What is your impression of Jesus? Do you imagine seeing him sitting down with little children playing on his lap? Do you see him as a humble and fragile man? Do you see him as a soft man who does not express his anger?Jesus was a radical person. But to what extend was he radical?
First and foremost, Jesus was Jewish. He wasn’t a Christian. Christianity existed only after Jesus died (and rose again of course). During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were ruled by the Romans. The Jewish people probably felt that they should not be ruled by the Romans. They would think, “How can the people of God be ruled by those ruthless and ungodly Romans?” There were different kinds of political parties that time as there are now.
Here is a short description of each active political party:
1. Zealots – They were a group of people who were very zealous about their faith in God. They would rise up as one and go against the Roman government and rebel if they wanted to. They would create war and revolution in the name of God, believing that God will give them victory like how God gave little David victory over the giant Goliath.
2. Herodians – They were a group of supporters of Herod the King and were joined by another group called the Sadducees. Currying favor from the Roman government was their main goal. They will tend to be nice towards the government and believes that the only safe way is to cooperate with the Romans and play their game.
3. Essenes – This group of people thought that the Zealots and Herodians were naïve and wrong. Their solution is to retreat to the desert and start a new life over there. They would isolate themselves and start a new community out in the desert away from society in order to please God.
4. Pharisees – This group of people thought that God would send them a Messiah if only there were less or no sinners in the city. They believed that God would liberate them if there were fewer prostitutes, drunkards and Roman collaborators. Their answer to freedom is through religious purity.
Like the common political scene in Malaysia and in the world. Each political party would gather for themselves more power. The Zealots would launch terrorist attacks; the Herodians would dispose the Zealots and suggest that all should work together with the Roman ruler to gain peace. The Pharisees will go out into the streets and rid the streets off prostitutes and drunkards. The Essenes would quietly retreat to the outskirts and build a community there.
Now let’s see how radical Jesus was.
1. Jesus spoke in front of large crowds and he spoke boldly and passionately about God, or you can even say that he was very zealous about God. Then you think, “Hmm. Maybe he is a Zealot since he seems so zealous.”
2. Jesus did not promote violence but promoted peace and forgiveness. Then you think, “Hmm. He can’t be a Zealot. Zealots are full of violence and would never talk about peace. Maybe he is an Essene.”
3. Jesus shared the Good News to everyone he encountered during his years of ministry. Then you think, “Hmm. He can’t be an Essene. Essenes would not care about others and only care about isolating themselves. May be he is a Herodian.”
4. Jesus always talks about hard and powerful stuff such as “the Kingdom of God”. Then you think, “Hmm. He can’t be a Herodian. Herodians do not promote God; they are all full of Herod. Maybe he is a Pharisee.”
5. Jesus tells the people not to be like the Pharisee because they were all hypocrites. They wash only the outside of the cup and don’t wash the inside. Then you think, “Hmm. He can’t be a Pharisee since he tells the people that Pharisees are hypocrites.”
If Jesus was not a Zealot, Essene, Herodian and Pharisee, then who was he?
Jesus’ message and lifestyle goes against all the political and religious parties of his time. He was neither this nor that. People were confused about whose side was he on. Jesus shared about forgiving when forgiveness is one word that wasn’t in the vocabulary at that time. Jesus shared about peace when the Zealots were all of violence. Jesus shared about not being like hypocrites when the Pharisees are in that category. Jesus shared about going out to save the lost when the Essenes would only go out and isolate themselves from the world. Jesus was not ashamed to tell the world about God and only God when the Herodians only talks about how great their ruler is.
JESUS WAS RADICAL.
ARE YOU?
Continuation of this post will be posted soon.
*For further reference, read Brian D. McLaren's book - The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the truth that could change everything.
