Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode, we're asking the question, how do you solve hate? This is actually prompted by an incredible article I read this week about a guy named Eli Sharabi. Now, Eli is from Israel and actually he was in the attack, uh, on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel and took hostages. Eli was taken into captivity for 491 days. He was just recently released. And by the way, just a horrific story. Of course the attacks were horrific. Being a hostage for 491 days is horrific. The heartbreaking part of Eli's story though, uh, is that what kept him alive for those 491 days was wanting to be reunited with his wife and two daughters. Only when he was released to discover that Hamas had murdered his wife and two daughters, you can imagine the incredible roller coaster of hope and heartbreak he has been on. And he was writing an opinion piece about his time with Hamas, his experience with that organization, his captivity, which included beatings, uh, disease, psychological torture, being forced to watch massacre footage, and all kinds of horrific things. He described Hamas as not as much a political ideology as an ideology of hate. A, uh, culture of death. He talked about a group of people in infatuated with their hatred for Jewish people and their desire for death to come and destruction to come upon all Jewish people. He was actually saying that, look, I know everybody wants peace and I want peace. But, uh, when you face this kind of evil, you also need moral clarity, peace, but not at the cost of pretending that evil isn't evil. When I read the piece, I couldn't help but think about global missions. And here's the connection. You know, the Bible makes clear in Matthew 28 that the mission of Jesus, the vision of Jesus, is that his people will take the message of his life and death and resurrection to all peoples and all nations. Jesus literally says, go and make disciples of all nations. And I want you to understand why that is. First, obviously, the Bible is telling us that Jesus Christ, uh, faith in his life, death and resurrection is the only thing that reconciles a person to God. Without faith in Jesus, all of us are resigned to judgment. But the second thing is this only faith in Jesus actually leads to the moral clarity necessary for actual peace. Let me trace that out. You see, when you deal with an organization like Hamas, whose heartbeat is hate, you can't sanction that, can't bomb. That ideology can't be stamped out by physical violence or by political legislation. You need to actually change the heart that is full of hate. And uh, did you know that's exactly what God promised to do in the Gospel of Jesus way back in Ezekiel 36:26, God actually says, I will give you a new heart. You can see this take shape actually in the life of the Apostle Paul, who was once a guy named Saul himself a political and religious terrorist who goes on to become a born again Christian who preaches the gospel. Here's my point. Global Missions actually gives the hope of changing hearts of hatred into hearts of peace through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Missions isn't just about seeing individual sinners be reconciled to God. It's about the healing that comes when sinners become followers of Jesus, when they learn to hate, hate, when they learn to love their enemies, which is what the Gospel does after all. Jesus in Matthew 5:44 calls us to love our enemies and he shows us how to do that when we crucify him. And yet he raises from the dead not for revenge, but actually to rescue those who brought about his death. Missions is shining the light on Jesus. It's showing that Jesus is the light. Keep in mind the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse five says the light comes into the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. What Eli Sharabi is describing about the culture of Hamas is horrific. And it is dark. So dark in fact, that there's no light in the United nations or the White House or in the Israelite military that will actually stamp out the darkness. Only the Gospel of Jesus will do that. And that's why I don't know if you've thought about this, but one appropriate response to the hate filled terrorist organizations of our world like Hamas is to pray that God will send someone to preach the gospel to them. Because the Gospel is so powerful, it can take hateful murderers and turn them into peace loving gospel missionaries. I hope one day that Eli Sharabi finds the faith and joy that comes from knowing the person of Jesus. But I also hope those participating in groups like Hamas do as well. The Gospel can rescue anyone. And when it rescues evil sinners, in some sense, it rescues us all. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!