A Part for the Whole?
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”
(Luke 23:13-16)
On September 30, 1938, with the threat of war over hanging over Europe, the prime ministers of Great Britain, Italy, and France signed the “Munich Agreement” with the dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. This agreement said Nazi Germany could take over a part of Czechoslovakia and in turn Hitler would not attack and take over all of Czechoslovakia and start another world war. The prime minister of Great Britain returned home telling his fellow British citizens that this compromise with Hitler meant “peace for our time.” Winston Churchill, who two years later would become prime minister, saw this compromise with Hitler as a disaster. He said to prime minister, “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war.” He was right. Five months later (March 1939), Hitler invaded and conquered all of Czechoslovakia. A few months after that (September 1, 1939), he invaded and conquered Poland. World War II had begun, a war like no other, killing millions, in large part because of the “Munich Agreement.”
They thought they could make a deal with Hitler. They thought they could give him a part of what he wanted to prevent an all-out war. They thought they could compromise with an evil madman and he would be satisfied. They thought they could give him a part so there would be peace throughout all of Europe. A part for the whole.
Sometimes a part for the whole is perfectly reasonable or even necessary. Like when you and friend go out to eat. Your friend agrees to put it on his credit card. Your portion is $17, but in your wallet you just have a 5 and a 10. You say, “All I have is $15.” He says, “Don’t worry. Good enough.” Or a business is really struggling. The creditor is supposed to collect what the business company owes. But the creditor knows that if they require every last penny, the company may declare bankruptcy and the creditor will get nothing. So they make a deal. “Give us 80% of what you owe, and we will call it good.” Instead of “all or nothing” they realize it is “something or nothing.” Take what you can get. A part for the whole.
This is the situation Pilate found himself in. The Jews brought Jesus to Pilate on what were obviously false charges. Pilate’s job was to declare him innocent and set him free. But the Jews wanted Jesus dead. They were determined to have him crucified. They wanted it all. Pilate saw how determined they were, so he offered them a compromise, a deal, a “part” instead of the” whole.” “How about this, “I will punish him and then release him. I will have him severely flogged. That should satisfy you.” It seems like the Jews maybe should have taken the offer so they could walk away saying, “While Jesus may not be dead, he surely learned his lesson.”
But they immediately rejected that offer. They would accept no compromise for a couple reasons. One is that they believed they were the ones holding the highest trump card. They knew that anyone claiming to be a king within the Roman empire without Caesar’s approval was automatically to be put to death. Jesus had just told Pilate he was a king. So the Jews threw this in Pilate’s face. We read in John 19, “Pilate tried to release Jesus. But the Jews shouted, ‘If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!'” (19:12) Pilate was not willing to put his job, and maybe even his own life, in jeopardy. So he gave up on the compromise, the “part,” and the Jews got the whole of what they wanted.
The other reason a compromise – “a part” – was not acceptable is because evil is never satisfied with partial evil. Whether it be Satan or the Old Adam (the sinful flesh), a part of evil is not enough. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with the Son whom the Father sent. We see this in a parable told by Jesus where tenant farmers are not satisfied until they kill the son of the vineyard owner (Mark 12:1ff.) Evil will not tolerate the true and living Son of God. He must be removed; he must be done away with.
The irony is that the Jews thought they were doing something God-pleasing and righteous and noble when in fact they were doing the very opposite. This is how deceiving both the flesh and Satan can be. Like Hitler, the flesh and Satan are willing to make a deal, to compromise, for it doesn’t look that bad, may even look good, but in the end the devil and the sin within us will not be satisfied with anything other than pure evil, complete love of sin, whole unbelief, and total rejection of Christ.
This is why it is never safe to tolerate or justify a little false teaching from Satan. This is why it is never safe to justify even a little sin. We cannot win; we will be devoured.
It is like the alcoholic who thinks he can take just one drink, or the person who says it’s okay to look at a little pornography, or the person who justifies gambling one or two or three times, or the person who thinks it is okay to be lazy once in a while on Sunday morning, or the person who thinks it’s alright to gossip about just certain people, or who thinks he is allowed to hate a certain person or group, or the person who thinks it is smart to compromise between biblical creation and evolution.
The point is not that we may end up immersed in any of these sins (though, God forbid, we could), the point is not that we don’t sin or struggle with sin (for we do and will, which calls for repentance). But the point is that the sinfulness within and the ever-prowling devil without are never satisfied with just a part: sin and the devil want our devotion and love, and that means Christ must go – all of him. And if sin and Satan can use the partial, can use a compromise, to get there they will. When we see sin within us (even if it just a little), when we see false teaching around us (even it is just a little), and think it is okay, it is no big deal, we underestimate the power and intention of someone like Hitler; we underestimate the power and intention of the flesh and Satan.
In one sense, God is similar to the flesh and Satan. God is not satisfied with the partial. To put it in perspective, imagine a husband telling his wife, “I will be devoted and faithful to you partially. In fact, I will be loyal to you most of the time, maybe even 360 out of 365 days of the year.” If we say, “I will love God here, I will trust him here, but not always, not in all situations, not with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength – I will love God partially,” he says, “Not good enough! I want it all. I want complete loyalty and devotion.” And if we do not comply, we are guilty and earn condemnation. It’s all or nothing with God. Jesus was not making a suggestion when he said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The problem of course is we cannot do this in whole. We cannot come close. Our partial obedience is very partial, even on our best days.
So we have these crazy beings on either side of us, neither of whom want anything less than the whole. Satan and the flesh on the one side, the almighty and just God on the other side.
And in between is Jesus, the Son of man and the Son of God. He is the heart and center of the holy Scriptures. What did he do? Did he say, “I am willing to keep the commandments of God, but only in part. Today I will keep these several commandments, but I won’t put as much effort into the others”? Or “I will keep all the commandments, but only in part. I will love God, but not with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength”? Is that what he said and did? No. His righteousness was not partial but perfect.
What about the cross? When he hung there were just some sins imputed to him, bound to him? Did he bear just some of them? Or maybe the sins of just a selected group or kind of people were placed on him? No. It was all sins of all people. Little ones and big ones.
And neither when he was on the cross did he decide to cut his time short. He did not say, “I have suffered long enough. I will come down now. What I have not paid for they will somehow have to finish themselves.” He was not sent to pay only a partial debt. The one to whom we owe our greatest debt, a debt that would only be paid by the fires of hell – the one to whom we owe this debt: God the Father – told his dearest and only Son to pay it all. “Your will be done,” Jesus said. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “It is finished,” not in part, not partially, but fully, completely, wholly.
But this needs to be made personal. It becomes and remains personal as you, a baptized child of God, continue in repentance and faith in Christ. And this faith in Christ means you will not find one sin you have committed not fully and completely forgiven.
If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
(1 John 1:9-2:2)
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