An element of tragedy

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin,” which sounds like he’s nailing the world to the wall for its evil. 

But the Greek word for sin in that verse is hamartia (har-ma-tee-ah), which carries with it an element of tragedy. Because at its root hamartia means “to miss or fail.” It’s not about nailing anybody to the wall, or condemning people for what they’ve done. It’s more about what causes a person to “miss” or “fail,” like a fatal flaw in his nature that sets off a series of disastrous events, or a tragic error of judgment that causes one’s life to unravel.

And isn’t that the story of Adam and Eve? They sinned, yes, but what was their sin? Was it rebellion against God, or was it more about being suckered into a tragic error of judgment by a very clever liar? Which in turn, though, also highlighted a fatal flaw in their nature, that led them to believe they could do without God because they could be like God themselves. That same fatal flaw would then repeat itself endlessly through history in billions of other people too, who, like Adam and Eve, would “miss” or “fail” to consult with God for guidance and strength in difficult and tempting situations. The Old Testament story of Israel being a long and sad illustration of that, of people with enormous promise and potential wrecking their lives again and again for not trusting God.

And who isn’t “guilty as charged” in that regard? But God’s charge against the world isn’t just to prove the whole world guilty of such a sin, it’s a lament as well, a cry to the world by the Holy Spirit of “How could you be so stupid?” The aim of which isn’t condemnation, it’s to wake people up to this fatal flaw in our nature that causes us to miss the obvious.

Such was the case in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit through Peter faced his fellow Israelites in verse 22 with some blatantly obvious facts, that “Jesus was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” But “you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death” (23). In other words, “How could you be so stupid,” when surely it was obvious in Jesus’ life and resurrection that “God made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (36). 

So guilty as charged, yes, but on realizing their tragic error of judgment they were “cut to the heart” (37). And so began the second stage in the Spirit’s court case in John 16:10 – “In regard to righteousness”….(next blog)