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Everything Must Change, Part 2
By Jeremy | May 3, 2008
SESSION 2: Which Jesus?
If hope is easy, then we aren’t appreciating the desperation of the system. (See Part 1 for the Four Global Crises)
If Christ is the answer to the world’s problems, which Jesus fits the bill? Our culture posits many perceptions of Christ:
+ The Will Ferrell Baby Jesus
+ The “Limp wrist hippie Jesus with product in his hairâ€
“Some emergent types [want] to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes.”
+ The “Prize fighter Jesus with a commitment to make someone bleedâ€
“In Revelation, Jesus is a prize fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity.â€
+ Second coming killer Jesus: The Left Behind Warrior Jesus surrounded by his enemies blood (The Glorious Appearing)
+ The Jesus who only cares about escape from hell without a social agenda
+ Many other perceptions and opinions
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?â€
Matthew 16:13-17
The story takes place in Caesarea Philippi. Most of Jesus’ ministry was in Galilee (like the Bronx) not Jerusalem (Wall Street). Rome heavily controlled the region via taxation because it was the bread basket for the empire. Stewards from Jerusalem would scheme farmers out of their land deeds in return for paying taxes, turning land owners into tenant farmers.
Only twice does Jesus go further north than Galilee. Once to Tyre and Sidon (Gentile). And once to Caesarea Philipi, the regional capital and seat of Roman authority. Named for the Emperor (Caesar) and the Regional Governor (Philip). Also, this region (in today’s Golan Heights) was center of idol worship, including Bail (OT) and Pan (Greece)
So when Jesus asks who the “Son of Man†is in CP it’s a profound political statement. Son of Man was a phrase that referred to a political liberator.
Peter’s answer: “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.†“Christ†means anointed, or smeared with oil. The inauguration of a king back then was to anoint the King with oil. To be in CP and say you are the liberating king is a big deal. “Son of the living God†said in context of Caesar Augustus, who was called divine, the son of a God. Augustus means worthy of worship. He had united Rome after a time of unrest and division, and began it’s greatest expansion. So Peter says you’re not just the son of Apollo, but you’re the son of the living God.
Peter sets up a choice.
Do you follow Caesar or Christ? Which king do you follow? This is why Christians were persecuted. He denied lordship to Caesar and gave it to Jesus. Jesus says, “You’re right, Peter.”
Then Jesus tells them he’s going to be killed in Jerusalem (v 21-28). Peter is shocked. Says you can’t be killed there. You need to do the killing if you’re the Lord. Jesus rebuked him as Satan, a stumbling block. Peter, you don’t get it. Peter, the rock is now the stumbling block. Why can’t Catholics and Protestants get the joke?
Peter can’t understand how a king doesn’t make people believe by force and instead allows the other king to crucify him. We try to do like Peter and downplay the crucifixion. We contend that the real point is not that because we want to believe that Jesus is going to come back and kill everyone.
Revelation 19:11-21 is the passage that evangelicals use to describe the violent, bloodthirsty king Jesus. But read it in context: “Out of his mouth comes the sword.†Which sword – one to kill by violence or the sword of his word?
God’s method is not to rule by killing opponents, but the opposite.
+ Crown of thorns
+ basin and towel
+ donkey
+ loves enemies
+ undergoes torture
+ Cricufed and rises again.
Do we believe in a Jesus remade in the image of Caesar, or this other Jesus of the gospels? The one who heals the sick and feeds the hungry and died on Caesar’s cross. The Jesus who came is the Jesus who is the word of Christ. He hung on cross and said, “Forgive them,†and “It is finished†(not, I’ll be back to kill you all). God is like Jesus, not Caesar. (Elton Trueblood)
Topics: brian mclaren, emerging church, everything must change, faith, jesus, lpac, theology |