Jesus was indeed a political figure. I wouldn’t dare to give Him a right or left label, but there is no doubt that Jesus had a lot to say about the political system of His day.
The world into which Jesus was born was one ruled by
emperors who were seen as gods on earth with there own “gospels” and their own
divine authority to bring peace and prosperity to this earth. Some Roman
emperors even claimed to have the power to forgive sins.
So I have little doubt that the terms and phrases such as
“good news” and “Kingdom of God” used by Jesus were in some ways politically
charged. Perhaps it was Jesus’ humble way of saying, “Now the real God is
here.” But we cannot limit the Kingdom of God to a political platform.
I am not arguing against the idea that Jesus intended to
shake the foundations of the system He so obviously opposed. Certainly His
crucifixion was a display of the evils of a violent empire and a corrupt
religious elite. But surely the Creator of the Universe didn’t come to earth
simply to spark a political movement. I believe Jesus came with a higher task.
Jesus’ message wasn’t “The way you do your politics is wrong,” but more like,
“There is something bigger than your politics,” (The irony is that the
“something bigger” fits inside of a mustard seed).
In his letter to Ephesus, the man who identifies himself as
Paul (many have doubts about whether Paul actually wrote it) says this:
“In
him (meaning Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7
Parenthesis and Italics added).
In a sermon given after he heals a crippled man, Peter urges
the crowd to, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out…”(Acts 3:19 Italics added).
The early Christians believed that Jesus came to reconcile
things between God and us. To them, Jesus’ mission was first and foremost about
saving the souls of people.
When a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus. The first thing
Jesus addresses is the forgiveness of the man’s sins. It isn’t until after a
discussion with religious leaders about forgiving sins that Jesus heals the
man’s physical body. And though the physical miracle is spectacular and the
crowd emphasizes the man’s legs, Jesus seems to emphasize the forgiving (Mark
2:1-12).
Now, given Jesus’ heavy attention to social justice and to
changing the status quo. It is easy for us, like the Pharisees and the Caesars,
to see Jesus as a simple political, humanitarian, and/or even spiritual leader.
But we must never forget that Jesus is Savior.
The Kingdom of God is much more than a place to which we go
when we die. It is much more than an afterlife. And it is certainly much bigger
than the individual. But, I’m afraid, that in our effort to combat the
individualism of our society, we have overstepped and are tempted to believe
that the Kingdom of God is not about the individual at all. And this is simply
not true.
The fact is that the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ political
movement, and God’s ultimate plan to reconcile all things to Him start with the
individual.
Consider this story from Mark 5:
21 When Jesus had
again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd
gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named
Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded
earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your
hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A
large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to
bleeding for twelve years. 26 She
had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she
had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up
behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his
clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately
her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.
30 At once Jesus
realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and
asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the
people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask,
‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept
looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to
her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole
truth. 34 He
said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed
from your suffering.”
Despite the fact Jesus was always
telling people to keep what He was doing on the down low, Jesus had trouble
avoiding attention. Constantly, He found Himself surrounded by crowds. And in
this story in particular, Mark seems to really make sure that his readers
notice that there were a lot of people there. He refers to the “crowd” five
times in this passage. And the disciples are astonished that Jesus would try to
find one person among so many (apparently there wasn’t enough time for the Son
of God to play Where’s Waldo?). Yet despite the crowd Jesus chooses to focus
on the individual. First, He is on His way to heal one girl, the daughter of Jairus. And then is interrupted, and
focuses on one woman. In a crowd that
is no doubt filled with people with problems, and Jesus, no doubt, having the
ability to solve them all with a single snap of the finger, Jesus focuses on
the individuals.
This isn’t to say that Jesus plays
favorites. Most would say that a huge aspect of His political message was
equality. But the beauty of God is that He can focus on all people individually
and equally. Jesus is able to heal both the woman and the little girl after
all.
If we believe that Jesus’ mission is
the salvation of people through the forgiveness of sins and that Jesus is
personal enough to love each person individually, then we must admit that
personal salvation is at the heart of the Kingdom of God.
The way God has chosen to carry out
change in His world is through the individuals who He has saved. The way that
His Kingdom comes and His will is done on earth is through the people who have
been transformed by His saving grace. I’m not saying the God cannot use a
non-Christian (to say such a thing would be to limit His power). What I am
saying is that God’s Kingdom starts with the transformation of people one soul
at a time.
When asked about everything she had
built and about all the people that she had helped and inspired, not only in
Calcutta but also around the world, Mother Teresa responded, “I started with
one.”
The individual nature of personal
salvation must not lead us to believe that community is not vital. I must
always remember that there is a bigger picture than just God and me. But in my
efforts to pursue that bigger picture, I must never forget that Jesus loves me
as an individual. Therefore I must love others in a way that allows them to
experience the love and salvation that is Jesus Christ individually, so that as
individuals we might come together and grow.
In a way, the Kingdom of God, both
politically and spiritually, starts with one. And then, like a mustard seed,
grows outward. And, like yeast in dough, slowly permeates through the world one
person at a time until it saturates the entire world. But it starts with one.
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