"Yes for Love": Declared on the Cross 2,000 Years Ago

Australia conducted a postal survey on the issue of same-sex marriage, where voters were asked by post, "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?" Out of around 16 million eligible Australians, 79.5% participated in the survey. 

On 15 November 2017, the results were announced. 61.6% voted "Yes", while 38.4% voted "No". The vote was decisively in favour of changing the law to recognise same-sex marriages.

"Yes" campaigners immediately celebrated the vote for same-sex marriage. Various public figures and celebrities lauded the vote, and numerous businesses launched their own celebrations of the results. 

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in his speech on the results, said: "Australians voted for marriage equality. They voted Yes for fairness, they voted Yes for commitment, they voted Yes for love. And now it is up to us, here in the Parliament of Australia to get on with it, to get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do and get this done, this year, before Christmas — that must be our commitment."

If one looks into the Gospels, one would see that the contrast could not be more stark.

In the quiet testimony of Scripture, the Bible tells a very different story of love. 

On a cross between two criminals, hangs the Son of Man on a dark and gloomy day crying out in a loud voice and pleading His Father for forgiveness over those who, in their ignorance, hung Him there (Luke 23:34).

It is the story of a man giving Himself up for His beloved to make her holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27). The Bridegroom for His Bride. A man and a woman.

And with His final cry, "It is finished" (John 19:30), that man Jesus Christ declared a resounding "Yes" for fairness, "Yes" for commitment, and "Yes" for love. 

It was done. He did what the Father had tasked Him to do. That was His commitment.

For it is through this that God shows Himself to be not only just, but the one who justifies. He is the one who commits to us His entire being, even to the point of death, and promises an eternity with Him. He is the God who demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

The message of the cross, therefore, tells of a gift that no human being, authority or institution can ever give. It is a perfect gift that can only come from above.

The message of the cross tells of that "Yes" and "Amen" to fairness, commitment and love that had been decisively spoken, not by the voice of any mere human being, but by the voice of God 2,000 years ago. 

While those who support same-sex marriage and who celebrate the "Yes" vote in Australia may rise in momentary triumphalism, on Calvary's hill 2,000 years ago stood the quiet testimony of Jesus Christ and His cross. It is the story of a man who gave of Himself to redeem His beloved Bride. It is the story of a King who rose from the grave, will return to wed His faithful Bride, will reign forever in victory, and whose kingdom shall have no end.

The festivities will fade, but the world needs to hear, as it had always needed, this same story of the Bridegroom and His Bride. And it is our sacred duty to proclaim it till He returns. That must be our commitment.

Give Glory to God

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

(Joshua 7:19)

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God, " they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

(John 9:24)

Many would be familiar with the taking of oaths to tell the truth in a courtroom. 

In a Singapore court, a Christian would take the oath by placing his left hand on the Bible, and raising his right hand, saying the words "I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give in this Court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God."

In Biblical Israel, "Give glory to God" was a solemn charge to tell the truth. In the Book of Joshua, Joshua begins questioning Achan about his disobedience by asking him to "give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise". In John 9, the Pharisees question the man born blind who had been healed by Jesus by charging him to "give glory to God". 

We see the very same principle expressed in Mark 9:39 when Jesus told His disciples, "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me". Superficial praise offered to God will not glorify Him if we curse our fellow brothers. For this reason, James highlighted this grave inconsistency in his epistle:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 

(James 3:9-12)

We glorify God when we tell the truth. At the same time, we tell the truth when we glorify God. Justice, whether in court or otherwise, is inextricably linked with truth. Without truth, there is no justice. All that is left is your "truth" versus my "truth" with no objective standard to adjudicate between them, leaving only what Friedrich Nietzsche called the "will to power".

Is it any wonder that the collapse of justice that we see in these last days comes hand-in-hand with the denial of God and the objective, absolute Truth? 

The Year of the Sheep or Goat?

At the End of Days, God will not only judge each individual person, but will also judge nations. Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-33:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

The sheep represent the righteous who gave the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink, invited strangers in, clothed the naked, looked after the sick and visited those in prison. The goats, on the other hand, represent the wicked who did none of such things.

In this year of Jubilee, will Singapore be a sheep nation or a goat nation?

Remarkably, this coming Chinese New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the "羊" (yang). The term is broad enough to encompass goats (山羊), sheep （绵羊） or gazelle (羚羊). The article in the Sunday Times, "Sheep muscle in on Year of the Goat" (25 January 2015), explores these different interpretations:

Technically speaking, the different interpretations are not wrong. 

Assistant professor Lee Cheuk Yin, who heads the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, says: "As the Chinese character is yang, the zodiac sign could be interpreted as either shanyang (mountain goat), mianyang (sheep) or lingyang (gazelle) and still be technically correct."

If that is the case, how did the goat claim the coveted spot in the traditional Chinese zodiac in the first place?

The simple answer is that sheep and gazelles were not commonly found in ancient China, so the Chinese were not familiar with these other breeds.

Geomancer Thomas T., 50, who owns Geomancy Hut consultancy, says: "This is why, from a traditional perspective, it's inaccurate to call this the Year of the Sheep or Ram because the zodiac sign has always been associated with the mountain goat."

Another geomancer, Mr Kevin Foong, 35, agrees that the traditional Chinese zodiac is not open to interpretation.

"A goat's horns are a sign of strength, which makes it more majestic compared with the more docile sheep," he explains.

So traditionally, "羊" refers to the goat (山羊) rather than any other breed.

 

羊

 

Other sources have also highlighted that the pictogram "羊" resembles the face of a goat, rather than a sheep, thus supporting the view that "羊" refers to goat rather than sheep.

But the point of the article, as is obvious from its title, is that people are opting for sheep instead. The Sunday Times report reads:

A tour around Chinatown bears this out, with cartoony interpretations of fluffy sheep plastered on everything from red packets to banners and lanterns.  

At Chinatown store Giftmaster, which is selling mainly sheep soft toys for Chinese New Year, sales assistant Ivy Koh, 24, says: "Customers generally prefer sheep to goats as they're more adorable, so we stock more of those."  

Ms Angelia Lim, 50, manager of another store in the area called Feng Shui Specialist, has stocked both goat and sheep merchandise for Chinese New Year.  

While she has seen equal demand for both animals, she says: "It's usually middle- aged customers who opt for traditional goat merchandise, while the younger ones gravitate towards the sheep toys."  

Ms Camille Lin, 33, a Taiwanese tourist who was shopping in Chinatown, says sheep are also beating out the goats in the marketplace at home.  

"We have lots of cute sheep plush toys in Taiwan too. I don't think it dilutes the culture just because the zodiac sign is interpreted differently," adds the waitress.  

Businesses seem to agree. SundayLife! found more than 10 companies who have opted to market and design their festive merchandise or promotional materials around sheep or rams instead of the traditional goat.  

These include Nets, Starbucks, Schroders Investment Management and online retailer Zalora, as well as hotels such as Marina Mandarin, Hotel Jen, Hotel Re! and Royal Plaza on Scotts.  

Lego also has a limited-edition Year of the Sheep set, which comes with a matching hongbao.  

For Schroders Investment Management, choosing a sheep design for its corporate hongbao lent a contemporary touch.  

Mr Jerry Low, its head of marketing, says: "During conceptualisation, we found references to goats, sheep and rams and, after researching the provenance of each, decided to give our design a more modern twist by featuring sheep instead of the more conventional goat."  

Over at Royal Plaza on Scotts, general manager Patrick Fiat says the hotel opted to go with sheep for its marketing campaign as "their shape is rounder, which we felt was symbolic of fulfilment, unity and coming full circle in the Chinese culture". The hotel has also included lamb as part of its festive yu sheng (raw fish salad) special this year.  

Do not let the proliferation of sheep get your goat though, as there is still plenty of merchandise that is sticking to tradition.  

Both Singapore Post and The Singapore Mint have stuck to the classic interpretations of the goat for their official Chinese New Year stamp and coin collections.  

But The Singapore Mint has gone one step further to cater to different tastes and generations. While it uses the mountain goat for its official coin design, a spokesman says the mint has also produced cute money boxes in the shape of sheep that are pitched at kids.  

"The fluffy sheep seemed more relatable to prosperity and we thought it would appeal more to the younger generation," she adds.  

Brands such as BreadTalk have also stayed loyal, naming its festive goat-shaped buns Happy Goat Luck.  

At the end of the day, it does not matter whether you plump for the sheep or stick to the goat.  

As undergraduate Natasha Chong, 20, puts it: "The most important Chinese New Year tradition is to celebrate with your family, no matter the animal on your red packet."

One cannot help but to see the prophetic significance of this, not least due to the title of the article in the Sunday Times, about how sheep have "muscled in". Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." (Matthew 11:12) The Book of Revelation tells of the ultimate triumph of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Yet, as both Scripture and the article attest, both sheep and goats will remain. Prophetically speaking, there will be great confusion in the land, with both great light and great darkness, both contending for the destiny of the nation.

This year of Jubilee will be a year of choosing for Singapore.

Jesus the Returning Warrior, Lover and King

The Bible is a love story from start to beginning, despite the ups and downs, the betrayals and the persecution.

So key to the Biblical narrative is the passionate love between a man and a woman in marriage that the Bible begins and ends with a wedding. In the Garden of Eden, God made male and female, and united them as "one flesh" in marriage (Genesis 2:24). Likewise, the Bible ends with the marriage supper of the Lamb.

David and Michal

One passionate love story that began well but unfortunately ended badly is the story of David and Michal.

When King Saul noticed that his daughter Michal was "in love with David" (1 Samuel 18:20), he promised the hand of his daughter to David for the bride price of one hundred Philistine foreskins. (The choice of foreskins as a "trophy" was due to the fact that the Philistines were uncircumcised, unlike the Jews.) Though it was meant to be a trap so that David would be killed by the Philistines, God was with David and David more than succeeded in his task.

Instead of just one hundred Philistine foreskins, the returning warrior, lover and king (by this time, Samuel had anointed David) came back with two hundred foreskins, and "Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage" (1 Samuel 18:27). Once again, the Bible records that "Michal loved David" (1 Samuel 18:28). So strong was her passion for David that Michal helped David to escape from her father's jealous rage and lied to her father for the sake of her husband.

But this love story did not have a happy ending. While fleeing from Saul, David took other women in marriage as his wives. On the other hand, Michal was given away in marriage to Paltiel son of Laish.

By the time after Saul's death, and after David brought Michal back to him and returned to Jerusalem as king, Michal's disposition towards David had changed. The when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord at the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, "she despised him in her heart" (2 Samuel 6:16). David made sacrifices and burnt offerings, and blessed the people, but was confronted by Michal when he returned home:

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" (2 Samuel 6:20)

David did not appreciate the remark, and the Bible records that "Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death" (2 Samuel 6:23); though it is not clear why this was so, it is more likely than not that David ceased to have conjugal relations with her.

Jesus and His Church

The Book of Revelation tells of a much more beautiful love story of Jesus Christ - the Son of David as he was known to the people at the time - and His bride the Church.

Jesus Christ "loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In the last days, the Church will be subject to intense persecution at the hands of the woman Mystery Babylon and the Beast. The Book of Revelation records that Mystery Babylon "was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Revelation 17:6). But the Beast eventually betrayed and destroyed her.

The great multitude declares, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Revelation 19:7-9)

It is at this point we see Jesus come forth as a passionate Warrior, Lover and King:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

(Revelation 19:11-16)

Jesus Christ and His army captures the Beast and the false prophet and throw them into the fiery lake of burning sulphur, and defeats the kings of the earth and their armies. Satan is defeated, the dead are judged, and then here comes the Bride:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The Returning Warrior, Lover and King

Like David returning for his bride Michal, Jesus Christ fights the good fight and returns as a triumphant warrior king for His Church. But unlike David, Jesus Christ is not a fallen man, nor would he take additional wives. Unlike Michal, the Church is a Bride who loves her husband and willingly submits to His loving headship.

Here is a marriage covenant that will last forever. It is the beautiful Biblical love story of Jesus Christ, the passionate lover, the rider on the horse who judges and makes war, and who finally returns to marry His beloved Bride.