Salvation In No One Else? (Acts 4: 1-12)

This is the scripture I didn’t want to preach on. The last verse of this passage – that bit about how there is salvation in no one else but Jesus – this verse has been used (and abused) by Christians for centuries. It’s been used as a club, a weapon, to beat other religions over the head, and to show how Christianity is the only valid religion.

I didn’t want to preach on this verse, because it seems so disrespectful of all my interfaith friends.

On the other hand, I didn’t want to preach against this verse, because wouldn’t that make me a heretic?

It seemed like the safe thing to do would be to just ignore it.

But I didn’t. Instead, I let it dwell in my mind for a bit. And it wasn’t long before something didn’t seem right. Something about this verse didn’t “fit.” Something made me think that perhaps the true meaning here isn’t what it appears to be.

So I decided to do some study and research.

It all starts off ok. It’s actually a pretty interesting story. Peter and John were speaking to crowds of people about Jesus, but they got arrested and thrown in jail. Overnight.

The next day, Peter and John were taken from jail and brought in to face the authorities: the rulers, the elders, the scribes, and the high priest.

Standing before them, Peter and John knew that the law was not on their side. The law was never on the side of the poor. The law was never on the side of common, ordinary people. Those who had power and wealth used their power and wealth to ensure that power and wealth would remain theirs. It was all about privileges and tax breaks for the rich, and restrictions and heavier burdens on the poor.

In ancient Rome, it was wealth and power that saved you. Thus, salvation was only for a few.

I do not make this statement lightly. It is not mere rhetorical flourish. And it is, in fact, the first clue to understanding that troublesome verse that is yet to come.

Because salvation – the Greek word is sozo – meant freedom. Salvation meant a life of wholeness. Salvation meant a life of wellness. Salvation meant living the life God intends for you to live, free from any ailment or oppression that would keep you from being a full participant in all that life has to offer.

That troublesome verse at the end of this passage says that “there is salvation in no one else but Jesus.” When I remember that salvation – sozo – really means healing, wholeness, and freedom from oppression I began uncovering what this verse is really saying.

So there they were, Peter and John, standing before the authorities; and these authorities were power personified. The kingdom, the power, and the glory all belonged to them.

This powerful group of men asked a question of Peter and John, the two without power. And the question they asked was: “By what power did you do this? In whose name? By whose authority?”

They were referring not only to the words Peter and John spoke to the people, but also to the healing of a lame man that had taken place. This lame man had no power or wealth. Because he was lame, he was even worse off than Peter and John. He relied on alms just to survive.

But now, he had been set free from his ailment.

Why was this a problem? In Roman society, everyone had their place in society, and everyone was expected to accept their status as a God-given fate.

For those born into nobility, wealth, or power, this was easy. And since they had the power, they could use their power to make sure everyone else accepted their status without complaint.

The problem was that when this lame man was healed, he gained a new status. He went from being infirm and dependent, to able-bodied and free.

This upset the whole framework of society. You can’t just go around giving people freedom and power!

This is something those with wealth and power could not tolerate.

What right did Peter and John have to upset the balance of things by healing this man?

One more thing: the Greek word for healing? Sozo. The same word that, a few verses later, is translated as “salvation.”

So Peter and John, using the power of Christ, gave healing-slash-salvation to this lame man. The authorities are offended, because they only recognize healing-slash-salvation as coming from the wealth and power that is bestowed upon people by Caesar. Everything good is from Caesar. Healing/salvation is from Caesar.

This is why they interrogate Peter and John, and insist that they answer the question: by whose power and authority did you heal/save this man?

And in their response, Peter and John insist that healing/salvation is only found in Jesus.

It now becomes clear that this statement is not a contrast between Christianity and other religions. It’s not about other religions at all!  Rather, it is meant as a contrast between the way of Jesus, and the way of Caesar. It is meant as a contrast between the kingdom Jesus proclaimed, and the kingdom proclaimed by Rome. It is a contrast between the sozo of Jesus, and the sozo of Caesar.

It is Jesus who gives life – Jesus, the one who was rejected by the powers of the world. It is Jesus who heals and who makes people whole. Not Caesar. Not Rome.

This verse doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity verses other religions. This verse has everything to do with the way of Jesus verses the way of Caesar.

This means, then, that every time someone today uses this verse to elevate Christianity over other world religions, they are missing the point.

To add an even deeper level of irony, many of those who use this verse to highlight the superiority of Christianity over other religions are the same people who campaign for things like tax breaks for the wealthy and reduction of assistance programs for the poor. Right? But promoting policies that favor the rich over the poor aligns them with the rulers, the elders, the scribes, and the high priest… not with Peter and John… not with Jesus.

Those who misinterpret this verse so drastically miss the point of what’s going on in this scripture that they flip it completely around so that their interpretation of it becomes the exact opposite of what it really meant.

That’s why Bible professor Walter Wink says this: “Christians armed with the certainty that they alone possessed God's truth tore about the globe destroying [other] religions and spiritualities... Let us apologize to the countless victims slaughtered by Christian conquistadors for refusing to convert; let us beg for mercy from God and humanity for the arrogance of Christianity in its spiritual scorched-earth-and-take-no-captives missionary juggernaut.”

For Peter and John, the way of Jesus was a subversive, revolutionary movement – a nonviolent revolutionary movement – that provided an alternative way of living to that prescribed by the ruling authorities. The reason this verse has been so misinterpreted over the years is that ever since Constantine converted to Christianity 1700 years ago, Christianity has been aligned with the ruling authorities. Christianity has been, for all these centuries, in the position of privilege and power.

And since Christianity has been in the position of privilege and power all these years, it makes it very hard to interpret Bible verses that are critical of privilege and power.

The tendency – the temptation – is to misinterpret them. Or reinterpret them.

In fact, this verse about salvation coming through no one else but Jesus has been called the most misused scripture in the world.

For the past 1700 years, Christianity has been at the center of privilege and power in the western world. And no one likes it when their privilege and power are threatened. When scripture itself challenges that privilege and power, we re-interpret it: it’s no longer about confronting privilege and power; instead, we turn it into a verse about Christianity’s superiority over other religions.

Jesus himself never really said much about other religions. When he did encounter someone whose faith differed from his… someone who worshiped facing Mt. Gerizim, for example, instead of facing Jerusalem as all “good” Jews did – Jesus was surprisingly open and welcoming toward them.

But Jesus did say an awful lot about his kingdom and his way as being an alternative to the kingdom and way of Rome. When the world looked to Rome and to Caesar for salvation, it is then that Jesus said, “No – look to me. I am the way.”

The elders, rulers, scribes, and high priest... they all looked to Caesar and Rome. To them, Peter and John were just “ordinary men.” Here, the Greek could be more correctly translated as “idiots.” Peter and John were condemned as idiots for proclaiming a path to salvation that didn’t involve Rome.

So before we go around condemning other religions, let us remember: It’s the adversaries of Jesus and his followers who do the condemning. Jesus didn’t condemn people. The agents of Rome did the condemning. Jesus was the one who was condemned.

So when scripture says there is salvation in no one else, it’s a challenge not to other religions, but to a society that says salvation is found in wealth and power.

This is something I have found to be true. As much as I have tried to find salvation in wealth or power, that has always failed me.

But when I look for salvation in Jesus and in the things he taught – when I seek healing and wholeness through him – I have always found it.

Changed Hearts and Lives (Luke 24: 36-48)

Have you ever thought about just how fast the ground beneath your feet is moving?  As you know, the earth rotates on its axis at a rate of one revolution per day, which means the ground beneath us is moving at almost a thousand miles an hour. That’s you, me, this sanctuary, and all of southern California. If you were standing at the equator, you’d be moving even faster. At the north or south pole, you’d just be turning in a circle, very slowly. But here, the rate is right about 1,000 miles per hour.

Now, that’s just the speed at which the earth is spinning. The earth is also orbiting around the sun. Our entire planet moves around the sun at a speed of 67,000 mph. That’s about a thousand miles per minute, or 18.5 miles per second. In the one minute since I started my sermon, the earth has traveled 1,000 miles along its elliptical journey around the sun.

But the sun itself is moving. Our entire solar system is moving through the Milky Way at 140 miles per second. And the Milky Way itself is moving through the vastness of intergalactic space at 375 miles per second.

22,500 miles per minute.

1.4 million miles an hour.

Can you feel it? Feel the sensation of speed? Feel any motion sickness? No?

No. Because everything around you is moving at the same speed. The pew, the floor, the building, the air… it’s all moving together. And gravity is holding us down, keeping us in place.

We don’t even notice that we’re moving.

We’re like fish in a giant ocean current. I wonder how much a fish in the ocean feels the current in which it swims. If the current moves everything along, including the fish, does the fish even know it’s moving?

We live in a society that moves along through time. There are things that are so normal, so accepted, in our society, that we don’t even think about them. We’re not even aware that, in other societies and other cultures, things might be different. The fact that things can be different is a possibility that doesn’t even occur to us.

Last Monday, I attended a discussion that was led by Sandhya Jha, a friend and colleague of mine who recently wrote a book called Pre-Post-Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines. Sandyha is a Disciples pastor who is the director of the Oakland Peace Center, and who leads seminars and workshops and serves as a consultant on the issue of race relations, in society, and in our denomination. At the event last week, we had a great conversation on race and racism…

For many of us, the solution to racism in society is hard to see. For some of us, racism itself is hard to see. I’m speaking of people who, like myself, have a position of privilege in society. We don’t think there is a problem with racism in society, because we don’t see how it directly affects us. We don’t notice it, because it’s moving along at the same speed and in the same direction we are.

Now even though that’s the way I perceive it, that doesn’t change the fact that, for many, that current is moving against them, and is all too noticeable.

I take all this very seriously. To go back to my earlier metaphor, I know I’m moving through space at a phenomenal speed, but I have a hard time actually comprehending that, because it doesn’t feel like I’m moving through space at a phenomenal speed.

But just because I have a hard time comprehending it – just because I don’t feel it – doesn’t mean it’s not true.

And just because racism in society isn’t readily apparent to me, a middle-aged white male – just because I personally don’t feel it – doesn’t mean it’s not true.

Bixby Knolls Christian Church is an incredibly diverse congregation. That seems normal to us.

It is actually quite remarkable, and a great blessing.

As pastor, one of the things I’ve learned is that I need to figure out the truth. I need to understand that my truth – what seems true to me – may not be the truth. I need to realize that there may, in fact, be other experiences, other paths, other possibilities, things that I’m not even yet aware of.

And sometimes, when I do figure bits and pieces out, I realize that I need to change.

Jesus spent three years trying to change the hearts and minds of the disciples. He tried to help them see that there is a whole other world that is possible. A whole other way of living.

And in the scripture for today, from Luke’s gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection, and says that “a change of heart and life … must be preached.”

A change of heart and life.

Sounds pretty radical to me. Doesn’t that sound radical to you? Doesn’t that sound drastic?

A change of heart and life.

In the book of Acts, the disciples heal a man. This is witnessed by many, who are amazed. Peter then says to the people:

“Why are you amazed? This man had faith in Jesus. Because of that, God’s power led to this man’s healing. You, too, can have healing if you change your hearts and lives.”

There it is again, that phrase: changed hearts and lives.

By a changed heart and life, I believe that what scripture is talking about is breaking through to a whole new world. The kingdom of God is just that: a whole new world. A whole new way of living. It’s so hard to see, much less dwell in, because we are immersed in the kingdom of this world. The kingdom of this world surrounds us like the ocean that surrounds the fish, like the atmosphere that surrounds us, and keeps us from even noticing how incredibly fast we are flying through space.

It’s hard to see what’s really going on.

No wonder it’s so hard to enter the kingdom of God. A person entering the kingdom of God is as likely as a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle.

Jesus made this comparison, and those who heard it were ready to give up right then and there. A camel passing through the eye of a needle? That’s impossible!

No, no, Jesus said. Nothing is impossible with God.

Nothing is impossible for those who have faith.

By the way, when Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, he was talking about a new way of living, a new society, a beloved community on earth. It is a misunderstanding of scripture to think of the kingdom of God as referring only to what happens after we die. The kingdom of God is Jesus’s description of this world, completely good, completely whole, a world unhindered by the brokenness and fragmentation that human sin has inflicted upon it.

So this kingdom of God – this Beloved Community – is possible. In fact, it is a present reality… every time we gather for worship: different races, finding a new, althernative way to more fully live out the identity we have as children of God… the kingdom is present.

The kingdom is present with every act of kindness, every act of compassion.

The kingdom is present every time a person chooses to live in a way that benefits the community and the earth.

The kingdom is present.

And yet, at the same time, it is not yet fully realized.

At the gathering last week, it was said that every 28 hours, an unarmed African American is killed by police in America.  Later, I checked this out. Fact checkers were quick to point out that, in fact, over half of them were armed. So the truth is more like once every 50 hours.

Am I supposed to take comfort in that?

That’s still a long way from the kingdom of God.

If people think “every 50 hours” is acceptable, then there are still a lot of hearts and lives that need changing.

If we don’t see that racism is still all-too present in our society, at a systemic level at least, then we need to find a way to get outside our ocean current and see the bigger picture.

Only then will we see the sin of racism for what it is, and discover new possibilities for our society and our world.

Another sin that society is guilty of is destroying the earth. We live in a society of selfish, greedy consumers who always want more and can never have enough. Our cars and cell phones are barely a year old before we are longing for the next model. We know our consumption of fossil fuels is destroying the earth’s climate, but we go on burning those fuels.

It’s not because we’re intentionally trying to destroy the earth. It’s just that we don’t see another way. Consume less? Stop using fossil fuels? Most say “it can’t be done.”

But just because you can’t imagine it, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

There are those who, though they may not have completely eliminated their consumption, they have drastically reduced what they consume. I recently heard about a movement of people who want to live in small houses; and by small, I mean somewhere around two or three hundred square feet.

The problem is, most city codes don’t even allow houses that small. Talk about being unable to imagine a different world! Talk about being unable to step back and see a bigger picture!

But for those few who can, they have found a way around city codes. They build their houses on wheels. That way, it is regarded as a mobile home or RV, and city codes don’t apply.

What I find remarkable about this tiny house movement is that these people were able to get a view from outside the ocean current. They were able to step way back, and see the earth moving through space.  They were able to find a way to get that camel through the eye of the needle.

Am I saying that we all need to live in 200 square foot houses on wheels? No. Learning about people who live in tiny houses, I didn’t say to myself, “Wow, I guess I need to live in a 200 square foot house.”  But I did say to myself, “Wow, it is possible to live outside the current, outside the mainstream, to imagine what no one else could imagine, and do what no one else is doing…”

That’s what we need. The kingdom of God is right here, in our midst.

We need dreamers and bold risk takers to help make it a reality.

We need people who are willing to see the big picture and discover new truths.

We need a community of believers with enough faith to create this new reality.

We don’t have to keep living the same life we’ve been living. We don’t have to keep going with the flow, just because everyone else is.

Think about it: They say no one walks in L.A. They say you need to have a nice house with a lawn and a two-car garage. They say you need to have a complete wardrobe with outfits for every possible occasion. They say you need to look out for yourself. They say you need to buy more. They say you need to eat more. They say you need to look a certain way. They say you need to conform. They say you need to go with the flow, the current.

“They” are wrong.

All you need is faith.

So change your heart. Change your life.  Stop listening to what “they” say, and start listening to Jesus. Start listening to that voice you hear in your quietest, most reflective moments, the voice you know speaks truth.

And watch the emerging of God’s beloved community.