I wish to explore here the concept of accountability for any person who claims to be a follower of Jesus. To look at accountability, one has to also look at responsibility.

Context

My views on accountability sit in the context of the ongoing war between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories – the Gaza Strip specifically, which is ruled or misruled, (depending on the framework you choose) by the Hamas.

The Hamas took Israel by surprise on 7 October 2023, killing over a thousand civilians and taking almost 300 hostages. Israel responded on multiple fronts, cutting off fuel, food, water, aid, and carpet bombing the Gaza Strip to rubble. As of December 30, 2023 Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor estimated Gaza Strip deaths as 30,034 total and civilian deaths at 27,681 which would mean about 2,353 militant deaths.  Of the 27,681 civilian deaths are women and children. Those displaced from their homes run into more than a million people. There are 66,000 people wounded in Gaza. For accurate casualty data, visit the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs << https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties>&gt;.

Personal responsibility

Any professed follower of Jesus is personally responsible for the steps they take to emulate, in their own lives, the teaching and commands of Jesus. It is a very personal commitment that an individual may make to Almighty God through Jesus.

In Matthew 16: 24-26, Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

Jesus repeats the above message in Luke 9: 23-25, this time to a crowd of people that included 5000 men.

Accountability to God

A follower of Jesus is accountable to her or his Creator God for their public actions and behaviour.

A prime example of this is when King David confessed to Almighty God after his power relationship with Bathsheba, killing her husband in his all-encompassing desire to possess her. King David was later exposed by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:13, David then confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” King David’s repentance can be read in Psalm 51.

Radical teaching

Jesus Christ lived a very active life and led his followers and his disciples by example. Jesus Christ was also extremely blunt with the leaders in his community.

We see one example of Jesus’ teaching to a rich man, which is found in three of the four gospels. In Mark 10: 17-22, we read the following discourse:

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions…

An analysis

In the above discourse, Jesus Christ tailors Moses’ ten commandments to suit the person’s circumstances. Jesus Christ uses only those commandments that relate to maintaining good and healthy human relationships.

Jesus Christ omits the following commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image . . .
3. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy god in vain…
4. Observe the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy . . .
5. Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s wife …

Jesus Christ addresses the following commandments with the rich man:

1. Thou shalt not kill
2. Neither shalt thou commit adultery
3. Neither shalt thou steal
4. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour
5. Honor thy father and thy mother . . .

Jesus Christ also includes the following commandment:

1. You must not cheat anyone.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 reads as: “Never take advantage of poor and destitute labourers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

Finally, Jesus Christ gives the rich man this command – with love in his heart: “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor…”. The poor and marginalised are never far from Jesus.

Today Jesus Christ tells his followers to be personally involved in ensuring equity. He tells his followers to step aside from their wealth and privilege, and ensure a voice for the people dispossessed and displaced.

A call for action

The Australian Government notes the following on its Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website << https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/occupied-palestinian-territories>&gt;: Australia does not recognise a Palestinian state. We are committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders.

In this context of the Israel – Occupied Palestinian Territories (Gaza Strip & West Bank) war, followers of Jesus must pray for peace and not war.

Followers of Jesus must not feed into the misinformation and disinformation that is rife on the Internet in terms of the historical, political, religious, social, and biblical frameworks that are purported to rationalise and trivialise the human cost of war in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As followers of Jesus, we are accountable to Almighty God for our actions and our inactions. 

Presley Peter