Books have been written on the final words of persons, famous and infamous, ordinary and extraordinary. We have decided that in the last words the expiring person will leave behind thoughts that have been seasoned by life experience, and a desire to leave some perceptive information useful to those who receiving it will raise consideration, perhaps leading to life change that may be taken as part of the legacy left by the dying person. It may be personal so to be understood as personal to individuals, or it may be social related to this or that group of persons. Christians, for example, have given considerable attention to the last words of Jesus, spoken in the minutes before the ascension. They are recorded in the last verses of Matthew’s Gospel, and relate to the call of Christ to the witness of God’s redemptive plan for mankind’s spiritual rescue. From those words the Apostles launched their ministries. The Church (spiritual) and the church (institutional) – were born. The missionary enterprise has followed in its various formations.
Jesus left other last words, as in the discourse to his disciples during his last days before the crucifixion. It is likely that he embellished these words during the days between the resurrection and the ascension, but we have little of that somewhat private period. He did accept some exposure so to gain enough witnesses that the resurrection might be presumed verified. Christians ought to catch some of Jesus’ last words in his prayer statements. One of those statements, repeated three times, was the request to the Father that the disciples might be unified. The concept was an old one. The tiny Psalm 133 is dedicated to the unity of believers, and attaches a blessing to its keeping: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. The Apostle Paul offers insight in reference to the endeavor of Christians to find unity, and the relationship of unity to the foundation of faith. (Ephesians 4:3 & 13) Reading the passages gives the appeal for unity and God’s preference, but there is a hint that we may not gain it, or gain it only in part. We will not excuse ourselves for the lack of unity because the human tendency is toward division.
Division is what we elected through the two millennia since Jesus’ earth sojourn. It may have begun when Paul and Barnabas, so firmly related at the beginning, divided over a matter relating to ministry and acceptance as triggered by John Mark. We can only surmise what caused it all on the first missionary journey when John Mark abandoned the team led by Paul and Barnabas. Paul unforgiving for a period, later invited John Mark to join him. Barnabas may have died in the interim period. The short Epistles of John reveal the divisions which in similar kind became common during ensuing centuries. A reading of a dictionary of Christianity and churches with individual persons reveals how poorly some of the last words of Jesus have been carried through by some Christians and their institutions. On numerous occasions the unity of Christians was broken by open warfare with Christians killing Christians. In peacetime, execution of Christians even in the name of the church became a super violation of Christian meaning so to make loving your enemies a lost cause in the destruction of persons of faith by persons of faith.
I was asked to serve a church as interim minister, and then to serve with no termination date. I had held no credentials with the denomination before and was asked to meet with the appropriate district committee for review. The exchange was pleasant and friendly, but with firm questions expecting firm answers. At last I was asked, after an introduction: You have defended your basic stand for two necessary doctrines for the church: that of the redemptive plan of Jesus Christ, and the inspiration of Scripture. Can you work in a denomination in which one or both of those statements might not be in synchronization? My response was, and would continue to be after five decades: I can work in any assembly that accepts Jesus Christ in his providing the redemption of God in himself. If there is no authority related directly to Scripture for the story of mankind and the Messianic meaning of Christ, that meaning will, in my view, ultimately fade. To give up divine authority for Scripture will likely dilute the meaning of Christ’s meaning. We must remain committed to the unity of Christians known to God who expands and applies the meaning of that offering. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020