The four Gospels take pains to blame Jewish priests and Jewish crowds for the crucifixion of Christ. It was these who ultimately condemned Jesus to his fate; their justice, not Rome's, put the Messiah to death. Pilate had tried to release him. Yet historical data from these same Gospels, παραλειπόμενα rarely acknowledged or pieced together, … Continue reading No king but Christ: Why Caesar killed Jesus
Early Christian readers of the Parable of the Good Samaritan favored allegorical interpretations. The Parable's mysterious central figure, the Samaritan, was a type of Christ the heavenly Savior. Whereas Judaism and the Law of Moses, represented by the priest and the Levite, had failed to save sinners from their condition, God's divine son, the founder … Continue reading Judah’s kinsman redeemer: Israelite solidarity in the Parable of the Good Samaritan
Theologian Walter Wink popularized the idea that Jesus taught his followers to non-violently resist oppressive authorities by taking socially-unexpected action in the face of injustice. This was typically accomplished by creatively exposing an evildoer to costly public shame. Wink is known particularly for his exposition upon three Dominical commands from the Sermon on the Mount … Continue reading The crisis and catharsis of Christian ethics: Non-retaliation as eschatological key to the narrow gate
Nearly all interpreters take it for granted that the incarnational logos poem contained in John 1:1-18 assumes the virginal conception of Jesus that is presented by Matthew and Luke in their redactions of the Gospel of Mark. The Johannine Word becomes flesh, in this case, when the Synoptic Mary conceives a divine son by God's … Continue reading The word made flesh: An early daimonic christology
Christians typically organize Jesus' sayings on money and property in accordance with one of two models. One of these models attributes to Jesus socialistic aspirations. In this framing Jesus rails against the rich as the defender of the poor and as the prophet who calls into being a more equitable society and a more just … Continue reading Budgeting for the end: Christ’s eschatological economics
A conflict of visions Two competing moral visions dominate the modern Christian mind: the patriarchal vision and the egalitarian vision. Patriarchalism The patriarchal vision seeks to maintain certain socio-political inequalities so as to preserve the national identity—understood to be both primordial and immutable. In this task fathers, husbands, and men generally are divinely-appointed to rule … Continue reading The inimitable Christ: Christian ethics before and after the apocalypse
Modern Christians typically resist the idea that Christ is an "earthly" king like other "earthly" kings—a king like David, Ahab, or Jehu. Instead, the Christ of popular Christian conception is a "heavenly" or "spiritual" king, a king who reigns over the hearts of his (voluntary) subjects and over creation as a kind of cosmic sustainer. … Continue reading God’s king is a king: The politics of divine kingship
The apocalyptic imagination that emerged in Judea during the Greek and Roman periods represents a unique socio-religious response to feelings of discontent and resentment engendered by pagan political hegemony. Unable to integrate the Jewish cult into the pagan imperial system,1 an atmosphere of mutual antagonism descended upon colonized Israel. Just as a viral infection prompts … Continue reading When demoniacs win: The triumph of Christ’s apocalyptic spirit
The Synoptic Gospels relate that Jesus engaged in a violent prophetic sign-act in the Jerusalem Temple on the week of his death. Knocking over tables, upsetting animals, and scourging the money-changers, Jesus signaled the imminent demolition of Israel's sanctuary by Roman armies (cf. John 2:19, Mark 13:1-2, 11:12-14). Indeed, at his trial and execution Jesus' … Continue reading My king upon Zion: Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Temple
John's Gospel provides readers with an eschatological vision that is both peculiar and revolutionary. If the Synoptic Gospels evoke an eschatology of imminence, the Gospel of John evokes an eschatology of immanence. If in the Synoptic traditions God's kingdom arrives in power "before some standing here [should] taste death," in the Johannine tradition God's kingdom, … Continue reading Jerusalem witch trials: John’s magician of immortality
Scribes of the Kingdom 