveled through Thessalonica in Acts 17, they were forced out of the city because the Jews there were antagonists to their message of salvation through Christ. As they ventured on, they passed through Berea where they entered another Jewish synagogue. But something was different here – the Jews received their words, then examined them with the Scriptures, and conversed with each other to test the words of Paul and Silas. Here’s what I find amazing about these Bereans – they didn’t have a New Testament. It’s not as though they were testing Paul’s words against the gospel accounts, or against the other apostles’ teachings, they were diving into the Old Testament, and discussing among each other how these things could be true. Notice as well that they were not filled with skepticism while learning from Paul and Silas – rather, they were eager to search God’s Words, eager to receive the full counsel of God.
The point? It is good and right to, in community, test the words and exhortations given to us by our pastors, and teachers, and mentors. Not because we should always be skeptics. But because we want what is true and from God – and we want to reject that which is untrue and not from God.
Why do I bring this up? Because I made a mistake. I made an error, and a brother within our congregation took the time to sit with the Scriptures, wrestle with truth, and then graciously, lovingly informed me of a correction that was needed.
About a month ago, while I was preaching on the “Arrival of Christ” from Luke 2, I articulated that Christ is both humble and holy at His birth. While making the point that Christ is humble – completely man like us, born in humble estate, I made the statement that Christ was born “ceremonially unclean.” I cited Leviticus 12, and Leviticus 15 – in which the Levitical law talks about the natural process of birth making a woman unclean, and contact with bodily fluids making individuals unclean. From this, I extrapolated that Jesus would fall under these ceremonial stipulations of the Levitical law because He was born as a human. Now, while ceremonial uncleanness does not mean that one is sinful (which is a distinction I did make, upholding Christ’s sinlessness), I was in error to say that Christ was made unclean by being born of a woman.
This brother, after deeply studying the scriptures, helped me to see that Christ at His birth was not ceremonially unclean. First, because ceremonial uncleanliness does not pass from mother to child. But secondly, and importantly, there are other times in the gospels in which Jesus comes into contact with those who are ceremonially unclean – frequently touching lepers (Mark 1:40-45), and even a woman who had an issue with a flow of blood (Luke 8:43-48). In those instances, instead of being made unclean, Christ made them clean. Furthermore, Hebrews 7:26 speaks to Christ’s perfection, even of the ceremonial law stating, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Therein lies one of the great mysteries of Christ – though he was born a human, and came into contact with that which would render other humans unclean – He Himself, being also 100% God, has no need for sacrifice to cleanse Him. Through His life He perfectly kept the ceremonial, civil, and moral law, and He is holy and perfect in every way because He is God. While He sympathizes with our humanity in every way, and He is indeed a humble savior, He also upholds God’s perfect standard in every way – making Him the one and only perfect sacrifice for our sins.
While I rue making this error from the pulpit, I am grateful for this brother, and grateful for this correction. Not only because it led to a deeper study about the incredible, awesome holiness and perfection of Christ – but also because it is a good lesson for us in what it looks like as a church to be like the Bereans in Acts 17. While we should never come to church with our skeptic’s hats on – we should always be testing what is said from our teachers with the Scriptures.
I am humbly learning and growing in a knowledge of God and His Word with you all, church.
In Gratefulness, and Christ’s Mercy,
Pastor Ryan Aufenkamp
Categories: Evergreen Connection