Who is Lord of All?
Dr. Eva Sham
One morning while waiting for the traffic lights to change, I was spellbound by a few monarch butterflies dancing above me in the open space of the quiet intersection. I paused for a few moments to enjoy the rare sight. These butterflies were, in their own ways, glorifying God and proclaiming the magnificent power of their Creator. The short life of the monarch butterfly,[1] which some writers view as the king of butterflies (the longest time it can live is less than a year), in all its splendour is but a shadow of the majesty, power, and holiness of the triune God.
Many of the biblical psalms are poems of praise to God as the great and glorious LORD or King of all creation (for example, to name a few, Psalms 8, 24, 47, 92, 93, 96, 147, and 148). For some people, however, the words “lord” and “king” evoke thoughts of authoritarianism, colonialism, and oppression—together with feelings of anger and fear. Yet God is addressed and revealed figurally as “Lord” throughout the Bible. How is this articulated? In fact, YHWH the personal name of God in the Old Testament, is represented by LORD (in small capitals) in the English Standard Version. When God is addressed as adonai (in Hebrew), it is written as Lord (in lowercase).[2] The New Testament uses the Greek word kurios and is also translated as Lord (for example, Luke 4:19, 5:17, 6:5, 19:38).
There is a popular but inaccurate belief that the Old Testament depicts God as judgemental and oppressive in contrast to the New Testament which describes God as merciful. Biblical evidence shows otherwise. According to the prophet Isaiah, the LORD, who loves justice and “causes righteousness and praise to sprout before all the nations,” (Isaiah 61:8, 11) sends his anointed One “to bring good news to the poor [or afflicted], . . . to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound”[3] (Isaiah 61:1).
In Luke 4:16₋₋21, we read that Jesus Christ goes to the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath day and stands up to read the above words about the anointed One from the scroll of the prophet Isaian given to him. He then sits down and proclaims to the congregation that these words of Scripture have been fulfilled in their hearing, ₋₋₋implying that he is the anointed One, the Christ or Messiah. Henceforth, throughout his ministry, he shatters his hearers’ narrow view of God’s kingdom: He reveals to them that God’s mercy is meant to reach beyond oppressive, self-serving barriers to non-Israelites, even during the time of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. This is the concept of shalom.
According to Luke 6:1₋₋11 Jesus, as Lord of the Sabbath, teaches that doing good and saving lives on a Sabbath day do not violate God’s law, but actually fulfils it. This is notable because the additions to the law made by the Pharisees caused the observance of the Sabbath to be a burdensome affair rather than life-giving. Furthermore, in his epistle to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul writes that words on stone tablets are powerless without the Spirit of God who has given life to those believers who embody “a letter of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:2₋₋6).
As Jesus describes in Luke’s Gospel, the kingdom of God (unlike an earthly empire) is like a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds. Yet when sown in a garden, it grows into a tree and the birds of the air are able to freely build their nests among its branches (Luke 13:18₋₋19).[4] The context (Luke 13:10₋₋17) of this simile is Jesus’s admonishment of a ruler of the synagogue (a person of power and influence). This man criticizes him for healing a bent-over woman on the Sabbath day. While the religious leaders insist on a strict adherence to their Sabbath rules, Jesus holds the well-being of the woman at heart. Instead of regarding her as a disrupter of his teaching, the Lord Jesus welcomes the woman as “a daughter of Abraham” into his presence. He embraces her and pours out grace upon her. He knows that she needs to be set free from her disability, one which she has been bound to for eighteen years. Everyone, including the poor and marginalized (signified by the birds of the air) can find refuge, healing, and wholeness wherever God in Christ reigns as loving Lord.[5]
In Jesus’s relationship with his disciples, true liberty is experienced when he is accepted as Lord–a radical reorientation indeed. Those whom he sets free within the context of this relationship become truly free at the very core of their being (John 8:36; Galatians 5:1). His life-giving, healing power is far-reaching. He is the Lord of all creation (Colossians 1:16-20), and yet at the same time loving servant to all. Unlike our earthly lord/boss/supervisor/thesis examiner/president, Jesus the divine King was willing to suffer and die on the cross so that we could have fullness of life, experience abundance of grace, and joy (Colossians 2:9-10). Crucially, this is where we see the superabundant love of God displayed in vivid colour. The risen, living Lord promises to be with us, as we participate in the life of God and use our giftedness to the benefit of others. These constructive actions bear witness to him and his mission. Jesus clears a path through the jungle of modern life that draws us out of isolation and brokenness towards our full humanization. We find a stable, dynamic communal identity as we become more grounded in him, the icon of God (Col 1:15-20), the wisdom of God, the love of God.
1. The monarch butterfly is a species at risk. Its amazing “kingdom” and migratory patterns through two or three countries are summarized in https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/factsheets/monarch-butterfly.html. See also https://wwf.ca/species/monarch-butterfly/
2. See a brief explanation under the section “The Translation of Specialized Terms” in the Preface of the English Standard Version of the English Bible.
3. The last phrase may be translated as “the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind.”
4. In his teaching, Jesus uses the created world to reveal truths about God’s kingdom.
5. See also Ezekiel 17:23; Joel 2:32; cf. Acts 2:21.
Eva Sham, Ph.D. in theology, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, is an independent scholar/researcher in historical theology.
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