Jesus

Who was Jesus? I've begun to question how much light "pious" answers to that question actually shed on the subject. Some standard Christian responses might include God (in a man-suit?), "Son of God" (or, the second person of the Trinity), "Son of Man" (a reference to a character from a science fiction movie that Daniel wrote about), Savior (of what?), or perhaps Messiah (a Jewish term, meaning "anointed"--for what?). In all seriousness--I wonder if most Christians settle for a superficial, hazy vision of Jesus, turning to cliches and vague assertions to describe a person who they claim to know intimately.

Perhaps a better way of phrasing the initial question would be, "What did Jesus think about himself?" What did Jesus believe he was doing in the world? How did that vocation coincide with the vocation of first-century Israel? (Here's a crazy thought) How can we credibly fit Jesus with the world of Judaism, and within the early church that grew out of his following?

For a long time, the Jesus I knew was God, teleported to earth to found a new religion of inner spirituality and grace, in opposition to Jewish legalism. That religion essentially focused on the salvation of individual souls from a terrible punishment after death. It had things to say about this life, but only as an afterthought, and most of it had to do with a strict morality, that
frowned on a hundred sins I had never heard about, much less practiced.

I won't attempt to pose a complete alternative to that view in one blog post--N. T. Wright does a brilliant job in his massive tome, Jeus and the Victory of of God. However, I will pose some suggestions, and sketch an outline of a more promising Jesus.

First, consider what we could call the "trajectory of redemption." The Fall broke man's felowship with God, and wrecked the harmony of creation, spreading death and discord on the earth. In Genesis 12:3, God promises to bless Abraham, that he might be a blessing to all the earth. The Sinai Covenant elaborates on this--Israel will be a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19), and God will dwell with them in the Tabernacle. This begins the undoing of the Fall--God will have fellowship with men once more, and those men will inhabit a new kind of society, rooted in mercy, forgiveness, generosity, and love (if you don't believe me, read Deuteronomy).

For reasons too complicated for me to outline here (though Paul does a decent job in Romans), Israel utterly fails in her vocation. Ezekiel 16 describes Israel as an unfaithful wife, prostituting herself to everyone she meets. For her sins, God departs from among the people, and sends his chosen into Exile. The power of evil seems to have broken God's efforts at redemption. However, there is a coming end to the long night--again and again, the Prophets anticipate a time when God Himself will act to restore his covenant people, to defeat the powers of evil that bind the earth, and establish his reign over all creation. When this happens, everything will be made new--Isaiah 11 describes the reign of God forever ending death and destruction; Ezekiel 37 describes the coming redemption as a return from the dead, a second birth. (Read Isaiah 40-55, Jeremiah 31-33, and Ezekiel 34-37 for a fuller picture of the OT expectation for God's action.)

Jesus enters a world still waiting for these events to unfold: to most first-century Jews, the exile had not ended. As long as Rome still oppressed God's chosen nation, as long as creation remained fractured and divided, as long as the forces of paganism defied God's power, the exile could not have ended.

I would argue that Jesus claimed to be the solution to Israel's problems, the fulfillment of all the OT expectations. He came to announce, enact, and embody the renewal of the covenant, the defeat of the powers of darkness, and the return of YHWH to establish His sovereign rule over creation. His ministry offered distinctly Jewish answers to distinctly Jewish perceptions of the problems besetting the world, but, he redefined all the important pieces. His renewed covenant included all the wrong sorts of people, and demanded the wrong mindset (one of submissive love, rather than belligerent nationalism). He claimed to fight the wrong sort of enemy (Satan, rather than Rome), in the wrong way (on a cross, rather than with a sword), to establish the wrong sort of kingdom (the slow-growing, "among you," kingdom, rather than a restoration of Israel to political ascendency). His ministry reconfigured the covenant in terms of himself--the community would center around his presence, rather than that of the Temple; his teaching would fulfill and transcend Torah; his sacrifice would make the Temple sacrifices useless.

Jesus seemed horribly wrong to many of his contemporaries, but his ministry makes perfect sense in light of the prophetic anticipation. Just for fun, try reading John 3 in light of Ezekiel 36-37, or Mark 1:15 in light of Isaiah 40, and 52; or the crucifixion accounts in light of Isaiah 53, Daniel 9, and Zechariah 9.

This is by no means a complete portrayal of the mindset and vocation of Jesus. Again, Wright does a much more complete job in his brilliant work, Jesus and the Victory of God. If you have any questions, challenges, or clarfications, please post a comment, or email me (bcase@tkc.edu). I'd love to get together with you to discuss Jesus and the gospel of the Kingdom.

Christ is risen!