Chapter 2: The Challenge of the Kingdom (part 1)

Well, it's time for bed and I only made it halfway through chapter 2, but I'm looking forward to the second half.
A few key points from Wright's argument:

1. The Kingdom of God is central to Jesus's teaching, and to understand what he was saying, we must understand the context. One element is that Jesus was bringing the God of Israel's kingdom.
2. It's a bit of a familiar line: Jesus brought the Kingdom, but it wasn't the Kingdom the Jews were expecting. He came to bring the Kingdom to earth then (and now) in the hearts of God's people, not in the ruling authorities. In various ways, the Jews were looking for the Kingdom on earth--a political upset--and Jesus was preaching something very different.
   
3. Jesus was primarily a "prophet of the kingdom" (as opposed to a teacher), "first enacting [through healing miracles, i think] and then explaining that kingdom [through parables]." His life demonstrated what the Kingdom of God actually meant, and his words expounded on the model he provided. So saith Wright.

What really delights me in all of this, however, is that Wright claims even the stories Jesus told were steeped in Jewish overtones, and that many of his parables are stories of the Jewish exile and resurgance, stories that show the expected conclusion--God's Kingdom coming on earth--was coming in a very unexpected way. The parable of the sower, for instance, tells of some grain that does not bear fruit, while other grain multiplies a hundred fold (or whatever it is). In the same way, in Wright's reading, Jesus is saying that many who thought they would be prominent in the Kingdom of Heaven will have no place there, while some seed may grow strong in unexpected places. A second example I can't resist sharing: Wright reads the parable of the prodigal son as the story of Israel's journey--complete with a grumpy brother (the pharisees) who can't recognize the victory. So, on top of the practical, "self-help" sort of application we might see in Jesus's parables, Wright sees 2 additional layers: a layer that was very relevant to 1st Century Jews, and a layer that ties back to Israel's epic narrative. A true storyteller! (it's like movies that are about so many things all at once! including, of course, making movies, which is always one theme of any movie worth talking about. but i digress...)

Another very interesting angle to all of this: I tend to assume Jesus was above politics, but Wright writes with the assumption that Jesus was politically savy. Here's a rather long passage I can't shorten:

[Jesus] was not so much like a wandering preacher preaching sermons, or a wandering philosopher offering maxims, as like a politician gathering support for a new and highly risky movement. That is why he chose to explain his actions in the quotation from Isaiah (bonus points if you can point to chapter and verse!--that's me, not Wright): some must look and look and never see, otherwise the secret police will be alerted (that's Wright). Again, we should not imagine that politics here could be split off from theology. Jesus was doing what he was doing in the belief that in this way Israel's God was indeed becoming King. (43)

 And what exactly was he doing? "Calling out a renewed people"--but that will have to wait for tomorrow.

All this summary is getting tangled and confusing, I'm afraid i'm not really doing justice to the text. You may have to read it yourself! What i've come away with so far is a picture of Jesus who was very aware that he was building a kindgom, starting a movement, living life in a dramatic new way that would begin something quite different than anything that had come before. Furthermore, his life and work were immersed in Judaism, and he was always aware of the story of redemption, of rebirth and rejuvination that was Israel's prophesized destiny. Wright's portrait is of a man who was contientious, aware of his actions and their implications.

Tomorrow: Jesus's call for a renewed people and, if we're lucky, a bit on "disaster and vindication." Cheers!