• Josephus - longed to rule themselves with no master but God.
  1. Judas the Galilean - 6 C.E.
  • Not a place that God ruled, but the fact that God ruled (or will come to rule / will soon come to rule)
  • Right now He was not ruling and others were ruling in His place.
  2. Simeon ben-Kosiba - 132 C.E. - Led another rebellion. It lasted three years and was brutally repressed by the Romans.
     • The Rabbi’s responded by drastically changing the course of Judaism. They turned the religion inward.
       

       He who takes upon himself the yoke of the law, from him shall be taken away the yoke of the Kingdom and the yoke of Worldly care.

After comparing Jesus� Kingdom Message with others of His time, it is clear that His message was radically different from those of the same period. Typical prophets of the period:

1. Announced the Kingdom of God
2. Gathered followers
3. Marched on Jerusalem
4. Died as a failed revolutionary leader

While He was all those things on the surface, His message was radically different. He did not talk about the return of God-only-rule like the others, but instead preached the second temple hopes as found in Isaiah:

1. YHWH becomes king
2. Israel will return from exile
3. Evil will be defeated and YHWH himself will return to Zion

Thus, Jesus and his Isanianic gospel, his good news is beyond the mere traditional military-political revolution. It is the fulfillment of the 2nd Temple hopes.

This was not an abstract movement, nor a new religion, nor a new ethic, nor a new sociological analysis, etcetera. Instead it was about Israel taking up its role in history as the light of the world, about their role in history reaching its climax.

Jesus was very much aware that He too had a role to play in history, like Israel, like the prophets, like his cousin John. He was also very much aware of the wondrous numinous and aware of the personal, abba, aspect of the numinous.

Announced God’s Kingdom

What was Jesus’ Kingdom Announcement like?

• It was not like what the Jews were expecting.
• Time of restoration was coming, all sorts of people were invited to partake in it.
• Israel’s present ways were counter-productive
• The battle was not against Rome, but what stood behind Rome.
• His Kingdom announcement would bring God’s victory and presence into the world.
• This not only challenged Rome and Herod, but also the militaristic and political aims of Judaism
• Israel was to open, not closed and the oppression due to the hyper-exclusivity was to stop
• In light of the above, it is not surprising that He was attacked on all sides and misunderstood by his followers, who were expecting a military/political revolution.

How did he announce it?

• He traveled the countryside, from village to village. He stayed away from the population centers of Sepphoris and Tiberius.
• This was not like a wandering preach nor a wandering philosopher, instead it was like a revolutionary leader combing the countryside for support before the march on the establishment.

What was its content?

• Long awaited Kingdom was coming thru His own work and it had present and future aspects.
  1. Present - not a religious experience or new personal religion, but the Kingdom was starting now, with his announcement of it.
  2. Futuristic - there were important tasks that still needed to be accomplished.
• This was like what bar-Kochba did, with his minting of coin (present) and his expression that Rome still needed to be over thrown (future).

Thus, Jesus was not just announcing the Kingdom, but believed that the Kingdom was breaking into Israel’s history in and through his own presence and work.

Gathering Support

Kingdom announcement was an invitation to seize the opportunity to return from exile. There are four parts to this:

1. Invitation
2. Welcome
3. Challenge
4. Summons

1. Invitation:
   It was an invitation to repent and receive the gospel. What did this mean to the 1st century Jew? It is tempting to see this from a 20th century spiritual viewpoint, one of confessing your sins and adopting a new religious scheme. Instead, the Jews saw it as Josephus did: “give up your agendas and trust in mine.” This does not mean there was not a spiritual aspect to his invitation, but that we must realize the entire framework of it.
2. Welcome:
   Jesus welcomed all into his kingdom, even the sinners and the other outcasts from Jewish society. Contrast this with repentance and cleansing rituals that were centered around the temple in Jerusalem. This bypassing of the system was his worst crime in the eyes of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
3. Challenge:
   This was not just a new ethic, it was a new eschatology. Jesus called them to live as the new covenant people, a people returned from exile. Jesus was not just a social prophet. He propounded a new way of being Israel, a way of forgiveness, prayer, jubilee, without the xenophobia and oppression that they were currently guilty of.
4. Summons:
   This was a summons for Israel to take up this challenge and stand up to take her place in history.

Hence Jesus was not just a wisdom teacher since his message flew in the face of the wisdom of the times. It meant being persecuted in the religious and political spheres and would lead almost certainly to death.

It was not the common negative 2nd Temple vision that had Israel being lifted up and the other nations judged. Instead, it was a positive vision stemming from Isaiah in that through Israel would salvation spread throughout the world.

Thus Jesus summoned “other Jews to abandon alternative Kingdom visions and join him in his.”

Warning of Judgment

Many 2nd Temple’ers thought that God’s judgment was going to fall on the rest of earth and vindicate Israel.

Not so, says Jesus. Instead, like many prophets before him, judgment would fall on Israel first for neglecting her mission.

• Failure to respond to the summons
• xenophobia and violence towards outsiders
• the oppression of others inside the system

There would be vindication, but it would only be for the true members of Israel, not the whole nation.

Wright argues that the judgment would not be the end of space-time or in the “post-mortem condemnation of unbelievers”. Instead, if the Jews continued on their path, God would use Rome to punish them.

Mark 13 and its parallels are warnings of the destruction of Jerusalem. Mark 13:24-27, the Son of Man coming in the clouds is not a literal passage, but is borrowed from Isaiah 12, Daniel 7, and others and refers to the collapse of pagan empires and the vindication of God’s people. Wright disagrees with other Christians that Jesus predicts his second coming and only refers to the above. He believes that only this interpretation makes sense within 1st Century Judaism.