Talking through images...

Jesus, the Prophet, the Healer and The Messiah

In the Gospels, Jesus proclaims the reign of God through his words and deeds. However, it is not easy to have a clear image of the reign of God, because we are not the people of Jesus’ time. Therefore, we need to be aware of chronological and geographical distances between Jesus and us in order to identify the principal characteristics of his contexts.

In Jesus’ time, there existed a political framework that was called “Roman Imperialism.” Before Jesus was born, the Roman Empire invaded and conquered Judea and other surrounding regions under the Pax Romana. Ultimately, the goal of Roman Imperialism was to establish a new world order.  However, the new world order of the Roman Empire was built on the destruction of conquered countries. Galilee, and especially Capernaum, was the base of Jesus’ movement where various crowds passed the beach of Galilee . It is the basic geopolitical context of Jesus’ time.

When we look into a smaller frame of Jesus’ time, there are classes and regional divisions. The class division can be categorized by the privileged class (the Rulers, Roman, Herodian, and priestly) and the exploited class (the ordinary people).  Especially, in Galilee, there were various classes, which were the client King, the followers, the aristocracy, the soldiers, the rich, the merchants, the fishers, the peasants and the untouchables in the Gospels. The regional division (Galilee and Judea) is caused by the rebellion of northern Israelites against the Davidic monarchy and Temple in Jerusalem.  Indeed, Galilee was a marginalized region. For 800 years, Galilee was the land of foreigners. Jews judged Galileans for religious reasons. In the New Testament, Pharisees and priests regarded Galileans as people who do not know the law  and confirmed that no prophet was to arise from Galilee.   Also, Peter and followers of Jesus were discriminated against because they were Galilean.

As I mentioned, the new world order was built on destruction. Even if the goal of Roman Imperialism was to contribute developments to the world, there was a critical relationship between the conquerors and the conquered. As the conquerors, Romans colonized Galilee and Judea to accumulate wealth in order to maintain the Pax Romana. In the middle of the colonizing process, Romans set new political and economic systems for effective rule. In Jesus’ time, the Roman political (local aristocracies in Judea and client kingship in Galilee)  and economic (tax and advanced agrarian society) systems  were developed and established in Palestine. The ruling class was a small population that controlled the resources in society. Also, tax was imposed more than the official rate of taxation.  Especially, the Herodian client kingship imposed heavy taxes and forced Galileans into harsh labor in order to build city.  Thus, heavy taxes and forced labor created social conflict; it caused the rise of messianic movements in Galilee. 

To summarize, in Jesus’ time there were two big oppressors,  the Roman Empire and the Temple establishment. The oppression appeared as taxes, discrimination, and injustice. People were waiting for the Messiah to save them from oppression.

The proclamation of Jesus is deeply rooted in Galilean life.  As an ordinary person of Galilee, Jesus observed and suffered the oppression and injustice. As a prophet, Jesus proclaimed the reign of God through the Scroll of Isaiah.  When we interpret prophecy in Isaiah through Jesus’ context, the reign of God would exclude taxes, provide freedom from the Roman Empire and provide food for all. There would be no more discrimination, land to live on, people being healed from illnesses, and a right relationship between the people and God.  Jesus understood that his ministry was evangelism to the poor. Actually, the word “poor” indicates not only economically poor people, but also people who were under the  oppression. Jesus wanted to liberate human beings from all oppression. However, Jesus’ first goal was the liberation of the poor.

The poor were discriminated against economically and socially. As far as I know, Jewish tradition regards the poor as excluded people from God’s blessing. Also, it regards physical illness as the punishment of God. However, Jesus wanted to revive the life of the poor. Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God belonged to the poor from his Sermon on the Mountain.

However, Jesus proclaimed not only comfort for the poor, but also condemnation of the oppressors. Actually, Jesus proclaimed the judgment of God against the Roman imperial order. 
The client kingship and high priesthood was the first target of Jesus’ proclamation. First, the Quelle document contained a message of judgment.  Jews and the temple establishment did not listen, even though prophets continually warned them. Consequently, they were to encounter catastrophe. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus shows a strong opposition to the Jerusalem high priests and their Roman imperial sponsors.  For Jesus, it was hard to stand that high priest, scribes and Pharisees did not exercise the Great Commandment , even though they know well. Thus, Jesus denounced scribes and Pharisees in public.  Jesus showed the authority of a real prophet, which was evidenced by exorcisms and healings. Jesus condemned and purified the corrupted temple. Also, Jesus was against the tenets system of the Herodian client kingship because it was against the covenant of Moses and the tradition of prophets. Indeed, Jesus gave a strong thrust to the Jerusalem rulers. 

Also, Jesus condemned the Roman Imperial rules. In Jesus’ time, tribute to Caesar symbolized loyalty to the Roman Empire. However, the tribute to Caesar was a form of oppression, and was unlawful for Jews to pay. Nevertheless, the Jews were also under the Roman Imperial rules. Therefore, the tribute to Caesar was a dilemma for the Jews. The Pharisees and Herodians used this dilemma to trap Jesus.
The response of Jesus was great. Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the thinks that are God’s.”  His response not only avoided the trap, but also gave a critical answer to the dilemma. If the Jews would regard God as their actual king and master, they would not need to be in a dilemma.

Another significant action to oppose Roman Imperialism was Jesus’ exorcisms. The authors of the Gospel tell that Jesus’ exorcisms were defeating Roman rule.  Horsley points to two important words of Jesus’ exorcism in the Gospel of Mark. Mark used the word “vanquishes” in order to assert the Jesus’ exorcism was to conquer the demons.  Mark named the demon, “Legion”, that referred to Roman troops in Jesus’ exorcism story in order to assert Jesus is defeating Roman Empire.  According to Mark’s accounts about Jesus’ exorcism, the Kingdom of God is vanquishing the force of the demons (the Roman Empire).

Also, Jesus’ healing ministry offered an alternative to the Roman Imperial Order. The Roman colonial policy failed in Galilee and Judea; it created social conflict and divisions. Jesus’ healing ministry was not only healing a person, but also healing the society. Therefore, the healing of personal illness was the healing of a part of the society.  Ultimately, Jesus wanted to establish the Kingdom of God through his social healing ministry.

Indeed, the message of Jesus was too sensational to accept for rulers, the rich, and the high priesthood. Jesus’ proclamation was too strong to reverse the system of order. Besides, Jesus showed the authority of a true prophet through his healings and exorcisms. Furthermore, there were many followers of Jesus. Above all, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the Roman rulers and the high priesthood observed Jesus’ popularity.  In the Gospels, the rulers of Jerusalem were afraid of the sedition of the people. Thus they could not kill Jesus, even though they set a plan to do so.

Traditionally, the message of judgment has a basic pattern, which is the liberation or restoration of God’s people.  Also, Jesus’ judgmental message is meant to liberate and restore God’s people. As I mentioned, Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God belonged to the poor. Besides, Jesus comforted the poor and healed the people who had illnesses. Jesus tried to give back their lost lives. Therefore, the message of Jesus appealed to the poor, the weak, and all marginalized people.

To summarize, Jesus counteracted Roman Imperialism, the divisions in Israel, the discriminations, and all injustice. He gave a thrust to the Roman imperial ruler, the Herodian client kingship, the high priest, scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God in a hopeless world. Indeed, he was the prophet, the healer and the Messiah.