Overwhelming Violence of Action Against Those Who Deserve No Mercy

Is there a God who tells us that He wants Overwhelming Violence of Action Against Those Who Deserve No Mercy? Obviously, there is. But here’s a real news flash – it’s not the God that Christians would truly follow that Jesus taught us to believe in. Not in any way, shape, or form. Even the book of Revelation in the Bible was written to warn people of what had to come – but with the hope that they would turn away from other “gods” and towards Him.

To be sure we’re all on the same page of the same book, here’s a description of the adjacent image:

A monochrome watercolor scene of a darkened room where a narrow beam of light slips through a crooked shutter. The light falls across a dusty, closed book resting on an equally dusty table. The crooked shutter partially distorts the beam, symbolizing how truth can be obscured or misinterpreted when the heart is not aligned with it. The untouched book hints at wisdom long available but left unopened.

The book is labeled TRUTH. It represents Scripture itself-God’s truth offered, present, waiting.

But the real question isn’t what the book is. It’s what we will do with the truth God has already given.

In this instance, the quote below is one thing done with/to that Truth.

✏️ “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of either the Department of Defense or the War Department, depending on what/who you believe.

There was also something about “break the teeth of the ungodly.” All of this, and more is in Pete Hegseth prays at Pentagon service for ‘overwhelming violence’

Yes, there’s more. But honestly, it’s not worthy of being repeated. More than enough is already included here to show that these are not words that should be uttered by a true follower of Jesus or thoughts that should be in the minds of a true follower of Jesus.

Are there really people who deserve no mercy?

This one’s hard to write. The words spoken, claiming to be both Christian and American, make me sick. I’m both of those – Christian first and American for this life. But no part of those words or thoughts fits anything I believe. It’s so sad.

Years ago, I probably would’ve just dashed off something about how horribly wrong this is, criticized the people involved, and felt good about it. I did my “job”. Made my statement. And moved on.

But not anymore. A can’t respond to hate with more hate.

Hate your neighbor – but don’t forget to say grace

All of this reminds me of Barry McGuire’s old protest song — the one that mocked the idea of hating your neighbor while still saying grace. Even sixty years ago, people recognized how easily religious language can mask something very different from the way of Jesus. The line was, Hate your next door neighbor but don’t forget to say grace”. The song, “Eve of Destruction”, sadly shows how little we’ve changed. And if we have changed, it’s maybe not for the better,

✏️ Hate your next door neighbor but don’t forget to say grace

Barry McGuire; “Eve of Destruction”

So, I did what I do now. I research it. Try to see if there’s something I missed. If not, then the journey’s not over.

I also try to figure out what passages someone might have taken out of context. Or some misinterpretation of a passage or multiple passages that might’ve led to an improper conclusion.

To that end, I had a “conversation” with my LOGOS/Faithlife eLibrary AI Agent to do some scripture and scholarly research examination on both the general topic and some specific words. It was rather long. I’ll include the entire transcript in another article, with my own comments to explain the “churchy” details. But for today, only the final Q & A segment is needed. Then I close with some verses to show how to apply them to this situation, and a general thought on how we can examine things like this as true followers of Jesus.

Narrow the focus – are there people who deserve no mercy?

As I mentioned, there was a series of questions. The goal was to set the background and the tone for the AI Agent to be prepped for my final question to it:

From what you just replied – “While Christ’s coming did not eliminate violence from the world, it introduced a new dynamic: Jesus addressed sin not through slaughter but through his own suffering, making clear that worldly power and violence must ultimately yield to the law of love.” – it sounds then, I expect – that as far as true followers of Christ, there is no such thing as someone who deserves no mercy.

And the response:

The Parable of the Merciless Official says Christians are bound to extend mercy to everyone

Since “The Way of the Lord Jesus, Volume One: Christian Moral Principles” references the Parable of the Merciless Official, let’s take a look at it. But first, a quick clarification. While all major translations use the word “servant,” some scholars use “official.” They assume he must have held a high position because of the size of the debt. But the Greek text simply calls him a servant — even a slave — and the enormous numbers are classic parable hyperbole, not a job description. Jesus’ point is far more about the magnitude of mercy than the servant’s rank. Someone who has been shown such mercy is expected to extend it – “to whom much is given, much is required.”

Let’s check out the “amount” of forgiveness in the first case:

✏️ Many millions, literally, “ten thousand talents.” In Roman times one talent equalled 6,000 denarii, a denarius being roughly a day’s wages for a common laborer. If a day’s wages today is in the neighborhood of $50, 10,000 talents would be $3 billion! In the Tanakh a talent weighs 75.6 avoirdupois pounds. This amount of gold, at $350/troy ounce, is worth nearly $4 billion; the same amount of silver, at $4/troy ounce, comes to over $40 million. Haman offered King Achashverosh of Persia 10,000 talents of silver to destroy the Jews (Esther 3:9). The museum in Heraklion, Crete, displays 3,500-year-old Minoan talents—metal ingots used to settle debts. ¹Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary: a companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed., Mt 18:24). Jewish New Testament Publications.

David Stern; Jewish New Testament Commentary

While the difference between Heaven and Hell, one of the two possible eternal destinations, is infinite – this parable serves to give us something to think about when it comes to how great the forgiveness is. Add to that, the fact that God gave up His son as the payment, the debt repaid truly becomes infinite. The refusal to show even a tiny bit of mercy after what was received by the first servant is now put in context. The penalty he received, in line with Hell as opposed to Heaven, is now understandable.

Given this warning by Jesus, we should take heed as to what we have received. The parable also reminds us of the reality that we did nothing to earn this forgiveness.

Grace cannot be earned

Sometimes we do things to make it hard to receive grace. We go the route of the Pharisees, adding rules that don’t exist. We make people do what we did to “earn our grace”, which of course is an oxymoron, but it doesn’t stop us from doing it. We try to protect people from situations that might go badly, even though God is trying to use them as teaching experiences.

Essentially, we remove the free will God gave us, in an attempt to make it easier for us to earn something that’s free. Ultimately, we can end up preventing the person from accepting God’s free gift of grace and salvation – or we can make so difficult to “earn” that they don’t want it – or we exhibit such a poor example of God that they don’t want Him. All sorts of things can go wrong.

And what’s often at the core of those attempts to make people earn free grace? We’re afraid God can’t take care of His people like we can. I hope no explanation is needed to show why that’s so not right.

Grace is not only for some people

Another problem might be that we hate someone so much that we don’t think they deserve God’s grace. Actually, this one is kind of on the right track. It’d be OK if it didn’t split the track – with some people sent on a side-track where the people on it deserve grace. The reality is, none of us do. If we can acknowledge that, we’d be so much better off. Oh – wait – we did acknowledge that. At least, we should have, like when we got baptized. Maybe we forgot.

Or maybe the sin of pride entered. We think we’re so good now that we do deserve grace. Not realizing that we still don’t deserve it. Or that, this side of Heaven, we’re still not “good”/righteousness enough to be in God’s presence.

The thing is, we turn into the person who’s glad they’re not a sinner like all those bad people are.

That’s not an exhaustive list. However, it does show lots of reasons why we convince ourselves, incorrectly, that we deserve grace, but others don’t – because they didn’t earn it.

Grace just isn’t available for some people because …

The thing is, as bad as that last section was, as far from scripture as it is, there’s a worse scenario. Sadly, it’s the one at play in the article we’re looking at. The one where people at the very top of the current administration in the U.S., claim to be Christian, and espouse a fantasy that some people don’t deserve grace or mercy.

Sadly, the title of this piece is from a quote: Overwhelming Violence of Action Against Those Who Deserve No Mercy.

If we took that literally, and or the little bit of truth that’s in it – we all deserve the same thing.

I can’t believe the people pushing this kind of thinking as Christian know what Christianity is about. Because if they do know – they have just prayed for everything they said to come down on us as well. By our own hand, since the prayer is for our own soldiers.

Jesus actually said something very relevant to that kind of thinking.

This is important to understand before we move on. There is no one – not one person – who doesn’t deserve the opportunity to accept the offer of grace. It’s made to all – even though none deserve the offer. And anyone can accept it – no matter what. If that wasn’t true, then it’s not an offer of grace given out of God’s love for all the people He created.

And if there were limits put on the “amount of grace” offered, if there even was such a thing, it would mean Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t enough to cover the cost of our sin. That means, the once for all sacrifice – wasn’t actually a once for all sacrifice.

Mixing up God and the devil

I don’t write this next part lightly. Rather, I must point out that this is the one place in the Bible where Jesus tells us of a sin that will not be forgiven in this age or in the age to come. In other words, ever – for all eternity. There’s no way to lighten this without taking away from the importance. So, with that in mind, let’s proceed.

The passage we’re going to look at is from Matthew’s Gospel.

Who was Beelzebub?

Let’s start with some background – who’s who. Beelzebub is generally thought to be a Philistine God, at least by Jewish scholars.

✏️ It is only by Ba’al-Zibbul, the ruler of demons, that this man drives out demons. The name refers to one of the most powerful gods of the Philistines. Ba’al (lord) reflects the ancient belief that this pagan deity controlled various aspects of local life ranging from rain and agriculture to fertility. So popular was this god that various forms of Ba’al worship spread through the ancient cultures of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.

One of the greatest judgments upon Israel was due to their incorporation of Ba’al worship alongside the true calling to YHVH. The prophets Elijah and Jeremiah were among those who warned Israel in their day of the consequences of such syncretism and idolatry. It should be noted that God sent Israel into Babylon (the land of Ba’al) for 70 years, which seemed to cure the nation of this form of idolatry even to the modern day. The name Ba’al-Zibbul (Baal-prince) was evidently an intentional corruption of the form Ba’al-Zevuv (lord of the fly). This was an acknowledgement of the omnipresence of the pagan deity, as flies are everywhere to be found (cf. 2 Kings 1:2). The Talmudic rabbis added to Ba’al’s notoriety by stressing that Ba’al-Zivuv was the worst demon because he was in fact the lord of idolatry. It can’t get worse than that! ²Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 124–125). Messianic Jewish Publishers.

Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary

However, in the event that it was some other god – any other god – Jesus escalates the comparison all the way to Satan.

Upping the ante

Mt 12:29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.

That reference is to His defeat of Satan. In the process of saying that, Jesus accepted their challenge – and upped the ante to the House limits. The Father’s House.

✏️ Yeshua could not let such serious charges go unanswered. Knowing even what they were thinking, the Messiah had a most challenging response in the form of three statements. First, every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined. If he is in fact performing healing miracles by the power of the prince of demons, it would seem self-contradictory. Why would Satan want to perform a beautiful miracle by driving out himself and other demons?

Only the true God of Israel would want to build up his kingdom in such a positive manner. Indeed, such healings and deliverances are signs that the Kingdom of God has come upon you. Second, it is noted that other rabbis also drive out demons and Ba’al-Zibbul, which begs the question, by whom do your people drive them out? If they perform such healings in the Name of YHVH, why must Yeshua’s work be attributed to Satan?

Third, he puts forth an argument that it is naturally a stronger man who first ties up the strong man (Satan). It must therefore be someone stronger than Ba’al-Zivuv who is able to deliver from such demonic oppression. The powerful reality is that Messiah will come to cast out the works of the Adversary (cf. Isaiah 61:1). Besides being a dynamic testimony in first-century Israel, this situation is a joyful reminder for all Messianic believers even in our day. While the Adversary still roams around seeking to devour, we are promised divine protection as we keep on the armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6:10–18). Although we have a promised victory, we also would be wise to realize that the spiritual battle will continue until the strong man is finally bound by God himself in the abyss for the 1000-year Messianic Kingdom of the future (cf. Revelation 20:1–2). ³Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 125–126). Messianic Jewish Publishers.

Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary

This takes it from the beginning, to their present time, to our present time, to the end of the age. Regardless of who was meant by Beelzebub, Jesus turned it into Satan, from the Garden in Eden to the defeat in Revelation – at that time a promise from Old Testament prophecy.

Sure, they could have backed down and said they didn’t want to take it that far. But really, how could they? It is what they meant and Jesus knew it. Just as He knows what’s on our hearts – no matter how much we try to twist our words to sound “right and good”.

It’s time!

There were times in Jesus ministry when He was rather quiet, almost shy about some things. He even told Mary, His mother, that his time hadn’t yet come – when she told Him there was no more wine at a wedding and wanted Him to make more.

But not here. This was public and very confrontational. Jesus’ own words made that crystal clear in verse 29. Next, He goes even further.

Mt 12:30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

When I was a Catholic, I remember the priests used to tell us, “You can’t sit on the fence.” That is, we had to decide if we were for or against God. Well, that’s what Jesus just declared here. In both examples, inaction was interpreted as a bad thing. Scattering instead of gathering. Against instead of for.

But in the very next breath, the ant gets upped again.

The unforgivable sin

31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

What follows is one of the reasons I like to read Messianic Jewish authors. There’s often much more clarity in what they write, since they have the background of both religions. Their understanding of how the Old Testament (as we call it) scripture, culture, Hebrew language, etc. fits in with what Jesus actually said and what the other New Testament writings refer back to.

✏️ This section marks a dramatic shift in emphasis in Matthew’s account of the life of Yeshua. All the chapters up to this point were presented with the goal of verifying that Yeshua of Nazareth is the promised King Messiah for Israel. Through an extended time of ministry throughout Israel, Yeshua has presented his credentials both in word and deed. Yet such a life and teaching would ultimately lead to a call for a decision. His messianic claims necessitate a black or white conclusion with no room for middle ground.

In his own words, those who are not with me are against me. It is a matter of historical record that many thousands of Jews in first-century Israel responded positively to this call. ⁴Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 126–127). Messianic Jewish Publishers.

Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary

It’s one of the few times I’ve actually read something about that getting off the fence thought.

But this next part – it’s even better. Many authors are kind of hesitant to actually name that unforgivable sin, let alone explain it. There’s no hesitation here.

✏️ Our human nature and choices lead us to all sorts of sin, that is, falling short of God’s holy path for us. What a blessing that our God, the God of Israel, is gracious and compassionate. Any sin can be cleansed if we have a spirit of repentance and turn from our hurtful behavior (cf. I Yochanan/John 1:9).
Yet, what hope is there for those who reject the testimony and conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We are, in a real sense, rejecting God’s only way of forgiveness and restoration. In the immediate context, these statements are a response to the national rejection of Yeshua by the first-century rabbinic leadership. Because of this official response, certain judgments would come upon that generation. While several of these judgments are unique to that time, there is certainly a personal application even for us. Likewise, for our situation, the same gracious God can forgive any repented sin. Yet, what hope is there for olam hazeh or olam haba (for this life or the world to come) if we too reject what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us about Yeshua? If we personally reject or blaspheme the power of the Ruach today, we are likewise in personal danger of the judgment to come. We have also rejected the only way of receiving God’s mercy and forgiveness through Yeshua the Messiah.

When all is said and done, a tree is known by its fruit. The words of the P’rushim (and even our words) are true indicators of the condition of the heart. A good person brings forth good things from his store of good and the opposite is likewise true. The ultimate test of this will be on the Day of Judgment when people will have to give account for every careless word. While this is true to a real degree in our daily lives, the context of Matthew 12 is again vitally important. Primarily, Yeshua is emphasizing the importance of our words in regard to the Holy Spirit’s teaching concerning the person of Messiah. Is Yeshua the King Messiah sent from the Father or is he a false teacher representing the kingdom of Satan? It is by our words regarding this work of the Ruach that we will either be acquitted or condemned. Many in our day say that Yeshua is not our Messiah. What do you say? A fresh, historical understanding of the life of Yeshua from a Jewish perspective can help us see that he is King Messiah for our people Israel as well as for all the nations. May our words and actions testify that we believe he is our personal Mashiach. ⁵Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 127–128). Messianic Jewish Publishers.

Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary

That aligns so much with what I’ve thought for a long time.

Whether that’s losing our salvation, or never having salvation in the first place, we cannot get away with mocking God. Saying words we don’t believe, twisting God’s words into something unrecognizable and even evil – there’s got to be a point at which God says some form of, “I never knew you.”

How can we tell truth from non-truth?

Of course, Jesus follows that up with ways to tell truth from untruth.

Mt 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Maybe we need to look in the mirror at ourselves.

Maybe we need to pray and ask for wisdom when we read other people’s words.

Probably, certainly, we need to do both.

What do we do with all this?

I would certainly want to know if I’m committing that unforgivable sin – long before it’s too late.

So we need to examine things. Especially when things are said in God’s name. When prayers are made, with an assumption that God wants us to pray for those things, a belief that they align with His will. Even with His desires.

I have to tell you, short of extracting one or two Old Testament verses, with no context whatsoever, does this align with anything God said:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for “overwhelming violence of action” against those who “deserve no mercy” during a monthly Christian service held at the Pentagon on March 25.

It’s not a prayer that’s in line with God’s will.

It’s not in line with anything Christians should believe in terms of who God says He is.

If the people in this administration really are trying to be Christians, I have to believe the Holy Spirit is trying to get their attention.

If not, well, that’s a whole different story. It’s not our place to judge them, no matter how much we might want to. That judgment belongs to God alone.

If you’re Christian, you go along with or believe these things are Christian, I have to believe the Holy Spirit’s trying to get your attention as well.

You may find, sadly you will find, Christian Pastors and even some highly respected Christian leaders that love Trump, the things he does and the things he says.

I ask you though, I pray for you – search the Bible for yourself. Don’t just accept what somebody said. Verify what I wrote. I gave you my sources, included the full scripture passages as opposed to just pulling out a couple verses, included other sources, such as the Messianic Jewish Commentary.

Check it out.

You may be finding yourself feeling a spirit of lightness, love, grace, and mercy – rather than a spirit of hatred.

Maybe we’ll see each other one day in Heaven.

What comes next isn’t something I can force on anyone.

Jesus’ warning in this passage is not mine to soften, reinterpret, or weaponize. It stands on its own. And at this point, the conversation is no longer between me and you – it’s between you, your own Bible, your own conscience, and God.

I can lead you to the words Jesus spoke.
I can show why they matter right now.
But I cannot make you see what He meant, or how it applies.
Trying to push harder than that doesn’t help anyone. It only chokes the very truth I’m trying to offer.

So I’ll leave the passage where Jesus left it:
as a mirror, a warning, and an invitation.

What you do with it is between you and Him.

🙏🙏🙏

Footnotes:

• 1
  Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary: a companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed., Mt 18:24). Jewish New Testament Publications.
• 2
  Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 124–125). Messianic Jewish Publishers.
• 3
  Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 125–126). Messianic Jewish Publishers.
• 4
  Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 126–127). Messianic Jewish Publishers.
• 5
  Kasdan, B. (2011). Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah: A Messianic Commentary (pp. 127–128). Messianic Jewish Publishers.