Years ago, Dave Chappelle used to have his own show. It was a pretty vulgar show, but I was an unbeliever living in the Middle East with plenty of free time, so I watched it with no moral conflict. Anyhoo, I was reading something in Dallas Seminary’s library recently that reminded me of an episode that I had watched over 10 years earlier.
Charlie Murphy (that’s Eddie Murphey’s brother) used to get on the Chappelle Show and tell stories about encounters he had with different celebrities in Hollywood. The most famous of his episodes was about the musician, Rick James.
According to Charlie, he was at his brother’s house when Rick James walked in wearing muddy boots. Rick sat down on and commenced to rubbing his dirty feet all over Eddie’s new suede couch.
In the interest of fair and balanced journalism, The Chappelle Show interviewed Rick James about the incident.
Here is a clip of his side of the story:
Let’s analyze Rick James’ defense of himself. The video had to rewind to make sure the audience caught it, so here is a transcription of what he said, just to make sure you caught all the details:
See, I never just did things just to do them. Come on, what am I gonna do, just all of a sudden jump up and grind my feet on somebody’s couch like it’s something to do? Come on, I got a little more sense then that.
…Yeah, I remember grinding my feet on Eddie’s couch.
The argument has four sentences. Here is the train of thought:
1. The presentation. “See, I never just did things just to do them.”
2. The reason. “Come on, what am I gonna do, just all of a sudden jump up and grind my feet on somebody’s couch like it’s something to do?”
3. The evidence for the reason. “Come on, I got a little more sense then that.”
4. The conclusion that transcends all reason. “…Yeah, I remember grinding my feet on Eddie’s couch.”
So, fast forward to recent. I was in the library, reading what theologians have written, and I came across a particular footnote on Luke 17:21. Here’s what that particular verse says:
nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21 NASB)
And here’s what that particular four-sentence footnote said:
The phrase, “in your midst” is sometimes translated “in you” with a view to the thought that the kingdom is a spiritual reality in the hearts of Jesus’ hearers. This cannot be the case in this passage since His hearers are Pharisees who reject Him. In Matthew 23:27, Jesus pronounces woe upon the Pharisees, whom He likens to “whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanliness.” The kingdom of God is to present itself as a spiritual reality in their hearts.1
Notice the similarities between the Rick James couch incident and this kingdom theology? I happen to agree with the first three sentences, but let’s break this one down:
1. The presentation. “The phrase, “in your midst” is sometimes translated “in you” with a view to the thought that the kingdom is a spiritual reality in the hearts of Jesus’ hearers.”
2. The reason. “This cannot be the case in this passage since His hearers are Pharisees who reject Him.”
3. The evidence for the reason. “In Matthew 23:27, Jesus pronounces woe upon the Pharisees, whom He likens to ‘whitewashed tombs […]’”
4. The conclusion that transcends all reason. “The kingdom of God is to present itself as a spiritual reality in their hearts.”
I happen to agree with the first three points of this statement (I do, however, find the first three of Rick James’ points to be rather suspicious). The problem is that we don’t have biblical support for a spiritual kingdom in men’s hearts. Some try to use Luke 17:21 to spiritualize the kingdom and put it inside people, but as the above spiritualized kingdom theologians pointed out, Luke 17:21 simply does not support the view.