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Gospel According to Chinese Classics
Along the Silk Road
Around the time of the prophet Ezekiel in 6th century BC, Chinese silk had already found its way into Israel before the opening of the Silk Road. He must have known the place of origin of such a precious commodity during the Diaspora in Babylon. Jews were among the trade caravans without doubt, most certainly before the birth of Jesus.
In 139 BC and again in 115 BC, the Han Emperor Wu Ti commissioned the Chinese general Zhan Qian to conduct expeditions in territories far west of the Chinese borders. Zhan Qian is acknowledged to be the person who fulfilled the historic mission of the route now known as the “Silk Road.” He returned to the Chinese capital, today’s Xian with news of the west as recorded, “There are thirty-six countries in the western territories, with great mountains lying in the north and in the south, with rivers flowing in between.” (Records of Han Dynasty)
Behold, along the Silk Road two thousand years ago, Wise Men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)
“King of the Jews” is equivalent to the “Son of Heaven” of the Jews in the Chinese context. To have seen His star in the East is the same as having seen it when the sun rose on the eastern horizon. The brightest star in the Constellation Aquila, known as “Altair”, was visible at sunrise when the star was located on the eastern horizon. This Altair of Aquila is mentioned by Joseph Needham in one of his volumes of Science and Civilization in China as being identical to the Ox-Herd Constellation in Chinese astronomy. It is mentioned in Chinese literature to appear at the rising of the sun only in the extreme Eastern horizon.
According to Chinese historian Si Ma-qian of 2nd century BC, the Ox-Herd Constellation signifies sacrifice.
From the Section on Astronomy, Records of Jin Dynasty,
“Ox-Herd Constellation consists of six stars. It is the gateway of Heaven, and it is concerned chiefly with Sacrifice.”
From the Section on Astronomy, Records of Han Dynasty, we have already read that the long duration of the appearance of a comet out of the Ox-Herd Constellation,
“Foretells the significance of a great event.”
The actual meaning of the Constellation is herding an ox as a victim for the use of a religious sacrifice. In China, under the dynastic system,
“Only the Son of Heaven is worthy to perform sacrifice to the God of Heaven and Earth; the feudal lords are allowed to make offering to the minor deities of the earth.”
(from the Records of Liturgy, Li Ji, 4th century BC)
Professor Colin Humphreys of Cambridge University described the event to have taken place in 5 BC. Another astronomer, Mark Kidger, in his book The Star of Bethlehem also pointed to the appearance of Ox-Herd as the most likely event. However, the most official dating is from the section on astronomy in the official records of the Han Dynasty, volume 6, chapter 26 that reports that the spectacular brightness of the Ox-Herd constellation was detected at this time. This is the only record in the world befitting the birth of Jesus.
Therefore we can paraphrase the saying of the Wise Men from the East in the context of Chinese Classics as “Where is he who was born the Son of Heaven of the Jews? For we have seen His star at sunrise on the eastern horizon and have travelled with the silk caravans to worship him.” For the Ox-Herd Constellation, according to our classics, this means that God himself has come down to die as a sacrifice for us.
Offering and Sacrifice
In Chapter 12 of St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, “You present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is reasonable.”
As a child, “They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord.” (Luke 2:22 to 24)
The prerequisite to sacrifice is to first offer one’s self. The act of self offering must precede the act of sacrifice. The concept of offering has been presented in the Book of Changes (Zhou Yi) in Hexagram number 50 called “Ding” (meaning the caldron) in which the Hexagram mentions that
“the saint presents himself as a living sacrifice to be totally consummated by fire in order to please God.” (鼎，以木巽火。圣人亨以享上帝)
To please God is to obey God by act of filial piety, in order to fulfill God’s will by offering oneself as a living sacrifice.
So when the Wise Men from the East arrived they came to worship the only One Man, not just the King of the Jews, for God alone is perfect and God alone is good, and worthy to be a sacrifice.
A religion without sacrifice is a religion that is judgmental and has no sense of mercy.
For Whom?
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:1-6)
“but by me” what does this mean? “By me” means Jesus himself. And Jesus said this about himself. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
“I am the way” according to the Chinese classics, this way is the way of the Tao. From Tao Te Ching chapter 48, it says that the way of the Tao is to lose one’s ego daily. Loss upon Loss, until one reaches the state of non-self interest. When one reaches the state of without self interest, one transcends the whole world.
“I am the truth” for Jesus its truth is complete obedience to do the will of God in order to please God. From the Chinese classics of Canon of Filial Piety, filial piety is the foundation of all the virtues. To do the will of God, one must first have complete obedience to God.
“I am the life” it is God’s will that Jesus came to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sin of the whole world in order that the world might have life through him. From Tao Te Ching chapter 16, “all matters are in a state of chaos and they must return to their roots. To return to the root is peace. Real peace is the resurrection. Resurrection is eternity. Knowledge of eternity is enlightenment.”
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:1-6)
“No man cometh unto the Father but by obedience to do the will of the Father by my offering as a sacrifice for all humankind.
“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4: 34)
“Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10: 7)
“Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10: 9)
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, “the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God:” (John 13: 1-3)
“O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”(Matthew 26:39)
“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”(Matthew 26:42)
“Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22: 42)
“By God’s will we are sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10)
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holist by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” (Hebrews 10:19-20)
Therefore, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 12: 28-30)
For “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”(Matthew 20: 28)
“John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” (John 3: 16)
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:” (John 17: 1)
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4)
When Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, at the last moment he said “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” And died. (John 19: 30)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
“Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6: 53-54)
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
For Us All On Earth
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,”
To all ye, “I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12: 1)
“By the mercies of God,” is the impact of the sacrifice “acceptable unto God”.
“No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” Only the sacrifice of Christ can impact on the mercies of God to make us acceptable to God as God the Father. Why only Christ the One Man can move God’s mercy, because “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” When God sees the sacrifice of his only begotten Son, God is moved to mercies. Therefore, no one can come to the Father except by the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son. And therefore, Saint Paul asked all of us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to move for God’s mercies.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51)
“O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8)
Why God Sacrificed The “One Man”
The Son of Heaven For Us?
“There is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” (John 3:16)
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”(Romans 5:8-10)
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (Corinthians 2:2)
“Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (Corinthians 5:7)
“There is none good but one, that is, God.”
“That he gave his only begotten Son.”
“But one” and the “only begotten Son” indicate the only One Man.
The theology of the only “One Man” qualified to perform sacrifice for the sin of many has already been presented in the ancient Chinese classics long before the birth of Christ. And this One Man should be the Son of God. In the Chinese classics, he is known as the Son of Heaven. Only the Son of Heaven is qualified to perform sacrifice to the God of Heaven. The foundation of the gospel is already laid down in the Chinese ancient classics long before the birth of Christ and we shall precede accordingly such a gospel foundation in the various Chinese classics.
In Christian doctrine the only one God who alone is good became the Son of God by incarnation. This is mentioned in the Creed of Nicene.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man.
Incarnation
From the Canon of Poetry there is a poem dealing with the Shang Dynasty which lasted from 1600 to 1100 BC. The poem begins
“Heaven commands a divine bird
to descend to be born as the first emperor of Shang Dynasty.
To inhabit the vast expanse of territories.
This is how God established the Shang Dynasty.
Thus emperor Cheng Tang became the Son of Heaven.
To rule the four corners under the Heaven
and to do God’s Will from generation to generation.”
The theology of Incarnation is demonstrated here as the divine from Heaven is born on earth to become the Son of Heaven. The duty of Son of Heaven on earth is to do the Will of God on earth, to make the kingdom on earth in accordance with the Will of God in Heaven. When this happens, the kingdom of God will come and his will will be done, on earth as in Heaven.
The One Man
Such theology of One Man alone is worthy to perform sacrifice. It is also found in the Confucian classics of the Analects. In book 20 titled “The Command of Emperor Yao”
“Yao said, ‘Oh! You, Shun, the Heaven-determined order of succession now rests in your person. Sincerely hold fast the due Mean. If there shall be distress and want within the four seas, the Heavenly revenue will come to a perpetual end.’ Shun also used the same language in giving charge to Yu. Tang said, ‘I, the child Li, presume to use a dark-coloured victim, and presume to announce to Thee, O most great and sovereign God, that the sinner I dare not pardon, and thy ministers, O God, I do not keep in obscurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, O God. If, in my person, I commit offences, they are not to be attributed to you, the people of the myriad regions. If you in the myriad regions commit offences, these offences must rest on my person.’ Chau conferred great gifts, and the good were enriched. ‘Although he has his near relatives, they are not equal to my virtuous men. The people are throwing blame upon me, the One man.’ ”
People often ask how can the Son of Heaven, he may be the Emperor of the country, but still he is just one man, take upon himself the sins of the whole nation. The explanation to such question can be found in the Book of History (书经), Su Jing, dating the history of China from 2357 B.C., which quotes the proclamations of different emperors from different dynasties. For instance, Emperor Tang of Shang Dynasty declared, in 1766 B.C., a dynasty which has been recently confirmed by archeological discoveries, “I will examine these things in harmony with the mind of God. When guilt if found in you who occupy the myriad regions, let it rest on me, the One Man. When guilt is found in me. The One Man, is shall not attach to you who occupy the myriad regions”. (Clae Waltham translation)
Only the Son of Heaven, only He, the One Man, being the Son of Heaven, is worthy to offer the sacrifice. It has been repeatedly pointed out in the Records of Liturgy (礼记) “only the Son of Heaven can use the sacrificial ox, the feudal lords can only use the lamb and the Mandarins can use hog.”
From the “Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lu”, in the Chapter on Obedient People, written about 247 B.C., we read the following:
“In ancient time the Emperor Tang conquered the Xia Dynasty, and pacified the country to establish Shang Dynasty (1766 B.C.). There was great drought under the heaven. For five years there was no harvest at all. Emperor Tang went to pray in the place, called The Trees of Mulberry, saying: I, and I, One Man alone, am solely responsible. Forgive the multitudes of people. The sins of the entire multitudes, I alone will bear. May the Almighty God and all the divinities spare the lives of the common folks. Do not harm them because of the delay of One Man”.
Thereupon the Emperor had his head shaved, his hands tired, offering himself, his own body, to be a living sacrifice unto God, in order to secure blessings upon the people. The people were very moved. Just at that very moment, heavy rain suddenly poured down. Emperor Tang, thus through his transcendental selflessness, was able to exercise mandate in human affairs.
The people were moved, I the translator was moved while I was translating. The Wise Man who came from the East would be moved too, if they realized that “The King of the Jews” was born to die as a sacrifice for all. Maybe that’s why they came to worship him.
The drought has lasted for five years, sacrifice of oxen must have been used during the first drought and then the subsequent five years. In all, oxen have been used. But after five years the Emperor of Shang Dynasty decided that no more oxen would be used. In the next sacrifice I myself will be used in place of the oxen. Maybe this is what God wanted. He does not take delight in the offering of animals. The animal is only a substitute for me. God wants me, because I am the Son of Heaven. And therefore, that year he, the first Emperor of Shang Dynasty offered himself as a sacrifice.
This One man, by offering himself as a victim of sacrifice to God, moved many to tears. The sudden appearance of the tremendous brightness of Constellation Ox-Herd indicated that it is the Son of Heaven who has come down to earth to offer himself as a sacrifice for many. And this would move the Wise men to undertake the journey to find Him. This would be worthy of the Wise Men to come to worship him. But then, how would the Wise Men know, where to go?
The Gospel Is the Kingdom of Heaven
“And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Ca-per-na-um, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Za-bu-lon and Neph-tha-lim.”(Matthew 4:13)
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” (Matthew 4:23)
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” (Matthew 9:35)
According to Mark the Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God. Heaven is equated with God, similar in the Chinese classics. For example, we have “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14,15)
At one point, “Jesus was outside the city in desert places and people came to him from every quarter.” (Mark 1:45)
From St. Luke we also have the recordings where Jesus said “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also for therefore am I sent.” (Luke 4:43)
“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him.” (Luke 8:1)
“And Jesus sent his twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:2,6,11)
According to the Chinese language beginning from the origin of the language which is the Oracle Bones. In this Oracle Bones, there are two symbols which represents the divinity. One is for God which consists of two symbols “Shang Di”. Shang means supreme or above. Di means the sovereign. The other symbol which represents the divinity of “Tian” which means the Heaven. Traditionally the Chinese in everyday usage would employ the word “Heaven”. This way it would avoid the mentioning of God. But in recent years the word “heaven” has been re-interpreted to mean “nature” which would avoid any sense of the divine. Most people are the atheists or intellectuals or people who think they are scientific would insist on using the word “Tian” to be the natural world. However in original Oracle Bones the symbol for Heaven is in the shape of a person.
So heaven is not just an abstract concept to generalize the natural world, but has the concept of a personal divinity. This symbol of Heaven as a person very probably gives rights to the religion of Monotheism and a concept of a personal God. So when Jesus in the gospel according the St. Matthew the Kingdom of Heaven and in the other of three Gospels namely St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John the Kingdom of God they are the same Kingdom. Kingdom of God in fact is the Kingdom of Heaven. And likewise in the Chinese language the word Heaven is indeed God. Tian and Shang Di are the same.
Let us emphasize once more that Jesus when he began his ministry, he begins by preaching the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God). Traditionally speaking the word kingdom in the Chinese language is represented as Guo Jia. Guo means the Kingdom. Jia means the family. So in the Chinese concept the word kingdom means kingdom as a family. So the Kingdom of God would actually means that in this kingdom of God, God is the Father of the family. So when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, it begins by saying “our Father who is in Heaven, thy Kingdom come.” Here we have God in Heaven who is the God of Kingdom but also as a Father of a family.
“And his fame went throughout all Syria.” “And from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.” (Matthew 4: 24,25)
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43,44)
“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8:11)
The Kingdom of Heaven therefore is the Middle Kingdom, because it is in the middle for people to come from the east, from the west, from the north and from the south. They all come to the middle from the four directions. That is why the kingdom of Heaven is also the Middle Kingdom. And in the Chinese language the middle kingdom is called Zhong Guo which means China.
From the Confucian’s classics of the Great Learning, strangely speaking, it is mentioned among “the four various barbarous tribes around they are not the same as the kingdom of the middle.” This is reminiscent what Jesus had said that they shall come from the east, west, north and south into the kingdom of Heaven. According to classics of Great Learning these four tribes are avoid of the benevolence, avoid of love, avoid of righteousness of the middle kingdom. And the middle kingdom here is again Song Guo which is present day China. This is another coincidence of heavenly kingdom to be equated with China.
For the Chinese concept of the Kingdom is a family and God is the Father of the family. The word family automatically implies a father of family. The Canon of Poetry states that “Heaven begets sons and daughters” (天生烝民). The Confucian Analects states that “Within the fours seas, all are brothers and sisters.” (四海之内，皆兄弟也) “Within the fours seas” is the same meaning of “coming from the four directions” (Luke13:28,29) In today’s language, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south all are brothers and sisters. This is the same as from all the directions. The blacks, the whites, the browns and the greys are all brothers and sisters. And even further from different religions the Hindus, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Christians and the Islams are all brothers and sisters. They may differ in diversity but there is a unity in the fact that they are all brothers and sisters. They may differ in their traditions but they all have the unity of natural respects. They do not all have to agree in everything but they can always work together.
A disciple asked Confucius, “Master, is there one word that we can practice all our life?” Confucius replied, “Forgiveness.” “What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.” (Confucian Analects, Book 15 Chapter 23)
Therefore Confucius also said “Do good to those who do you evil.” (Analects, Book14 Chapter 36)
Lao Tuz also said “Do good to those who try to harm you.” (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 63)
Both Confucius and Lao Tuz were born in the Sixth and Seventh centuries B.C. before Christ. And maybe that’s why Jesus said “Ye have heard that it hath been said from the Hebrew tradition… but I say unto you, possibly from China, love your enemies.”
The world of today needs a theology of the Kingdom, the family. In this family there are not just isolated individuals but also a family where there is a loving Father. The world needs not just a theology but a practice of the Kingdom of a family where we respect our differences and still working together.
Where Is the Kingdom?
When Jesus sent his disciples to heal the sick, he said to them “The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” (Luke 10:9,11)
Jesus said “you shall see Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28,29)
Again I am not insisting that the four directions would lead to the middle kingdom, but the middle kingdom can become the Kingdom of Heaven. If the middle kingdom does not regard profit as profit but righteousness as profit.
With regard to the ultimate value of the kingdom, Jesus had the same thing to say “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
I am not saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the middle kingdom which is China. But I do dare say that both the heavenly kingdom and middle kingdom promote the same ultimate value which is to seek first righteousness of love and not to seek the profit of prosperity.
“Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)
Why we are still alive we can see the Kingdom of Heaven when the value of the kingdom is practiced. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
So when people asked Jesus where is the Kingdom of God? Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)
From the Confucian Classics Zhong Yong, it is said that “a nation should spread the value of the kingdom and the influences should cover from the Middle Kingdom to all barbarous tribes. In so doing it is worthy with Heaven.” So instead of coming from the east, west, north and south it should spread out from the Middle Kingdom to the four directions to be worthy with Heaven. To be worthy of
“Our Father who are in Heaven.”
“Thy Kingdom come”
When will his Kingdom come? His kingdom will come when
“Thy will be done”
Where will his will be done?
“On earth as in Heaven.”
In another word, the kingdom is not in heaven, the Kingdom is here on Earth as in Heaven; in another word, the kingdom is here; in another word, the kingdom is already here and that is why Jesus said: “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)
Whenever we practice, the benevolence and the righteousness of the kingdom among ourselves the Kingdom of Heaven is already here on Earth as in Heaven.
Kingdom has foreigners and different religions
“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this foreigner.” (Luke 18: 12-18)
The kingdom has foreigners such as the Samaritan, even the lepers.
“The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet as Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4: 19-24)
Jesus is faithful to his own religion as he said “for salvation is the of the Jews”, but he also respected the religion of the others that of the “Samaritan woman”. Faithfulness to your own religion and respectfulness for other people’s religion have no conflicts with each other at all. Jesus even proposed a unity saying that “But hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
The basis of unity is that we worship the same God who is the Father of all. And we are all the children of the same Father and that is the basis of this unity. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. For different cultures worshipping God in their own way and we must respect them. But we must at the same time be faithful to our own cultural way. If we don’t respect others’ how could we expect others to respect ours. According to Canon of Poetry from China, we are all begotten of the same Heavenly Father and therefore, Confucius said “Within the four oceans we are all brothers and sisters.” Therefore, do not do unto the others, what you do not want others do unto you.
“Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15)
“A certain man made a great supper, and bade many.” (Luke 14:16)
“And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master of the banquet said the servant ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.’” (Luke 14:16-24)
“And still there is room” and the Lord said “Compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” There are plenty of rooms in the Kingdom of the God, so this is the Gospel of the Kingdom to invite other races, cultures, nationalities and religions to come in to eat in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God there will be black, white, yellow and grey. In the Kingdom of God there will be Hindus, the Israelites, the Buddhists, the Muslims, the Christians, the Chinese, the First Nation natives and other worshippers.
“And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28,29)
In November 2006 I visited Mojave Desert. On my way back to Canada, I visited Chinatown in Los Angeles. I entered a small self-help restaurant, there were only four tables. I ordered my food and sat down. I noticed that in front of me was seated a Mexican and behind me was a black man. And to my right and to my left were Chinese from different parts of China. I remembered Jesus said that “they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28,29). But I realized that something is missing, we need a white man to complete the Gospel of the Kingdom. And just as I was wondering suddenly a white man showed up. And he ordered food and the restaurant server told him that it was three dollar and fifty cents. He took out from his pocket all the changes and counted twice and there was still not enough. So I rushed forward to the cashier and said to the white man that “Sir, I am buying you this meal.” So I paid for the meal including some dessert for which he is very happy. And so he came and sat down. As soon as he sat down, I looked around again, sure enough this time the Kingdom of God is fulfilled. We now have people who are of different races, from the east, from the west, from the north and from the south and they are all sitting down at table together. So I said to myself one can find reality of the Kingdom even in Chinatown of Los Angeles.
“Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28) even in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
The Kingdom of God has a king. Since all people of different cultures, different races and different religions, they all belong to the same Kingdom. The King of the Kingdom of God is the King of King’s and the Lord of Lord’s. In the Chinese civilization they referred to the king of the country as the Son of Heaven. In this case, the King of the Kingdom of the God is not only the Son of Heaven, but the True Son of Heaven. After the lunch from the little Chinese restaurant in Chinatown Los Angeles which I just mentioned, I walked from one end of the Chinatown to the other end. There was a bookstore located at the other end and I walked into that bookstore. One of the books I bought is entitled “True Son of Heaven” and the subtitle of the book is “How Jesus Fulfills the Chinese Culture”, and on the front cover was the picture of Jesus talking to Laotze. The book is written by David Marshall. It was published by Kuai Mu Press, Seattle in 1996.
The Son of Heaven has a Mandate of Heaven to rule the kingdom. Likewise, the True Son of Heaven also has the Mandate of Heaven to rule the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven has an everlasting Mandate of Heaven to rule the Kingdom of Heaven forever and ever. The Canon of Poetry of China said that “the dynasty of the kingdom may be long lasting but the Mandate of Heaven is forever the same.”
We all have to die once. What would happen after that? Then would come the Day of Judgement. And the King of the Kingdom would say “come and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for you have done good to one of the least of my brethren.” (Matthew 25)
Why “the least”? For even the least according to the Canon of Poetry of China is “heavenly begotten”. (天生) This is the value of life and the fundamental worth of the individual human rights for we are all heavenly begotten and the heaven is the very worth of our life. The least of the world is endowed in heaven. God is in each one of us. So where is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is in each one of us. The Chinese Poet Li Po said everyone is born into the world is begotten of the Heaven and there is purpose in each one of us. And the purposes of the meaning of life is to do the Will of God. (天命)
Seek Ye First
Let seek ye first represents the highest value of a civilization. For some civilization the highest value is the ultimate freedom of the individual. And for some civilization the highest value is the profit of economic prosperity. And for other civilization, the highest value is to fulfill the Will of Heaven.
Jesus said “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) Here we see that the highest value in life is to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
First, “the Kingdom of God”. How to seek the Kingdom of God? Jesus said “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.” The Kingdom of God will come when God’s will is done on earth.
“In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)
“Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:35)
To help someone in someway is to fulfill the Will of God and to bring down the Kingdom of God on earth as in heaven.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)
Jesus said “you shall see Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:28,29)
In the Kingdom of God they shall come from all corners and all directions.
From the east, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1)
“And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.” (Matthew 4:25)
From the west, “And when Jesus was entered into Ca-per-na-um, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.” (Matthew 8:5) This centurion is either Roman or Italian but definitely a non-Jew from the west. And of this man Jesus said “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Matthew 8:5, 11)
“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Beth-sa-i-da of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.” (John 12:20, 21)
From the north, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria.” (Matthew 4:23, 24)
“And leaving Nazareth, Jesus came and dwelt in Ca-per-na-um, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Za-bu-lon and Neph-tha-lim.” (Matthew 4:13)
“The land of Za-bu-lon, and the land of Neph-tha-lim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” (Matthew 4:15)
“And from Jerusalem and from I-du-me-a, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.” (Mark 3:8)
“And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.” (Mark 7:31)
From the south, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42)
Jesus came to a city of Samaria, “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, give me to drink.” (John 4:7)
“Behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Can-da-ce queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.” (The Acts 8:27)
When Jesus was on earth, he preached the gospel of the kingdom in all directions and in all surroundings. And among different people of different races and different languages and different customs and different traditions, but the message is the same and he practiced healing for all of them. It is no wonder that his concept of the kingdom of the Heaven is for people to come from the east, the west, the north and the south. The kingdom is all inclusive for God so loved the world.
Some over five hundred years before the birth of Christ, such a concept of the Kingdom of Heaven has already been preached by Confucius who said that “Within the four seas, all are brothers and sisters.” In other words, in the Kingdom of Heaven, they all come from the east, the west, the north and the south, not just Christians alone, but all who are children of the same heavenly Father.
Our Father
“Our Father in heaven holy be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.”
The kingdom of God is a family and the head of the family is the father whom we call “our Father” in heaven. When God is the Father of the kingdom family, we are all his children. Therefore, Confucius said “Within the four seas, all are brothers and sisters.” The four seas would mean the world is a kingdom family. In the Chinese classics, a nation is described as a kingdom family. In the Chinese language it is called “Guo Jia”, (国家). It means that the kingdom is a family and as a family all are brothers and sisters.
The world may have different religions, but it is still a family. Different religions have different languages, different races, different traditions, and different customs. There is bound to be differences. We may not agree with each others’ differences, but we must be respectful of each others’ differences and we must be tolerant of each others’ differences. We can not start a religious war to do away with others’ differences and make all others’ differences the same as we. Throughout China’s five thousand years history, many wars have been fought but China has not ever fought a war on account of religions.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom family and God is our Father. God is our heavenly Father. In the Chinese oracle bone language, at one time, God actually ruled the world himself. When the heavenly father decided to return to heaven, he appointed someone to rule the kingdom on earth. And this someone is then known as the Son of Heaven. In Chinese is “Tian Zi” (天子). The Heavenly Father is “Tian Fu” (天父) and the Son of Heaven is “Tian Zi” (天子). And such a system has been practiced in China until 1911 when China became a republic.
The relationship between Father in Heaven and the Son of Heaven is maintained through the obedience of the Son of Heaven to the Will of Heaven known as Tian Ming (天命). With then have Tian Fu (Heavenly Father) and Tian Zi (Son of Heaven) and Tian Ming (Will of Heaven). The Son of Heaven on earth must execute the Will of God for the good of the children of God who are all brothers and sisters under the heaven. And the execution of the God’s will in the kingdom on earth is to be within the context of the family.
Jesus said “But he answered and said unto him that told him, who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:48, 49, 50; Mark 3:35)
If we contextualized this saying of Jesus we may refresh it by saying that those who obey the Will of Heaven (Tian Ming). They are brothers and sisters within the four seas.
We must not forget that the Son of Heaven is actually the king of the kingdom. Because he is the king with authority to rule the kingdom, therefore there is more the reason that he should obey the will of heaven to fulfill the Will of God on earth. In the classics of Li Ji (礼记), Records of Liturgy written several hundred years before Christ. Chapter nine it is stated that “When the great Tao is prevailing, all under heaven would be one great family.”
The oldest book in the world perhaps is the Zhou Yi (周易), the Book of Changes written five thousand years ago. The book contains sixty-four hexagrams. Hexagram number thirty-seven is Jia Ren （家人）, named the family. The summary of this hexagram says “The correct place of the woman is within; the correct place of the man is without.” When the relationship between the man and woman is correct, then the righteousness of heaven on earth is maintained. Family should have leadership of discipline. And that comes from the relationship between the father and the mother.
We may say that the furtherance of the kingdom of God on earth depends on the moral structure of the family on earth. If this is the case, so much more is the importance of the family in our society and moral core of the family lies in the practice filial piety. So the book of Xiao Jing (孝经)written in the Spring and Autumn Period several hundred years before Christ had said filial piety is the foundation of the virtue and the root of the civilization.
The Heaven
The gospel according to ancient Chinese classics begins with Heaven. In consequence, there is the God in Heaven, then Father in Heaven, then Kingdom of Heaven, then the Son of Heaven, the Mandate of Heaven, the Sacrifice to Heaven, and the citizens of Heaven.
Heaven The word heaven (天 Tian) and the word God (上帝 Shang Di) are used interchangeably. In the oracle bones, all the Chinese classics before Christ and today the word heaven is used uncommon, but the term God is still in use. Likewise, Jesus also did the same. In the gospel according to Saint Matthew, Jesus mentioned more often the Kingdom of Heaven. But in the other gospels kingdom of God is used more frequently. So in the Chinese classics and in the four gospels, Heaven and God are used interchangeably.
God in Heaven According to ancient Chinese classics, the most supreme being in Heaven is God. After God we have the saintly sages who are mostly departed ancestors. And after that there are the deities of the nature. The best example would be from the classics of Moti who arranged them in the order of God, spirits and deities (上帝、鬼、神 Shang Di, Gui, Shen). The main-line translation of the Christian Bibles into Chinese had God translated into Shang Di. But the evangelical protestant Bibles had God translated into Shen which actually is incorrect.
Father in Heaven From the Canon of Poetry entitled “Tian Sheng” (天生) of several thousands years ago. The first verse said
“Heaven begets sons and daughters;
With material substance and principle, in that order.
Thus all people are eternally endowed,
By nature to love beauty and the Tao.”
If we are begotten of the Heaven then we are the children of the Heaven, then God is the heavenly Father, the Father in Heaven, the Father of all. If all have the same Father, then God the Father is One. One God. This is the basis of our human understanding that God is One. And this is the basis of the theology of monotheism. The origin of monotheism is then associated with the Canon of Poetry from the chapter entitled “Tian Sheng” (天生). This is the foundation of One God the same Father of all that all are the children of the same Father that we should love all our neighbours as ourselves.
And as such we are endowed with heavenly goodness by nature to love beauty and the Tao. The Chinese philosopher Mencius of the four century B.C. declared that “even a sinner, if he conducts himself in purification and repentance, is qualified to perform sacrifice to the God the Heaven and Earth.” Mencius said “to do your best is to obey the Will of Heaven, for the kingdom of God is in your heart.”
Kingdom of Heaven Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and his righteousness. Jesus said “And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8:11)
“All within the four seas are brothers and sisters.”
Son of Heaven Philosopher Dong Zhong Shu (179-104B.C.), born in the Han Dynasty, said that it is the duty of the Son of Heaven to perform sacrifice to the God of Heaven. Accordingly, Christ, being the son of God, is supposed to offer himself as a Sacrifice to God, to become the lamb of God. Several thousand years ago when the last emperor of the Xia Dynasty lost the Mandate of Heaven, God appointed Emperor Shang to inherit it in order to start a new dynasty. After Emperor Shang assumed the title of the Son of Heaven, God stopped sending rain down to the earth for five years. In each of those five years Emperor Shang offered animal sacrifices to God, but to no avail. Finally, Shang realized that God did not want animal sacrifices but the sacrifice of Shang himself. Shang said, “the sins of the world are for me alone to assume. All the people have sinned against God but it falls upon me to redeem them.” Therefore, he shaved his hair, he bathed his body, and he used himself as the burnt offering for sacrifice in order to appease God. Shang placed himself on the altar, and before the pyre was set ablaze, God was moved to compassion and sent down the heavenly rain. (Chapter of Obedient Citizens, Spring and Autumn Annals of Master LÜ)
In the actual language of Dong Zhong Shu, he wrote,
“Why do we call him the Son of Heaven? If he has been conferred the title of the Son of Heaven he must perform the duty of the Son of Heaven. First and foremost the duty of the Son of Heaven is to perform sacrifice to Heaven.
By Son of Heaven we mean that he is literally the Son of Heaven. First he has to receive the Mandate of Heaven. Then he becomes the Son of Heaven. First he must sacrifice himself to Heaven, after that he can execute the affairs of the kingdom.
Therefore, at the beginning of each year the Son of Heaven must perform a sacrifice to please Heaven.”
Mandate of Heaven The term Mandate of Heaven in Chinese is Tian Ming (天命) which literally means heavenly will or the Will of Heaven. In practice we simply say the will of God. Jesus already pointed out that the kingdom of heaven will come when God’s will is practiced on earth as in heaven. It has been pointed out earlier that some civilization will seek first as ultimate value the freedom of the individual. Others may seek first profit of economic prosperity. But in all ancient Chinese classics, the ultimate value is to seek first to fulfill the Will of Heaven. Thus the duty of the Son of Heaven is to fulfill the Will of Heaven. Whenever the Son of Heaven failed to practice the Will of Heaven, he would lose the Mandate of Heaven and would lose his mandate to rule the country. And that particular dynasty would lose the mandate to rule and the Mandate of Heaven would be transferred to another dynasty. Thus a new dynasty would begin. In all the history of China, there are about twenty-four dynasties until 1911. When all dynasties ended and China became a republic to this day.
Sacrifice to Heaven According to Chinese classics, only the Son of Heaven is qualified to perform sacrifice to the God of Heaven. The feudal lords can perform sacrifice to the departed spirits of the ancestors. And the ministers of the court can only perform sacrifices to the deities of nature. From the Confucius’ classics of Zhong Yong, it is stated that “by the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served God, and by the ceremonies of the ancestral temple they scarified to their ancestors. He who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and the meaning of the several sacrifices to ancestors, would find the government of kingdom as easy as to look into his palm!”
Therefore philosopher Dong Zhong Shu said that it is the duty of the Son of Heaven to perform sacrifice to the God of Heaven. Accordingly, Christ, being the son of God, is supposed to offer himself as a Sacrifice to God, to become the lamb of God.
Mandate of Heaven Presupposes Nature
(中庸书：天命之谓性)
We have mentioned that the two words God and Heaven have been used interchangeably. But in recent years the word Heaven is used to mean nature only. The word Heaven has thus become less religious or non-religious. In the ancient time when the classics and the traditions mentioned sacrifices to the heaven, it is meant that animals be killed and blood be used to sprinkle around the altar to supreme God, Heaven and Earth. In the Chinese language, this is known as Ji Tian (祭天). Only the Son of Heaven is worthy to offer sacrifices to the God of Heaven. The other feudal lords and ministers can only perform to the deities of nature. The Mandate of Heaven includes nature. God is present in all his created nature. So it is his will that we manage and protect the nature. Nature is therefore endowed divinity.
The sacrifice to the heaven is to perform out of our love, respect and fear to God As it is written
“the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom” (Job 28:28)
If nature is endowed with the presence of God, we will respect nature for fear of offending the divine. When I was in Yunnan province there are 26 minorities. In that province, they told me that the minority tribes respect the trees of the forests, but the Han majority race who believe that God is not present in nature. They had no fear of the divine. They would cut down even the tree seedlings for they had no fear of the divine. So the concept of Heaven to include the divinity and nature will instill into the people a deep respect for nature as well. Without deep respect for nature people will feel free to destroy the natural environment for economic progress and profit. Therefore, the traditional Chinese sacrifice to the Heaven can restore the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of the wisdom for respect for nature and all the environmental protections.
“Sacrifice to Heaven” (Ji Tian 祭天) is very important to please the Heaven and secure the Mandate of Heaven. Without the Mandate of Heaven the country will suffer natural disasters, because Mandate of Heaven includes nature. The divine presupposes grace and grace presupposes nature. It is human’s duty to please the Almighty, men can not conquer nature. If men try to conquer heaven, the consequences would be man-made natural disasters oftentimes. Natural disasters are not due to divine punishment but due to man-made ignorance and arrogance, but more oftentimes due to deliberate arrogance knowingly doing the obvious wrongs.
From the classics of Book of History, Shu Jing (书经) four thousands years ago, the environment in those days was known as five elements consisting of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These five can naturally produce each other and control each other to maintain the sustainability of nature. “The Speech at Kan” four thousand years ago stated that
“The lord of Hu wildly wastes and despises the five elements that regulate the seasons and has idly abandoned the three acknowledged commencements of the year. On this account Heaven is about to destroy him and bring an end of Mandate of Heaven to Hu. I am now reverently executing the punishment appointed by Heaven.”
Here the warning is very obvious. The feudal lord Hu of four thousands years ago destroyed the environment of his territories and as a result the Heaven ended his mandate to rule.
From the same book another chapter called “Hong Fan” meaning the great constitution. In it, it recorded that Gun, the father of Yu disturbed the five elements and this made God very angry and Gun lost his life. In the language of Jesus God’s kingdom will come when God’s will is done. God’s will is the same as the Mandate of Heaven and when people on earth destroy the environment, we disobey the Mandate of Heaven and obstruct the coming of His kingdom on earth. So the Mandate of Heaven is directly connected with nature. Today, nature is negatively affected in sustainability and our bio-diversity is negatively affected by genetic modified organisms (GMO). Our land is destroyed by chemicals and family farming is destroyed by industrial scale agriculture.
In many parts of the word, agriculture is carried on by some eighty percent of the population with family farming. When industrial farming replaces family farming, farmers would move to the cities as migrated works. And the family structure will be destroyed on the farm. Do not forget that the kingdom of Heaven is a family with the God as the Father of the family, the Heavenly Father. When the family structure is destroyed on earth the Mandate of Heaven is not obey and the Kingdom of Heaven will not come on earth as in Heaven. In the ancient Chinese classics agriculture is the root of the tree and commerce and industries are but the branches of the tree. This is the evidence that by the fact 80% of the population are engaged in the agriculture. So they are the roots of the nation. We may say that they are the roots of heavenly kingdom. In the advanced nation of the world only less than 1% of the population are in farming; the rest of population more than 90% are engaged as the branches and the leaves of the tree. This is the spiritual crisis.
What then is the Mandate of Heaven? The Mandate of Heaven is to fulfill the Will of God on earth as in Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven is “and the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)
The Mandate of Heaven is God put man in the world to manage a maintain nature “to keep it” is to mean to achieve the sustainability. “He created all lives after its kind and God saw that it was good.” This is to maintain bio-diversity after its species.
In the oldest book of the world the Book of Changes (Zhou Yi, 周易). In the first two hexagrams of “Qian” (乾) and “Kun” （坤）life in nature is also “each according to its kind”. GMO is not “each according to its kind”. It is scientifically created by acrossing different species to make a new kind. What is the unknown do to human’s genetics future? It is a violation of divine principle.
According to the classics of Spring and Autumn (Chun Qiu, 春秋) written by Confucius has a very brief historical account of the feudal state of Lu. He described a several occasions when an evil head of state try to perform sacrifice to Heaven. The evil head of state consulted the divine oracles three times. Each time the answer is that God has refuse to accept a sacrifice, but the evil head of sate carry out the sacrifice nevertheless. Confucius concluded that such a sacrifice was not accepted by God.
“For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:16, 17)
Again we go back to the Book of History (Shu Jing) of some four thousand years ago in which the great Son of Heaven emperor Yu said “The great virtue for a kingdom is a good government. A good government must feed the people, respecting five elements of the nature. Then grains will be produced.”
Still today “what doth the Lord require of Thee? But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6:8)
Transfiguration
“Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
Why did Jesus say “but by me”? Because he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” And that is why. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the only way to God is by the painful truth of self-renunciation of one’s own life. Jesus did just that. He knew what his top priority was. I repeat what he said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:34) By his meat, he meant his top priority.
Several times Jesus said, “Lo, I come to do they will, O God.” What did he do to fulfill God’s will? “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) And that is why when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, said “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” (John 3:16) We go to God not by Jesus’ healing or good example. We go to God by Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Then Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that they Son also may glorify thee.” (John 17:1)
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4)
When Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, at the last moment he said, “It is finished”. And then “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30) Then Jesus died.
How else can we enter into the presence of God except by his sacrifice? What is Christian salvation? As the book of Hebrews said, we have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus”.
Now I would like to point out that not only did Jesus obey the will of God and die as a sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, but he did so with utter self-renunciation. Jesus obeyed the will of God with firmness, determination, and courage. And he overcame human wavering with courage. Therefore he transcended himself. Such a transcendence gave rise to the transfiguration. So that on the mountain the disciples not only saw Jesus but they saw, however momentarily, a transfigured Jesus. Such a vision is known as the transfiguration. And the event of the transfiguration is recorded in three synoptic gospels -- Matthew 17: 1 to 13; Mark 9: 2 to 9; and Luke 9: 28 to 36.
The site of the transfiguration is on a small mountain outside Nazareth. Today, the Roman Catholic Church has a chapel on one side of the hill and the Greek Orthodox Church has a chapel on the other side of the hill. Both claim to have built a chapel on the site. I prayed in both just to be sure.
When Jesus was transfigured, his clothing (or raiment) became radiant. Raiment is made of earthly material which is not a source of light. But the earthly material reflected God’s light and became shining white as snow. For God was moved by Jesus’ resolve of his mind and of his will and his determination with respect to his approaching sacrifice in Jerusalem. On the mountain, Jesus was talking with two prophets, Elijah and Moses. They talked about “his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. And as they talked, Jesus appeared in glory.” The glory shining from the face of Jesus is from within Jesus himself because of his determination and resolve. Because of such qualities, God was moved by the utter filial piety of Jesus. A voice appeared from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son, hear him.”
The reflected light from Jesus’ garment and the internal light shown from Jesus’ face both external and internal light plus the voice from behind the cloud from above constituted the event of transfiguration with multi-dimensional transcendence. This is a very important feast day in the church known as the feast day of transfiguration.
When a woman who had suffered a flow of blood for twelve years touched the fringe of Jesus garment hoping that she would be healed. But Jesus said “Some one touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from me.” (Luke 8:41-56)
When Elias and Moses talked to Jesus about the sacrifice Jesus must go through in Jerusalem. Jesus expressed his determination and obedience to God the Father. Power has gone forth from Jesus and his faith shown with glory. Then came the voice from behind the cloud, “This is my beloved son.”
“This my beloved son” according to Chinese classics is the filial piety (Xiao Dao,孝道) for according to Canon of Filial Piety, “Filial Piety is the primary root of goodness.” “Because of my filial piety, God was moved in his heart to declare that this Jesus is my beloved son. This beloved son in the Chinese classics is worthy of all ancestors that all ancestors are most proud of. Beloved son means begotten of the father with love. The voice said “this is my beloved son” hear him. This hear him is the granting of the Mandate of Heaven. The Canon of Filial Piety said that this relationship between the father and the son is the very nature of the heaven. Therefore, filial piety is the product of birth. In the Chinese culture silk is a transfiguration of mulberry leaves into silk through the dead of silk worms. So the mulberry leaves in Chinese is Sang, （桑）which is the origin of the word “Sang” (丧) which means dead, and through this death into Si (丝，silk). Sacrificial death is the ultimate filial love of the begotten life.
Again from the oldest book Zhouyi, from hexagram number sixteen Yu which indicates that the action of the determination with resolve in obedience is the movement of the Heaven and the Earth together. It is the thunder of the above and earthquake from below. Because of the ancient kings are performing music to commemorate the highest virtue in recommendation to the God above and to be worthy of all the departed ancestors in God’s presence. It is an event of the transfiguration, but it is based on earthly sacrifice. In this hexagram line sixty five said that such determination is a permanent immorality. It is eternally undeviating.
The primary duty of beloved son is to fulfill the will of the Father. This is filial piety. “I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12: 1)
From Zhou Yi hexagram number fifty Ting (Ding 鼎) meaning the Caldron. This hexagram fully illustrates the meaning of this verse. The hexagram says, “The wood underneath is to produce the fire above. This is the sacrifice of the burnt offering. Using wood to light the fire is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” Then the hexagram says “The saint presents himself as a burnt offering to please God. This is acceptable unto God. The moral man positions himself concentrating to the obedience to the Will of God. Hexagram line sixty five says that the caldron has two handles made by gold. This is to enable the person who is offering himself as a living sacrifice to do the presenting.
The Canon of Poetry says that “Zhou Dynasty maybe very ancient and long (over eight hundred years) but the Mandate of Heaven is always the same. Therefore, it is always the Will of God that we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to fulfill His will. So His kingdom maybe here on earth as in Heaven. So that all within the four seas, may naturally respect each other as brothers and sisters of the same kingdom.
The Temple of Heaven
Philosopher Dong Zhong Shu (197-104 BC), a Prime Minister of Han Dynasty wrote in his book: “The Prosperous Dews of Spring and Autumn” (Chun Chiu Fan Lu), in the chapter on “The Meaning of Sacrifice,” “what is Heaven? Heaven is the King of Kings. It is the most respected one of the Sovereign on earth. The Sovereign on earth, on the beginning of the year, should perform the sacrifice to the God of Heaven, at the south side of the capital.”
On another chapter “South Side Sacrifice, “philosopher Dong stated, one must not delay the liturgy of sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, because of the death of parents. The Son of Heaven should attend to the affairs of Heaven like his own parents. Therefore, the Son of Heaven must not fail to perform the sacrifice to the God of Heaven and Earth. The Heaven is the Lord of all. Heaven is the King of all Kings. What is the Son of Heaven? He is the Son of the very Heaven. He should make himself worthy of Heaven.”
From still another chapter, “the Substance of Man is Heaven”. Here Dong wrote, “Who is Heaven? Heaven is the original and earliest ancestor of mankind. Heaven is the very substance of man.” Here the Chinese regards God to be the First Father.
For a visitor of today, the Temple of Heaven is still available and is open to visitors in the South side of Beijing. The Temple of Heaven was the altar for the past Emperors of China to offer sacrifice to the God of Heaven and Earth. The Temple of Heaven covers an area of 273 hectares. The present Temple of Heaven in Beijing’s Tiantan was constructed in 1420 AD, a rebuilt adaptation from previous sites in the region of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty and continued to be used until China became a republic. It is today open to the public. Inside the south entrance is the Altar of Sacrifice. At the North of the Altar is the Hall of Prayer for Grain. Other constructions are: the fasting Palace where the Emperor used to observe the abstinence before he conducted the sacrificial rites at the Temple, and the other building is the Imperial Vault of Heaven.
In earlier dynasties, Sacrifice to the God of Heaven and Earth in China was conducted in open air at the south side of the capital facing northward. It is believed that God’s throne is situated in the North Pole of the Heaven, therefore south situated means facing north. Sacrifice is the highest act of worship. The ceremony took place at the winter solstice every year.