NEAR AT HAND – BUT NOT

NEAR AT HAND – BUT NOT

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." 

Matt. 17:11

 

 

What has been said above, of course, will raise the problem of contingency.

                To put the matter briefly: The immediate establishment of the Kingdom on earth was contingent upon the attitude of Israel toward her Messianic King, for to that nation affected the divine promises and covenants (Rom. 9:4). It is not that the favor of God would terminate upon this elect nation, but rather that through them all the blessings of the Mediatorial Kingdom would flow to the world of nations (Rom 8:28). It should be clearly understood, however, that in speaking of contingency here, we refer to the human factor in history. Certainly our Lord was not caught by something unexpected. There are evidences in His earliest teaching (recalled and recorded by the latest gospel writer, as we might expect, knowing the historical sequence) that indicate at least a veiled reference to His rejection and death (John 2:18-22). But there are also evidences that He believed in the reality of human responsibility and moral decision, which pose the problem of historical contingency.

                To take one example, consider His evaluation of John the Baptist and his career. Every intelligent Jew knew that the final word of the final Old Testament prophet predicted the appearance of Elijah as the precursor of the established kingdom (Mal. 4:5-6). And Christ had declared concerning John the Baptist, "If ye are willing to receive him, this is Elijah, that is to come" (Matt. 11:14, ASV margin). Later, when the events recorded in Matthew 12 have demonstrated the certainty of His rejection and death at the hands of the Jewish nation, our Lord again refers to John; but now the historical situation has changed, the decision has been made, and the die is cast. "Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things," he assures His disciples; but then He quickly adds, "I say unto you, that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not" (Matt. 17:11-12, ASV). We have here a key to one of the most puzzling problems of New Testament eschatology in relation to the Kingdom: How could the Kingdom be "at hand," and yet not near at hand? (Mark 1:15 with Luke 19:11). The true answer is to be found in the word "contingency." The very first announcement of the Kingdom as "at hand" had called upon the nation of Israel to make a decision (Mark 1:15), a genuine decision, a moral and spiritual decision; and they made it, tragically, the wrong way. The fact that all this was "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23) does not in the least detract from its moral and historical reality. Those who fail to see this can make nothing out of certain portions of our Lord's prophetic teaching. There still remains the philosophical problem, of course, but this is nothing new; it being only an aspect of the wider problem of Divine Sovereignty and Moral Responsibility. And for this there is no completely rational solution which does not end by affirming one and denying the other. But the Word of God teaches the reality of both. And if perhaps we shall never wish to give up the search for an answer to the problem, a Christian attitude of intellectual humility will help in some degree to alleviate our uneasiness as we continue the quest.