We continue in chapter 7 of Jesus and the Victory of God (pp. 244-319) on the stories of the kingdom, with a “controlling story” of invitation, welcome, challenge, and summons (p. 245). This post focuses on on the last of the four, summons (pp. 297-319).
Through the stories of the kingdom, Jesus is inviting his listeners to become participants in the story, welcoming the “wrong” kinds of people, challenging them with a contra-kingdom, and summoning them to various levels of commitment. Some left family and home (the twelve and others). Others provided their home (Lazarus, Mary, and Martha). Others gave money (Lk. 8:3). In a family-centered culture, “Jesus’ call overrode normal family obligations.” (p. 299) Wright observes that within the twelve was an inner core of three, echoing “David’s closest bodyguards.” (p. 300) Wright notes the story of the rich young ruler is repeated in the three synoptic gospels, which inverted what the disciples’ believed, “the rich were not only automatically within the covenant, but were likely outside of it.” (p. 302) I wonder if there are any parallels with the rich young ruler and the David/Nabal/Abigail story in 1 Sam. 25:2-42. Nabal, a very wealthy man, refuses to even give a tiny amount of his flock to support David’s—the king (!)—service; and he ultimately is struck dead. Jesus tells a wealthy man to sell his possessions and this man walks away (Mk. 10:21-22).
Wright then turns his focus on the story of the Good Samaritan (pp. 305-7). The question posed, who is my neighbor, in a first-century Jewish context, is one that seeks “to draw the boundaries of the covenant.” (p. 306) Who is in and who is out? The startling answer is not only that the Samaritan is the neighbor, but that the priest and the Levite are not! These latter two are those, under the Torah, who are most definitely in and most likely passed by so as to “keep themselves in a state of ceremonial purity.” (p. 307) In short, Jesus is once again redefining the covenant boundaries, standards, and who is in versus out. Jesus has stepped outside of the Temple and priestly cult, so central to Jewish practice, and said that they are out! If you want to be in, the summons of Jesus is—and will be, as the early church takes to its natural conclusion—beyond the borders of Jewish-ethnic boundaries and temple practice. If following Jesus is what defines this new covenant people of God, then it is available to anyone. But this tiptoes towards Wright’s massive tome on Paul, well ahead of our current reading.
The ‘knife’ in the reading of this section is Wright’s observation of Jesus’ critique of first-century Judaism: “Jesus was challenging Israel to be Israel… that is, criticizing his contemporaries for being more concerned for victory over the gentile world than for bringing YHWH’s healing and salvation to it.” (pp. 308-9, emphasis original) Ouch! Replace Israel with ‘American evangelicalism’ and ‘gentile world’ with ‘non-democratic nations’ and perhaps it will hit closer to home. Once again, the way of Jesus is a unkingdom-like kingdom. Recall that the establishment of the Jewish monarchy was because Israel wanted to be like other nations (1 Sam. 8:5). Jesus is summoning his followers to not be like the nations, but to bless them instead! The nations are your neighbor, the ones you must love as yourself (second greatest commandment). It is still true today.
We will continue next with more stories of the kingdom, focused on judgment and vindication, in chapter 8.
Chapter 1: Jesus Then and Now
Chapter 2: Heavy Traffic on Wredebahn: The ‘New Quest’ Renewed
Chapter 3: Back to the Future: The ‘Third Quest’
Chapter 4: Prodigals and Paradigms
Chapter 5: The Praxis of a Prophet
Chapter 6: Stories of the Kingdom (1): Announcement
Chapter 7: Stories of the Kingdom (2)
Chapter 8: Stories of the Kingdom (3): Judgment and Vindication
Chapter 9: Symbol and Controversy
Chapter 10: The Questions of the Kingdom
Chapter 11: Jesus and Israel: The Meaning of Messiahship
Chapter 12: The Reasons for Jesus’ Crucifixion
Chapter 13: The Return of the King
Chapter 14: Results