By Matthew Castro
The past week has been filled with historical events. President Trump decided abruptly to be the first president to enter the DMZ and North Korea. There is a funny picture on the cover of the Monday issue of the WSJ of the two chubby leaders wearing baggy suits (not sure what you call Kim Jong Un’s black jungle suit).
Nike decided this week to pull a 4th of July themed shoe because the former quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, believed the Betsy Ross American flag on the rear of the shoe was offensive. Cementing the new condition in our society that clothing sold and worn is most definitely political. Seems like no one can escape making a political stand even when the intentions is not to make a political stand.
While the condition of migrant children at the border continues to be a humanitarian crisis, the House and Senate passed a 4 billion dollar aid package for the border crisis. The issue continues to plague the American society as the world views the contradictions of American values. We are a nation of immigrants, yet have become a xenophobic nation gripped in fear. Congress and the President must diligently work to solve the immigration issue as it continues to erode American leadership in the world.
But, an interesting question was asked in the “The Big Question” at the end of the The Atlantic this month. The question was “What lost treasure would you most like to find?” Jim Davis from Orlando, FL answered, “The Ark of the Covenant. This ornate, gold-plated chest topped with cherubs housed Moses’s stone tablets fo the Ten Commandments. It disappeared from history, and is said to have taken during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in the sixty century B.C.” However, I would like to remind Mr. Davis that the Ark of Covenant was found by Harrison Ford and successfully melted all those Nazis’ faces, but sadly hidden away by the U.S. Government. I am starting a new protest issue. Release the Ark!
James Grant, who is an author, answered the big question, “We have Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s and John’s. A fifth gospel is the treasure I’d like to find. What did Jesus during the early years of his life? The fifth evangelism would break the news.” I thought his answer was interesting. Is there a fifth gospel that was lost? What does Mr. Grant know that most New Testament scholars do not? I was unaware there was a fifth Gospel missing. Who wrote it? Mary Magdalene would be a popular choice for those hoping for a Fifty Shades of Gray Bible Edition. Did one of the other disciples write a Gospel account? Or maybe Judas the Betrayer wrote his own side of the story like the fired White House staffer, who suddenly has a book written and published with juicy and embarrassing anecdotes about the president. Maybe Jesus has his own Gospel that has been lost. Maybe it can be called, “I Did It My Way.” What I am confused about is doesn’t something have to be known before it can be lost.
Early in the church’s history, God’s people were firm in their belief that only four Gospels of Jesus’ life existed. Michael Kruger, President Of Reformed Theological Seminary said, “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the only Gospels we have that come from the first century.” These are the only four that could have been written by eyewitnesses. Sorry Mr. Grant, just because Dan Brown in his FICTIONAL novel called Da Vinci Code stated there were multiple Gospel accounts, does not make them lost or credible. If you want to know about Jesus Christ, read the known and found Gospel treasures that are in every Bible.
I have been thinking of my own answer to this question, “What lost treasure would you most like to find?” I think finding Noah’s Ark would be a huge discovery. Also is there Egyptian armory at the bottom of the Red Sea from the Hebrew’s Exodus story? But I am going to agree with Mr. Davis from Orlando. The Ark of the Covenant is the greatest treasure that is lost. I happen to believe that God allowed it to be destroyed. While the Ark operated as the location of God on earth during the time of the tabernacle and temple of Solomon, the advent of Christ Jesus, the God-man, made the Ark irrelevant. Jesus dwelled among people. God took on flesh. A need for a golden box where God’s presence is experienced evaporated with Christ. The sending of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of God’s people on the day of Pentecost also removed any need for the Ark. God dwells on earth in the lives of His people, in His church. If you want to experience God’s presence, go to church on Sunday.
Please provide your own answer to the question, “What lost treasure would you most like to find?”