simply Jesus 4

N. T. Wright, Simply Jesus (New York: HarperOne, 2011).

Part Three of The Bishop's latest work on Jesus is an extended final chapter entitled, "Jesus: The Ruler of the World."  This is where Wright brings together the whole of his presentation and offers the "So What" conclusions that any treatment of this sort on Jesus deserves.  It begins with the anticipated question, "What on earth does it mean, today, to say that Jesus is king, that he is Lord of the world?" (207).

To provide too much of an overview or review of this chapter would be to steal from the reader the process of personal engagement with the picture which Wright provides regarding the impact of the risen Christ.  This final chapter is to say, that if this historical Jesus came into the "perfect storm" that is claimed in this book, then the implications of what he said and did, along with who he was and is, then there ought to be a very real and powerful impact on the world at the present time.  If Jesus has indeed become king (to anticipate Wright's forthcoming book in March), then God's rule ought to be identified and implemented.  Has it?

In working through the content in this particular chapter Wright offers four personalized perspectives, persons whom Wright 'invents' for the sake of the discussion.  To understand how the phrase, "Thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven" has been approached and understood, these four offer their perspectives in a sort of dialogue (which doesn't actually exist in dialogue form) that shows their basic ins and outs.  Then, as would be expected, Wright gives his analysis and perspective on what the phrase is intended to be as a means by which he closes the present volume.

I'll highlight the main points of what The Bishop offers (in other words, those statements which I found particularly fascinating . . . it is my blog, after all . . .).

First, "God intended to rule the world through human beings (212, emphasis original).  This goes back to creation, actually, and is supported by many great volumes on Old Testament theology, not to mention the overall perspective of the Jewish heritage.  It is through the reign of Jesus, contends Wright, that this has been brought back to its fulfillment and renewal.  The natural outworking of this is that, "Jesus rescues human beings in order that through them he may rule his world in the new way he always intended" (Ibid.).  One of the (many) reasons I came away from this book cheering is that statements such as this so powerful capture that which I have often promoted in my own understanding of the Christian faith.  Salvation can not be understood, as it very often is, as an end in and of itself, but a means to an end which is the establishment of the kingdom of God.  Wright hits this point hard in this passage.

Second, the community which is created through the Spirit of Jesus is the vehicle for which the rule of Jesus and the kingdom of God happens.  Making a connection with the presence of God dwelling in the Temple (or even tabernacle) from where God ruled Israel, now the presence of the Holy Spirit creates a temple of believers through which the rule of all creation may be effectuated (cf. 215f.).  Quite a powerful mandate.

This then brings worship to the center of life and work for the church: "All kingdom work is rooted in worship" (217, emphasis original).  Who we worship will determine who we serve, and that is what shapes the ethic of the community and gives definition to the work of the church.  "Christian worship declares that Jesus is Lord and that therefore, by strong implication, nobody else is" (Ibid.).  If we are to take this seriously, then the interaction between church and culture will look quite different than it presently does.  To get at this point, Wright makes the stark and bold challenge: "The day the church can no longer say, 'We must obey God rather than human beings' (Acts 5:29), it ceases to be a church" (220).

From this point Wright gives space to defining the role of the church, lending encouragement and direction on how to take on the mounting tasks that lie ahead with the mind, attitude and behavior of Christ.  Those who have read The Bishop know that he is strongly opposed to worldly methods of doing church, knowing that those who live by the sword certainly die by the sword.  There is an intriguing comment regarding this, "The way in which Jesus exercises his sovereign lordship in the present time includes his strange, often secret, sovereignty over the nations and their rulers" (222).

The final pages offer a number of great points that I leave for the reader to uncover on their own.  I cannot improve or enhance them in any way by including them here.  These are powerful exhortations of what it means for all believers to become workers in the kingdom of God and work for the sovereign rule of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit has been given to form and empower the church to carry out the tasks that have been defined as God's kingdom, and now the impetus is on those who claim to be disciples to carry on.  In conclusion, Wright says, "Jesus is at work, taking forward his kingdom project" (231).

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N. T. Wright, Simply Jesus (New York: HarperOne, 2011).

Chapters 11-14 complete Part Two of The Bishop's recent publication on Jesus.  Having constructed a context into which we can read the words and mission of Jesus, Wright now comes to the heart of the gospel narrative - the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

This begins with a chapter on Space, Time, and Matter, which focuses on the redemption of where God dwells and the fulfillment of time with the coming of God's kingdom.  It is rooted in the context of the Jewish Temple, "a bridgehead into the world . . . It was the place where heaven and earth met" (132, emphasis in original).  Envisioned as overlapping circles, the realm of heaven and the realm of earth were no longer coming together in the Temple but in the person of Jesus himself (133).  This renewal in Jesus was in itself a restoration of the Temple system for God's people.  Along with this was the fulfillment of time: ". . . and Jesus was announcing that the future to which the signpost had been pointing had now arrived in the present" (137, emphasis in original).  All of this was ushering in God's new creation.  And, instead of Jesus' central message being a pathway for humanity to get to heaven, Jesus' proclamation was fundamentally about how heaven is presently moving into earth.  "The gospels are not about 'how Jesus turned out to be God.'  They are about how God became king on earth as in heaven" (149, emphasis in original).

Chapter Twelve then moves to the "Heart of the Storm," the buildup of pressure from within the context of Second Temple Judaism (and Roman rule).  Looking from the perspective of Isaiah's servant (153-158), Daniel's Son of Man (158-163), and Zechariah's king (163-166), Wright examines the socio-political elements of messiahship that comes from Jewish expectation.  At the heart of this is that, "Israel's God himself must do what needs to be done, as at the time of the Exodus . . ." (157).

This leads up to the big question of Chapter Thirteen, "Why Did the Messiah Have to Die?"  Historically speaking, "Jesus fitted no ready-made categories" (168).  He now brought together the long-standing expectations of messiah, but now shaped it around the work of servant (169).  Jesus comes into a world wehre "Every other way of bringing God's kingdom had been tried and failed" (170).  Ushering in this new exodus, Jesus came walking into the storm to radically alter expectations: "Jesus was speaking and acting in such a way as to imply that he was to go ahead of his people . . ." (178).  Thus, Jesus' crucifixion was as a representation for his people, "and through them the whole world" (185).  It should be noted here that Wright introduces value to the various atonement theories, placing them each within the context of his overall perspective.  Because of the remainder of the story Wright can assert, ". . .  then the moment of Jesus's death is, like Jerusalem on those ancient maps, the central point of the world" (189).

Chapter Fourteen then turns to the resurrection.  Wright's perspective is that the empty tomb proclaims the reality of a new world breaking into the old.  "God's kingdom is now launched, and launched in power and glory, on earth as in heaven" (193).  And Jesus now becomes the first of the new creation (194).  Along with this is the necessity to acknowledge, as does The Bishop, that Jesus' ascension and enthronement are central to the coming of God's kingdom.  This would be the moment when Jesus was exalted to the throne of God's kingdom, now reigning over all creation.  From here the Christian hope is for the return of Jesus to complete the long story of redemption which has now been fulfilled in him.  In the interim, "Jesus's kingdom must come, then, by the means that correspond to the message" (199).  Thus the reality of a new day and a new life and a new kingdom has its playing out to do in the present, as God has brought his redemptive righteousness into our world.

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N. T. Wright, Simply Jesus (New York: HarperOne, 2011).

In Part Two of The Bishop's latest book about Jesus, we take a look at the public ministry of Jesus - what he was trying to accomplish - and how it leads to the central message of Christianity, namely, his death, resurrection, and ascension.  This is the longest of the three sections of the book, and (along with the rest of the investigation) provides an introduction that works out of a type of 'translation' of who Jesus is, what he said, and what he accomplished.  Case in point comes with Chapter Six: "God's in Charge Now" - this is Wright's way of translating the impact of Jesus' proclamation, in word and deed, that the kingdom of God has come.

Wright places the notion of God's kingdom come, as proclaimed in the public ministry of Jesus, within the context of a new exodus event, steeped in the heritage of Israel.  Second Temple Judaism held fast to the belief that God had created the world and was able to overcome its evils just as he brought Israel out of captivity and bondage in Egypt through the exodus event.  Thus, Wright includes seven themes of the exodus event that will significantly play out in the remainder of the book (64).

Chapter Seven then speaks about the beginning of this campaign of the kingdom of God.  It comes through celebration, healing, and forgiveness (68ff.).  Central to Jesus' mission, however, was that God was coming with his own agenda - going to the outsiders and lost.  "Their God isn't simply coming to endorse their national ambitions" (77).  Of course, this led many to question Jesus on many levels, not least of which was his very forerunner, John the Baptist (80f.).  In this context the radical nature of Jesus' message comes through as one who is subverting the present kingdom for the coming of another.

Chapter Eight then looks at the stories which Jesus told to explain this arriving kingdom.  Wright comes from the perspective that these stories contained echoes (87), that they connect to and build upon the stories which Israel held in their long corporate identity (89).  Jesus tells them as "kingdom explanations for Jesus's kingdom actions" (91).  Thus, Wright posits, "The very form of the parable thus embodies the content it is trying to communicate: heaven appearing on earth" (93, emphasis original).  Embedded in these stories, and thus the announcement of the kingdom, is a warning not to miss out and to embrace the transformation of hearts and the renewal of lives that is coming through Jesus' work.  "This is the point at which Jesus's whole agenda embraces the 'vocation' aspect of the ancient Exodus story" (101, emphasis original).

Chapter Nine then moves into a well-presented and succinct overview of the messianic-wannabe-activity which colored and shaped the world of Second Temple Judaism.  Far too many evangelicals are ignorant to the history of other messiahs who presented themselves as God's choice for bringing the final kingdom of God.  Included here are brief introductions to Judas Maccabeus (Judah the Hammer), Simon bar Kochba (Simon the Star), Herod the Great, and Simon Bar-Giora.  Jesus arrives into this context with his message and mission.

Chapter Ten then turns to what is probably the most significant factor in understanding Jesus as Messiah and Jesus as he is perceived as messianic within Second Temple Judaism.  In what has been a hallmark of my own understanding and teaching of Jesus for many years, Wright includes a chapter on "Battle and Temple" in which we may place the work of Jesus.  While common messianic expectations expected the battle to destroy God's enemies (presently Rome), and then cleansing the Temple as the true place and center of heaven-meets-earth worship, Jesus came with a different understanding altogether.  Wright presents that Jesus' greatest enemy was Satan (120-127), and that his enterprise of cleansing the Temple was accomplished through his followers (127-130).

Although I believe that the establishment of the church is the renewal of God's Temple through Jesus, placing me in full agreement with The Bishop, I might take a slight quibble with his notion that Jesus was fighting Satan as the archenemy.  This may initially seem small, but I think there is historical accuracy at stake, and am uncertain that Jesus would limit himself to battling Satan in personified terms when there is much to be said about the battle against sin and death in more abstract terms.  This heightens the battle and gives place to human responsibility for sin and failure - the blood of his life is on our hands - which further gives place to much of Jesus' kingdom message.  While there is nothing particularly wrong with the view that is presented here, I believe that it can be expanded to give a fuller sense of what Jesus is accomplishing.

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N. T. Wright. Simply Jesus. (New York: HarperOne, 2011).

The latest work by noted scholar and theologian, known here as The Bishop, is an incredible book about Jesus.  Yes, Wright has written two significant books about Jesus, and yet has decided to offer another.  As he quipped during a recent speaking engagement, "Jesus hasn't changed, but I have" - thus he has once again entered the world of Jesus scholarship and takes the reader on a powerful journey to a better understanding of who Jesus was (and is), and the context in which he came with his message of kingdom.

There are times when you run across a book that so resonates with your own belief systems that you feel almost as though you could have written it.  For me, this is one of those books (not to sound as though I consider myself on par with The Bishop).  What I mean to say is that I so appreciate and enjoy the manner in which Wright has succinctly introduced Jesus and his first century context, that there was a resounding 'Yes!' on many pages of the book.

I want to take a series of posts to briefly review and summarize what Wright presents in Simply Jesus.

The book is divided into three parts.  In Part One Wright sets the table with his key questions and the context of Second Temple Judaism as the world into which Jesus came.  He briefly touches the question of the Gospels but is more interested in discussing Jesus than historical reliability - that he can point to other works which have made the case.  Telling in what the reader will find in this book, Wright says at the outset of Chapter Two, "Jesus is mysterious because of what we do know - what our evidence encourages us to see as the core of who he was and what he did - is so unlike what we know about anybody else that we are forced to ask, as people evidently did at the time: who, then is this?" (9, emphasis in original).

Wright strives to make the case that we must do much work in order to enter into Jesus' world, that time, space and thought are quite different now than they were then (and there).  But all of this brings about "the perfect storm" that characterizes Jesus, his identity, and his world.  Before getting at this, however, Wright takes a few pages to dispel the two major and opposing myths about Jesus - conservative and liberal.  All of this lends to Wright's overall premise that Jesus is very much unlike us today, even though most people seem to cast their own experience back into their understanding of Jesus.

What made the first-century storm?  Chapter Four outlines the factors that came together to make Second Temple Judaism and (by definition) the person and work of Jesus what the Gospels are trying to tell us.  There is the Roman storm (28-31) and the Jewish storm (31-35) which placed the confrontation of imperialism and God's covenant with his people at odds.  The hope of Israel was that God, not the Roman caesars would be king over the earth and would reign through his people Israel.  "The God who brought order out of chaos and who brought his enslaved people out of Egypt would do it again" (33).

This, according to Wright, all gave way for the great hurricane (Chapter Five) of Jesus coming into the world.  Mounting within the Second Temple period was the belief that it was time for God to become, once and finally, the one king (41).  The prophecies and prayers of Israel repeat this refrain, and the book includes a good number of such passages.  The people of God were waiting for God to be enthroned through his people, that justice and righteousness would be established on earth, and that the nations would be brought into obedience.

Of course, the biblical story is that those who were appointed to fulfill this task initially - the 'shepherds' of Israel (Ezekiel 34:2-16) - were a failure, thus leaving the story for God alone to fulfill the task of redemption and restoration on behalf of his people.  This leads to the question, ". . . would YHWH actually appear, visibly and in person, to take charge?" (50).  Further, when God does appear, it is noted that it will not look like the power struggles familiar in the imperialism of the Roman Empire (or Babylon, Persia, . . .), but with the establishment of the covenant kingdom upon the whole world (cf. 53).

Also included here is the promise of a Davidic king (2 Samuel 7), who was now expected to come and rise to the throne of Israel and establish the rule of YHWH.  When bringing this context to the life and ministry of Jesus Wright raises two questions: 1) "First, why would anyone say this of Jesus, who had not done the things people expected a victorious king to do?" and, 2) "Second, what on earth might it mean today to speak of Jesus being 'king' or being 'in charge,' in view of the fact that so many things in the world give no hint of such a thing?" (55).

These are the initial steps in Wright's approach to understanding Jesus.  Thus far he has done well to establish the preliminary context of the world into which Jesus came.  And, as I have seen time and again, getting a better grasp on Jesus' context already enlightens one to the things he said and did.  There is more contextual work in Part Two, but Wright begins to move toward a discussion about Jesus' own actions as well.  All in the work to answer the two questions of why he was considered to be Messiah, and what his present rule means for the world today.