ταπεινός (tapeinós) & ταπείνωσις (tapeínosis): Part II—From the false techniques religious syncretism to the reception of the transformative mystery of the voluntary humiliation of Christ
As we reviewed in the last post, ταπείνωσις (tapeínosis), which is derived from the root noun, ταπεινός (tapeinós), characterizes one who remains ever “ low”, “not rising far from the ground.”
The first use of these words took us immediately and directly into the very heart of Jesus, the only one Whose heart is is truly “meek and lowly” (taipenos). And here we encountered a great paradox.
As we, crushed under the weight of the world’s demands/expectations/projections, take the burden of His yoke upon ourselves, we begin to experience true rest (ἀνάπαυσιν [anapausis])—not the false rest of This Fallen Age that we “earn” through our endless labor (Rev 14:11); but the rest of New Creation (Rev 4:8 [These being the final two uses of anapausis in the NT]), that comes in and through Him Who became low that we could be lifted up; that became poor that we could have eternal riches.
And this then led us into the mindset of Mary, in whom we see the living paradox of one whose life displays how we may be made rich through poverty, exalted through extreme humility.
From the Magnificat of Mary we are taken into the book of Acts, which will be the focus of this post. And though the next occurrence of tapeinós will not occur until the close of chapter 8, we will not jump directly to it, but rather trace the narrative of Luke through the entirety of the chapter until its use in Jesus’ fulfillment of the final Suffering Servant hymn of JHWH (8:32-33; cf. 53:7-8).
In the process, we will hopefully begin to more clearly see how false religion operates, human technique proliferates and the fallen mind mitigates against the genuine pathway of conversion, all the while revealing how the Spirit works in the heart of mankind to bring inner transformation.
Summary Synthesis
The wider context for the next occurrence of tapeinós is Saul’s persecution of the Church that scatters believers throughout the ancient world. What we then encounter is the Gospel of Jesus Christ breaking into the unlikely community of religious syncretism in Samaria.
Here, an apostolic critique first unveils the techniques utilized by the fallen mind to empower a community not through the Spirit of God but through spiritual means under man’s control. Then we are given an apostolic word that reveals the pathway to true metanoia, which ultimately carries us to the foot of the Cross where we witness the cosmic humiliation and abasement (tapeínosis) of the crucified Messiah that opens us up to the exaltation of the New Creational life in the risen and glorified Christ.
Detailed Analysis
Acts
From the heart of Jesus in His life on earth and the humility of Mary, the Christotokos (in the words of Cyril of Alexandria), we return to Christ, yet this time in His Passion and death.
Following the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60) and the ensuing persecution under Saul, the church in Jerusalem is scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (8:1-3).
Samaria and Syncretism
As the Church, in the words of Luke, is scattered “everywhere” with its members “preaching the word” throughout Asia Minor, we are taken to Samaria where Philip is “preaching Christ to them” (8:4-5) and confirming the Word through miraculous signs (σημεια [smeia]).
With their cultural history mittigating against their reception of the true faith, the Scripture says that“They heeded the words with one accord” (literally, “with one outburst of passion”: ομοθυμαδον [From ὁμοῦ + θυμός). The end result is that they, the pagans of all pagans, the enemies of the Jews hear and believe.
As the history of Samaria may provide insight into our modern context of religious technique and syncretism, we pause for a moment to examine it in a bit more depth.
Samaria: A Background
As unlikely as it was, Samaria finally receives the Gospel of the Messianic King, the very culture which had fully rejected the Messianic line under Rehoboam (I Ki 12:16, 19) for the false king Jeroboam. With all of their cultural history mitigating against it, as literally every king in Israel followed “the sins of Jeroboam” (they now receive the Lord Jesus—they who had exchanged the Presence of JHWH for a counterfeit Judaism, driven fully and totally by technique (the golden calves, the high places, the false feast in the eighth month, etc. [I Ki 12:28-33).
And this great “sin of Jeroboam” was perpetuated under the ensuing kings: Baasha (I Ki 15:33-34, 16:1-3), Zimri (I Ki 16:18-19), Omri (I Ki 16:25-26), and let’s not forget Jezebel and Ahab, who “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (I Ki 16:31-33).
And one reason why the counterfeit system of false religion was sustained was because it “worked” …at least for a little while…until it didn’t.
In time, the reality of the counterfeit became revealed. And when the trying fire came down that has the power to refine the genuine, it utterly destroyed them.
As the writer of First Kings summarizes it, “They followed after vanity and became vain” (From vanus meaning “empty,” 17:15).
And empty they died.
The Assyrian forces under Shalmaneser beseiged Samaria, and after three years of horrific famine, the city was finally taken by Sargon II (II Ki 17:5ff, 18:9ff; Josephus, Ant, IX, xiv, 1).
Judah survived (Is 36-37); the Northern Kingdom of Israel did not.
The Resettlement of Samaria: Their technique and its result
Yet this was not the end, for the Assyrians repopulated Samaria, bringing men from “Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel” (II Ki 17:24). And when judgment came upon the new settlers, their response—their human technique—was to bring a false priest back from captivity to “teach them how to fear the Lord” (17:28).
Then we are given the result of their technique, of their syncretism:
“They feared the LORD, and served their own gods” (17:33).
Once again:
They feared the LORD, and served their own gods”
That is to say, they followed the external elements of the law of God (which became reduced to syncretic techniques) solely for the secondary gain of pursuing more fully their own desires, which would rule over them, empty them of truth and meaning and finally destroy them.
The question then becomes, Do we do this?
Possibly, even a little…?
In our homes, families, churches, Christian clinics? Setting up systems so as to get the outcomes we want, all the while covering it over with a bunch of religious-sounding words to ease our consciences?
Well, Samaria is an example par excellence of just this and we should be instructed by it.
Yet the text in Acts 8 continues, where we see an even more egregious example of intertwining human techniques with vital Christianity; yet this time around it occurs not in relation to OT Levitical law but with the Law of Christ poured out by the Holy Spirit. First we encounter a syncretist, who seeks to use religion for secondary gain; then a genuine follower who submits to the Word revealed in the crucified Messiah.
Two Encounters:
1. Simon the Sorcerer
His counterfeit but impressive techniques
The text then introduces us to a “certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery (μαγεύων [mageúō, from which we derive the word, “magic”]). And the effect of his works of sorcery and magic on the city was that it “astonished the people of Samaria” such that they began “claiming that he was someone great (megas)” (8:9). Even more, because he had been operating his sorceries in their midst “for a long time”, they said of him “This man is the great power of God” (δυναμις [dynamis] του θεου, 8:10).
The result of his dynamic power was that they “all gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest.” He offered them, we might say, an infernal imitation of the miraculous signs (smeia) of Christ and His Kingdom (cf. Jn 2:11, 2:23, 4:54…12:37-38). He offered them what Pharaoh’s “wise men” and the “sorcerers” and “magicians” offered, who also had access to a certain infernal power “with their enchantments” such that they could imitate the miraculous signs of Moses in the first three plagues (Ex 7:11-14, 15-22; 8:1-7).
Yet there power was limited, as is demonstrated in the next plague where the magicians were unable to conjure lice such that they came to Pharaoh and declared, “This is the finger of God” (8:19), i.e. Only God Himself could do this.
Well, Simon, who had such power of conjuring, also, it seems, knew the limitations of his power to the degree that he sought still more.
So enters the Apostle Philip…
Simon the sorcerer meets Philip the Apostle
When Simon encounters Philip, who “preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,” he comes to believe such that he is actually baptized (Acts 8:12-13).
Amazing.
This sorcerer believes and is baptized.
Yet, we find as the narrative continues that he has not yet experienced a true renovation in his mind/heart/soul/nous. His way of thinking/feeling/operating—His phroneo—has not been changed. In short, there has not yet been a genuine metanoia.
This becomes clear when the “apostles who were at Jerusalem” hear that Samaria had “received the word of God” and send “Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (8:14-15).
And receive the Holy Spirit they did by the laying on of hands (8:17).
How the worldly mind approaches vital faith (even after baptism)
And how does Simon, a newly baptized convert, respond?
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (8:18-19).
That is to say, the laying on of hands is now a new technique to empower fallen man; to give him greater levels of control over others.
How the apostolic mind approaches faith
And how does Peter respond?
Does he accept the money, knowing that it could be a key resource in advancing the Gospel further in Samaria…?
“But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you” (literally, ‘be to you for destruction’ [σοι ειη εις απωλειαν] 8:20a).
And why is that the case?
Why such a forceful response? Such a harsh judgment?
‘Because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!’ (8:20b).
Or, in other words, you thought your money could control then replace The Gift, Who is the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Human Technique and Ministry: Parameter change vs a leverage point
Do we in our heart of hearts not in many ways think the exact same way as this baptized sorcerer? Though we may not actually admit it, is his ethos, nonetheless, operative in our own ministry work?
In the words of Doug and Judy Hall, “As Western Christians, our knee-jerk reaction is to use our worldly riches to try to solve problems, even the problem of a declining faith in our Western culture”—a problem which they, following Jay W. Forrester, founder of the social science of Systems Thinking, contend, cannot be solved from outside-in solutions. Forrester termed such outside-in attempts as paramater change.
That is to say, seeking to provoke change in the system from manipulating elements outside of the system; rather than utilizing internal elements from within the natural living environment itself (“The life is in the blood”). When one operates on the outside, on the parameter (as, for example, with a focus on money), the ability to find a leverage point that can cause transformative change in the living environment of the entire system is…essentially…impossible.
Yet we still think that if we control the parameter, specifically operating through money and resources, then we can exert leverage on the entire system.
Not the case.
Yet we in the Western church continue to rely on it…heavily…maybe even obsessively.
The Law of Unintended Negative Consequences
And maybe that offers us an answer as to the problem of why our declining faith doesn’t actually improve even with all of the resources we throw at it, as for example, in America spending, in certain statistics, up to $285 billion a year in ministry activity (ibid., Ch 9).
Instead, the problem grows worse; the disease spreads. The Law of Unintended Consequences, or in the realm of ministry, The Law of Unintended Negative Consequences, is in full effect.
And why?
Because the disease is systemic, affecting every body system, we might say. And we have not addressed the spiritual core. Rather we have contented ourselves to stay on the parameter, where we have only the delusion of control.
So then, if we’re really seeking a pathway forward, the question must become,
How do we move beyond the parameter so as to actually address the core problem?
The Two-fold Apostolic corrective
Peter answers this first by addressing the core, speaking clearly and directly:
‘You have neither part nor portion in this matter,
For your heart is not right (ευθεια) in the sight of God
It should be noted here that in the LXX of Ps 78:37 the exact same words are used in regards to the Israelites (ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν οὐκ εὐθεῖα) being given over “to their own desire” (78:27) in the wilderness to the degree that they were “not deprived of their craving” (v 30). The result, then, was that they became hardened to the judgements of God (v31-32a) and refused to believe “His wondrous works” (v 32b) such that JHVH “consumed their days in futility” and “their years in fear” (v 33).
A relevant case study for our increasingly therapeutic age in which fear abounds…
Then he follows this diagnostic assessment by offering the leverage point necessary for transformative change:
‘Repent (μετανόησον [metanoeó]),
therefore of this your wickedness,
And pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
He then explains:
For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.’
Literally this says, ‘I see you existing in the gall of bitterness and in the chains of unrighteousness,” [εἰς γὰρ χολὴν πικρίας καὶ σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας ὁρῶ σε ὄντα, 8:21-23, which follows the wording of Deut 29:17-21 where the gall of “bitterness” and “wormwood” (v 18) represent the manifestation of the “curses of the Covenant” coming upon the people of God whose “heart turns away from the Lord” such that one “hears the words of the curse” yet ‘blesses himself in his heart.”
The obsession with control through human means operates in our hearts and minds in just this way, becoming for us not only a chain that imprisons us but wormwood and gall that poison us and any attempts towards “ministry” (cf. Amos 5:7, 6:12…Rev 8:10-11).
And how does Simon respond?
Though a self-proclaimed believer who has been baptized, he responds in a way that reveals he is still thinking primarily of himself and his own self-preservation:
“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
And with these words, the encounter with Simon, the baptized sorcerer, comes to a close.
No resolution.
Just a picture of one baptized yet entirely consumed with self. And while it is certainly possible that the encounter did lead to true metanoia, Luke ends the narrative at this point with Simon left to respond to the call of repentance and take up the cross Christ gives him so as to “work out his own salvation with fear and trembling.”
2. The Ethiopian Eunuch:
The counterexample
From the tension of Simon’s double-mindedness, Luke brings us to the Ethiopian eunuch, who in contradistinction, is seeking not himself and the fulfillment of his own desires, but rather the mystery of the Suffering Christ. Philip, being directed by the “angel of the Lord,” enters into the deserts of Gaza and finds a high-ranking official of the queen of Ethiopia (8:26-27a). This man, unlike the sorcerer, has submitted himself to the Word of God and has “come to Jerusalem to worship” (8:27b). And there, sitting in his chariot, away from the world, completely out of the sight of man, he is reading the final of Isaiah’s four “Servant Songs of JHWH” (8:28, cf. Is 52:13-52:12).
Immediately, we are struck by a different spirit.
We see this in the way the Ethiopian eunuch responds to the Apostle, who comes to him at the prompting of the Holy Spirit (8:29-30). Is he, like Simon, seeking through religion some greater power, prosperity, control? For that matter, is he seeking any secondary gain at all?
It becomes clear to us in what follows that this man is seeking only to understand, to know, the Messiah, the Suffering Servant of JHWH; yet he is painfully aware that he cannot come to this understanding unless someone guides him (8:31).
Isaiah 53 and the Humiliation (tapeínosis) of the Suffering Servant
Luke continues,
“The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation (ταπεινώσει [tapeínosis]) His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth” (8:32-33, cf. Is 53:7-8).
This powerful official in the royal court of the Ethiopian empire meets in the Scripture not a Messianic figure, who is a conquering man of power, using His divine agency to overwhelm and control; Rather, he meets a man who willingly suffers humiliation, who silently endures abasement, who takes upon Himself all the injustice of This Fallen Age.
And who exactly is this man?
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (8:35).
Baptism into Truth unto the spirit of rejoicing
This Ethiopian official then begs the Apostle to be baptized (8:36), to which Peter declares, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (8:37a).
“I believe,” he replies, “that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (8:37b).
Philip takes him “down into the water and baptized him” (8:38). And “when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away” (8:39a). The baptized gentile official is left there never to see the Apostle again (8:39b).
Yet, the text confirms the genuine reality of his faith together with the inner-working of his baptism with the way in which he continues forward:
“And he went on his way rejoicing (8:39c).
So the chapter ends and we are brought from the martyrdom of Stephen and the ensuing persecution of Saul to the Gospel breaking into the most unlikely of places in Samaria. And while there is an initial attempt to confine and control it within human techniques of syncretism, we finally witness the transformative power of the Gospel being displayed in the humiliation and abasement (tapeínosis) of the crucified Savior.
And to the extent that we willing enter into its depths, we will be raised up with Christ into its heights.