Most people today imagine
that the point of Christianity is
“to go to heaven when you die.”
That’s what most believers believe.
It’s what most unbelievers unbelieve.
It’s certainly what journalists, broadcasters,
and popular commentators think
Christianity is supposed to be all about.
They are all wrong.
The point of Christianity is
not that we should go to heaven.
The point of Christianity is
that heaven should come to us.
So writes the noted Christian theologian N.T. Wright with the opening to his 2025 book God’s Homecoming: The Forgotten Promise of Future Renewal.
What’s At Stake?
What is the point of Christianity — viewed in the context of past, present and future? That’s the question addressed by this blog post. I wish to approach this from the diverse perspectives of four New Testament (NT) gospel writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Along the way, we’ll have a chance to circle back to N.T. Wright’s perspective — also that of the rock legend Led Zeppelin.
For professing Christians, understanding what scripture teaches provides comfort — even in the midst of the storm. For non-Christians or those of no religious persuasion, there’s benefit of riding with Christians on values and actions of mutual interest — also added hope for—yes—even life after death.
Matthew — Prophecy Fulfilled
As the first of the NT gospel writers (likely in timing as well as in biblical order), Matthew’s gospel is all about portraying Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament (OT) prophesy. Most specifically, Matthew aims to describe Jesus as the Messiah (or king in the line of David) who would restore Israel’s glory and pre-eminence among the nations.
More than any other gospel writer, Matthew’s gospel is the one most focused on finding the stairway to heaven. Or more specifically, avoiding the slippery stairway down to Gehenna (hell). Matthew quotes Jesus as instructing his audience to “not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
And Matthew ends his gospel with Jesus commanding his followers to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Salvation may be both individual and communal. It’s not about creating heaven on earth. Rather, it espouses a missionary zeal to proselytize, to save oneself and then also save as many others as possible from the pitfalls of hell.
Mark - Dimwitted Disciples
Mark’s gospel parallels many of the events recorded by Matthew, but with a different purpose. As stated in the first verse of the first chapter, Mark’s gospel is about “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.” Mark draws on Matthew’s prophetic bent, citing the OT prophet Isaiah who says it is time to “prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” But he also provides support for the modern day notion of N.T. Wright that “the point of Christianity is not that we should go to heaven. The point of Christianity is that heaven should come to us.” And Mark’s Jesus is making the road straight so that the kingdom arrives and then flourishes here on earth.
Despite this noble objective, the plan does not end so well. As recorded by the earliest manuscripts of Mark’s NT gospel, the women who came to the tomb on resurrection Sunday encounter an angel and then they “fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” A longer version of Mark’s gospel makes clear that the male disciples were no better prepared for the reality of resurrection. “When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by Mary Magdalene, they would not believe it.”
When Jesus finally appears, Jesus criticizes the disciples for their “lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” Sadly, it appears that even with a risen Christ in their midst, heaven has not yet fully arrived on earth.
Luke — Social Gospel
As the only gentile of the gospel writers, Luke comes closest to supporting N.T. Wright’s view that “the point of Christianity is “that heaven should come to us,” rather than us worrying about getting to to heaven. Mathew’s version of the first beatitude is “blessed are the poor in spirit.” Luke’s Jesus changes the emphasis to “blessed are the poor” not simply in spirit but in material terms. Unlike Matthew, Luke’s Jesus condemns those who look only to their own satisfaction rather than the common good — caring for the poor, the widow, the diseased.
It is Luke’s Jesus who offers up: “… woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.”
The last words of Jesus before being “carried up into heaven” are different than what the other NT gospels record. Jesus reminds his followers that the OT prophesies and psalms are to be fulfilled and that “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” After his ascension, followers worship the savior, returning “to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” In effect, bringing a sense of God’s kingdom down to earth. A one time event, or the start of something new?
John — Divinity Personalized
The last gospel opens with the widely quoted sentence that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Further applying John’s terminology, “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
This is clear support for the concept, if not reality, of the Godhead of heaven coming down to dwell with humans with the promise of a new covenant now available for all peoples. As Jesus makes clear in a late night conversation with a Jewish rabbi: “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Anything less would constitute defeat of divine purpose.
And John’s gospel offers a hint of heaven coming down with the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Mary Magdalene is the first to experience an encounter with the risen Lord, one she assumed to be the graveyard gardener. Then on Easter evening, Jesus suddenly materializes in a locked room of cowering disciples. He greets them with the words: “Peace be unto you. As the Father has sent me, so send I you.”
Divinity has stepped down from whatever or wherever heaven is to earth. The new kingdom is now both here and yet to come.
The Conundrum
Easier said than done! In the words of N.T. Wright:
The story the early Christians told was not about how humans (or their souls) could, as it were, go upstairs into the presence of God. It was about how God had come downstairs to live with them — and would one day complete that operation, eventually suffusing all creation with his glorious presence."
The difficulty of Christian thinking down through the last 2,000 years is two-fold:
Today’s version of the afterlife allows entry to an ethereal heaven accessible only to true believers, but not to the mass of humanity that are not aware of, disregard or reject this Christian savior. Sometime after physical death, all others either cease to exist or are tormented eternally, in direct contradiction to Jesus’ stated intent that the whole world (including its people) be saved.
N.T. Wright’s assertion of God’s coming down to dwell with humans and redeem the earth rings hollow after 20 centuries marked more by turmoil, injustice and deprivation than by any clear evidence of some sort of earthly utopia. The first covenant of God with Abraham lasted about 20 centuries. This subsequent “new covenant” has been in place now for another 20 centuries. Despite some recent initiatives to the good, there is still relatively little evidence to date of heaven coming to and residing on earth.
A 3rd Way?
Is there any way out of this unsatisfying, horrible dilemma? A path that fits with biblically supported evidence? The answer is yes, assuming that:
Evidence of the ultimate kingdom of God is both now and yet to fully emerge. Heavenly and/or earthly location appears as yet indeterminate (at least for us humans).
Every human has opportunity for a second chance at salvation whether extending through this lifetime or even beyond after death. The choice to reconcile and participate with the maker of the universe in renewal of heaven and earth is available now and potentially up to a timeless forever.
What it Means In the Here & Now?
There’s significance both for the believer and the non-believer. For the believer, there is the imperative to work out your salvation with fear and trembling — as the 1st century apostle Paul would say. The opportunity to get through to peace and earthly stewardship even when confronted with inevitable conflict.
Christians have stimulated game-changing improvements to human welfare especially in the last two centuries as with improvements to health care, universal education, human rights and social welfare. There also have been notable failures — think massive scale wars and escalating inequality of global affluence. There is more yet to be done in the challenging years ahead as with environmental protection, AI, the coming extra-terrestrial transition, and potential changes in the very definition what it means to be human.
For the non- or not-yet believer, the opportunity may lie with the ability to ride along with the benefits associated with Christian values while concurrently holding the feet of believers to the fire — bringing a bit of heaven down to earth one day at a time.
In closing, a bit of Led Zeppelin — from Stairway to Heaven.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one, and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
