Building a Mystery

 Generally speaking, as people we like mysteries. We like something that challenges us to figure out who did "it". One of my favorite movies is an old one simply called "Clue", and it plays out much like the board game of the same name. In it, you try to figure out who did the crime and with which instrument.

When you read Ephesians 3:1-13, you come across the word mystery a few times. Now I will admit, figuring out what Paul means by some of the words he uses is not always the easiest of things. His sentences are not typically as grammatically correct so as to be easy to understand. However, in this case he makes it pretty clear what the mystery is. The mystery that had been hidden for ages past was that God intended for the Gentiles and the Jews to both receive His promise of entry into His kingdom that never ends. 

So that's it. Mystery solved, right? Well, not so fast, my friend. Yes, God's intent that all people would receive His inheritance is something that can be seen throughout the Old Testament. However, the means by which this would be accomplished was a bit more hidden. The sacrifice and resurrection of God's own Son, the Messiah, was spoken of, but was a bit more challenging to discern. At the same time, figuring out exactly who that would be also proved challenging, as pretty much everyone missed it when Jesus was born and then ministered. (Think of it, if people had really, really known that Jesus was the Son of God and Rule of all Things, would they really have crucified Him? They missed it, just as you and I likely would have missed it too.)

The other part of the mystery is figuring out what it looks like for Gentiles and Jews to both receive the inheritance that Jesus came to bring to light. Do Gentiles have to become Jews first? That was a question that the earliest Christians wrestled with. Another one that made its rounds while I was at the seminary studying to become a pastor was the question of just what exactly do you need to believe in order to receive the inheritance. Are there particular teachings that are "necessary" to believe? (To be honest, I'm not sure that any of us human beings know God's mind enough to be able to definitively say we know even the bare minimum, but that is a discussion for another day.)

So the mystery persists. How could the sacrifice of one individual on a cross outside Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago win an inheritance for all people of all time? It's still a mystery in many respects, and simply calls for us to say that God has spoken and told us what He did and how He did it in Jesus, and that is sufficient for us.