NT Wright on Jesus' Ministry

We know why Jesus died, but why did he live? What was his three year ministry all about? Was it just something to do until the time was right for him to be sacrificed? Was all that feeding the hungry, healing the sick, raising the dead, securing fine wine at Cana, throwing out the money changers, telling parables, preaching on the mount, much less important than his dying and rising? A mere warm up to the final main act?

These are the questions raised by N. T. Wright during a daylong series of lectures given at Christ Church in Greenwich Connecticut in May, 2011. Reverend Wright is an Episcopal cleric who has written numerous scholarly books on various aspects of Christianity.

He points out that the Nicene Creed, which is recited in their services by nearly every main stream Christian denomination, skips over his 33 year life and jumps directly from his birth to his death:

…..

For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.

Jump

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;

Those who do not believe in Christ’s divinity want to ignore the crucifixion and concentrate on his ministry, pointing out what a good example this best of all men is to all of us. Often those of us who do believe that Christ was the son of God tend to focus more on his death and resurrection and downplay what he did while he was alive and walking among us.

Wright asserts that Christ’s ministry on the one hand and his death and resurrection on the other need to be viewed together—the one shedding light on the other. Heaven and earth are not separate and different; space, time and God “overlap, intersect, and interlock.” Heaven is here, now on earth and there is a continuum from this life to the next. Things to us may not always seem so heavenly from day to day, but neither were they for Christ while he walked among us. However, he taught us how to live and how to work to bring Heaven about in our lives and into those of others. Jesus has not gone away, according to Wright, he is just in God’s space but interlocked and present in ours.

Why did Jesus spend his life with us? There are four reasons, says Wright.

First, to show us how to get to Heaven. He gave us his examples and his prayer which says “thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Second, to set out his teaching. The Sermon on the Mount is a good summary of his teaching—forgiveness, charity, and love towards others, were some of the hallmarks of his instructions.

Third, to demonstrate that he was perfect so his sacrifice would be perfect.

Fourth, to demonstrate his divinity through his miracles. Wright says he doesn’t like the term “miracle’ because it separates God from the world; it gives the “the idea that God exists outside natural processes and sometimes reaches in and does something and then pushes off again.”

There are four narratives in the Gospels, according to Wright, summarized in my words as follows.

1. Jesus is the climax of the story of Israel. The story of Israel is not that of a traveler who sets out on a journey keeps to the path and ends up at his destination. It is the story of someone who begins a trip, misplaces his map, gets blown off course, lands in quicksand, gets turned around and totally loses his way.

The story of Israel is remembered in the Gospels. The Jews at the time of Jesus did not believe they had been rescued completely from Babylon. They were back home, for sure, but they were still occupied by a foreign power. They were waiting for a Messiah to rescue them. The reason Israel’s story matters is that God has chosen these people as his own, and all four Gospels make reference to this.

2. The story of Jesus is the story of Israel’s God returning. Matthew refers to Immanuel—God with us. As another example, Mark talks about the prophesies of God’s return to Zion and then Jesus is born.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I send forth my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

3. Jesus is seen as re-launching God’s renewed compact. The Gospels are foundational texts of a new movement of Yahweh’s people as the children of God.

4. The Gospels are the story of God clashing with Caesar and worldly powers and God’s victory over kingdoms of the world as well as pagans. Israel certainly had to contend with worldly powers—Pharoah, the Phillistines, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Romans and others. Jesus, who said his kingdom was not of this world, was also forced to deal with the evils of the world, but he overcame them by rising from the dead. And even while he was suffering he echoed his sermon on the mount—forgiveness for his tormentors.

Since the Enlightenment, church and state have been kept separate. According to humanists, the Church is a part of the problem not the solution. Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume, Locke—they all said that religion is just to be tolerated and should have no involvement in government. And with some radical Muslims seeking a Caliphate, whatever that means, the modern world has taken a dim view of any kind of Theocracy. But the Gospels foresee a combining of the God and state as the ultimate destination of the world.

Finally, Wright states that the four Gospels all declare that the Kingdom of God has arrived; the beginning of the end is now. According to the Enlightenment, the New World began sometime in the 18^th Century when humankind became free of the strictures of religion. We don’t need religion anymore; we have reason, knowledge and SCIENCE. (“She blinded me with SCIENCE!”—I just had to say that.)

Above his head while he was on the cross was the inscription INRI—“This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” It was put there to mock him, to show what happens to men who aspire to that position, but to his followers it was and is a simple truth. Through his example in life and through his resurrection he earned that title.

So, Heaven and Earth are one and the same, or will be at some time, not with the love of power but with the power of love. Take those words seriously. Yes they are a play on words but they capsulize our mission. The Holy Spirit is here on Earth to help us achieve that.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Here is the Sermon on the Mount:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5-7&version=NIV

It is Christ’s instructions for achieving a Heaven here and now.

We are all human and it isn’t easy to forgive, love, be charitable, love our enemies, abandon “an eye for an eye” etc. Don’t I know that.

But we need to try