Would Jesus Burn the Koran?

I think that this was the first post I did in this blog back in September, 2010 and I thought to myself I would re-post it today.  I almost can't believe this man is back in the news....almost.

Jed

Typically, I would not entertain subjects such as this whole controversy of burning the Koran that has filled so much of the news lately but today I have in fact felt motivated to do just that.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you will have heard about this Pastor in Florida who decided that he was going to burn the Koran.

As you can tell from the name of this blog, Work of the Gospel, what I think we should be about is just that and that includes Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, FL and the members of his congregation.

Most people who are contemplating ministry ideas look to the scriptures for guidance.  They look for specific areas of scripture that say you shall do or not do this.  Or, they look for examples that show that certain behavior was acceptable or not.  Looking for examples let's consider what Jesus did.

If we scour the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts we see all of the recorded words and actions of Jesus while He was here up to and including His resurrection and ascension into heaven.

Was Jesus a grandstander?  Quite the contrary, people sought Him out, not the other way around.

Jesus by His words and actions drew those crowds.  "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor," Luke 7:22a

Jesus did not lead a rebellion against the Romans or the Jews that were in power.  Jesus did not promote fights, organize gorilla attacks, or the destruction of infrastructure.

Jesus instructed us to love our enemies and those who persecute us as well as to be peacemakers both of which are specific to Matthew 5.

When we read in Matthew 14 that Jesus' cousin John the Baptist was beheaded He didn't lead His followers against Herod but rather He withdrew privately to a solitary place.

When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the kingdom of God His instructions to them if their message was not listened to or welcomed was to simply shake the dust off their feet and to move on.

What is the Pastor Jones saying by burning the Koran and what does he hope to reap?

Will he motivate those who follow Islam to seek out more about Jesus because they are so impressed by this action?

I would instead offer the following scripture as a more appropriate alternative of how we should deal with the subject of the Koran, "Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, "Listen and understand.  "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean'."

Then the disciples came to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Leave them; they are blind guides.  If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  Matthew 15:10-14

Jesus' advice, "Leave them."

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.