Perhaps sensing he is losing his "messiahship" after failing to host the Annual Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House the last three years, this week Obama finally held one. It would have been enough to know that he had hosted the event instead of criticizing it as he has done in the past, but apparently feeling the need to sound spiritual, or even presidential, he decided to teach the clergy something about Christ. Something he apparently knows very little about.
I find it interesting how many on the Left, those who are against the Bible being taught in public schools, against Christian prayers being offered in the public square, who don't believe in the inspiration of Scripture, the creation, the flood, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth or the resurrection, find it necessary to try to instruct those who do what Christianity is all about, especially when an election year comes around.
Bill Clinton was notorious for quoting Scripture whenever it served his purpose, usually to deflect attention away from his dalliances. To be fair Obama should be commended for finally holding the event, but he would have done well to limit his comments to some introductory remarks and let the clergymen present lecture him about Christ and the meaning of the resurrection. His speech exposed a very serious lack of understanding of not only the resurrection, but of Christ.
"For like us, Jesus knew doubt," Obama said. "Like us, Jesus knew fear." To say that Christ had doubts and fear suggests that Obama got his theological training from Martin Scorsesi's "The Last Temptation of Christ." Jesus was not just "a Son of God," as Obama also said, He was the only begotten Son of God. He was God come in the flesh. He is eternal God from eternity past before the creation and always will be eternal God. Jesus was the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).
The cross was not an accident or a failure, it was the plan of God from before Genesis 1:1. Christ knew before He created the universe that His plan was the cross, that His purpose was the redemption of man. He had no doubts and He had no fear. By attributing these human frailties to Christ, Obama has demeaned His deity and brought Him down to the level of weak and sinful man.
Obama went on to say, "And yet, in the end, he confronted his fear with words of humble surrender, saying, 'If it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'"
Obama followed the tack often taken by unbelievers and liberal theologians of taking a verse from the Bible and then misinterpreting or misapplying it. In this case he quotes from Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39, Luke 22:42) and completely misses the point. Christ didn't confront fear in the Garden. He confronted the sins of the entire world knowing that the burden He bore would in a little while cause the Father to turn His back on the Son for three hours while He hung on the cross. It would be the only time in history or eternity that God the Son would be separated from God the Father and the Holy Spirit. It was a burden so great, a weight so heavy, that no anguish we could ever suffer could even begin to compare with the agony Jesus went through in the Garden as He prepared for the crucifixion.
There was more to His suffering than just the beating, the scourging, and the nailing to the cross. What caused Him to say, "let this cup pass from me," was not the physical pain, it was the total separation from God. It suggests to us that the horror of hell is not just the fire, as bad as that will be, but the absolute dread of being separated from God for all eternity. Christ did not confront His fear in the Garden. He confronted the forces of sin and darkness, and in the greatest example of humility, surrendered His will to the plan He well knew and had come purposely to carry out.
Obama continued. " So it is only because Jesus conquered his own anguish, conquered his fear, that we're able to celebrate the resurrection." No, Jesus didn't conquer anguish or fear. The reason we celebrate the resurrection is because Christ rose bodily by His own power from the tomb. Christians celebrate what no other religion in the world celebrates; a living Savior who conquered death (I Cor. 15:3, 4; 54-57). And because He conquered death, He has the power to give eternal life to all who repent of their sins and put their faith in Him alone for salvation.
The next statement Obama made is just strange enough to make one wonder whether he really believes in the bodily resurrection of Christ at all. He said, "It's only because he endured unimaginable pain that wracked his body and bore the sins of the world that he burdened -- that burdened his soul that we are able to proclaim he is risen." "Bore the sins of the world" is correct, but the reason we proclaim He is risen is not because He suffered. Yes, He suffered in our place, the Just for the unjust (I Peter 3:18), to pay the penalty for our sins, a debt that we could never pay. But we proclaim He is risen for one reason; He is risen as He said (Matt. 28:6).
Obama finished by saying, "We all have experiences that shake our faith. There are times where we have questions for God's plan relative to us. But that's precisely when we should remember Christ's own doubts and eventually his own triumph." It is true that we will go through testing times, and probably more often than not we will be tempted to complain or to question God. The answer is not to remember Christ's doubts. There are none to remember.
Neither is it to remember His eventual triumph. Christ didn't go through testings and trials or through doubts and fears, He didn't experiment with different methods or occupations, or endure through failures to finally emerge triumphant. His life, His death, and His resurrection were all a triumph from beginning to end.
In the beginning Christ triumphantly created the heavens and the earth (Col. 1:16, 17). When Adam sinned Christ triumphantly declared there would be a Savior (Genesis 3:15). When Jesus was born angels triumphantly announced His birth (Luke 2:9-14). When the Pharisees questioned Him, Jesus triumphantly declared His deity (John 8:58). When the soldiers came to take Him in the Garden, Jesus triumphantly declared, "I am He," and the force of His words knocked the soldiers to the ground (John 18:3-6). When the debt of sin had been paid, Christ on the cross triumphantly declared, "It is finished," and triumphantly yielded up His spirit (John 19:30). They didn't take His life, He gave it up when He was ready (John 10:17, 18). Then He rose triumphant from the grave even as He said He would (Matt. 28:6, Luke 24:6). He ascended back to heaven in triumph (Acts 1:9). When He comes again He will come triumphantly as a conquering Hero (Rev 19:16).
To be sure, I prefer the triumphant Savior of the Bible to the doubting, fearful Jesus of Obama theology. It does illustrate, however, how far our nation has come from its roots. Our Founding Fathers honored the Word of God and gloriously declared the truths of Jesus Christ. Our current Koran loving president is barely able to articulate anything coherent about Him. It also points out the desperate need of our country for the Savior, and the great need of our prayers for our leaders. As we pray for the salvation of lost souls in our Resurrection Sunday services, let us not forget to pray for the Obama family, our Senators and Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, and all elected officials. There is only one Triumphant Savior, Jesus Christ, and they all need to know Him.
