The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles

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(17-6) Must a True Disciple Make a Choice between the Kingdom of God and the World?

Concerning the need to choose, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the First Quorum of the Seventy, has written the following:

“There is a special sense of urgency infusing itself into many Church members everywhere that says, quietly, but insistently—this is the time for us to choose! It is not just that God will insist that we choose for our own sake, but that those who depend upon us, or use us as a reference point, need and deserve to know which way we are going. It is no good posing as a lifeguard if one is a non-swimmer. It is no good being a guide if one leaves his post and wanders with the multitude in search of another way, ‘for there is none other way,’ especially at a time when there is a sharper and sharper divergence in the way of the world and the straight and narrow way. The disciple must not only stand in ‘holy places’ but on holy issues and ‘not be moved.’

“In short, the events of our time and spiritual decay in the world have produced for us the equivalent situation faced by many of the disciples who followed Jesus. They followed him until he began to preach the ‘hard sayings’—the doctrines that really demand not only belief, but performance; doctrines which would distinguish them from their contemporary society. The Lord wants us to put some distance—behaviorally—between ourselves and the world, not because we love mankind less, but precisely because we do love men. It is for the world’s sake that we must sanctify ourselves. When Jesus’ followers faced their moment of truth, John records, ‘From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’ Jesus turned to the remainder and queried them, ‘Will ye also go away?’ (John 6:66–67.)” (A Time to Choose, pp. 39–40.)

Nearly two hundred years before the public ministry of Jesus began, Antiochus Epiphanes, a Selucidian king who controlled Palestine, attempted to destroy Judaism by compelling his subjects to accept the Greek culture. In a show of utter contempt for the Jewish faith, Antiochus sacrificed a pig (the filthiest of animals, according to the Jews) upon a small Greek altar built for the occasion within the temple confines. Following this, Antiochus prohibited all religious ordinances enjoined by the law of Moses and ordered the burning of all known copies of the Jewish law. Finally, he ordered that heathen altars be constructed throughout Palestine and that the Jews worship the heathen gods or suffer death. This suppression of the Jewish religion precipitated what is known as the Maccabean revolution.

Judas Maccabaeus, together with his four brothers, gathered about him a number of devout Jews who refused to honor the demands of Antiochus. They formed a guerilla army and waged relentless war against the troops employed by Antiochus to enforce his religious policies. Eventually, the Maccabees seized control of Jerusalem. Judas then proceeded to purify the temple (which for three years had been used to make offerings to Zeus) and restore the worship of Jehovah. The Feast of Dedication, sometimes called the Feast of Lights, or Hanukkah, was inaugurated to celebrate the recovery and rededication of the Jewish temple. The feast takes place in the month of Chislev, corresponding to portions of our months of November and December, and lasts for eight days. It is marked by elaborate meals, special synagogue services, and extra illumination in all homes. Hence its title, “Feast of Lights.” (See Harper’s Bible Dictionary, pp. 133, 406–7.)