Chapters 3,4,5 "Praxis" (Jesus Before Christianity)
Following up from the previous post (Jesus Identifies with John Baptist), we'll look at the second section of Albert Nolan's book which deals with the activity of Jesus in light of the conditions of
humanity in His world. There are three chapters in this section.
In chapter three Nolan tells
about the sort of people that Jesus gave most of His attention to.
Scripture uses the following descriptors for them: "the poor, the
blind, the lame, the crippled, the lepers, the hungry, the miserable
(those who weep), sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, demoniacs, the
persecuted, the downtrodden, the captives, all who labor and are
overburdened, the rabble who know nothing of the law, the crowds, the
little ones, the least, the last and the babes or the lost sheep of the
house of Israel."
The author gives a description of
the different classes in society in that day and says that Jesus was
from the middle class (not to be mistaken for what we call "middle
class" in our day). "The remarkable thing about Jesus was that, although
he came from the middle class and had no appreciable disadvantages
himself, he mixed socially with the lowest of the low and identified
himself with them. He became an outcast by choice."
Nolan's main point in chapter 3 is that "what made Jesus different was the unrestrained compassion he felt for the poor and the oppressed."
In
chapters 4 and 5 Nolan continues to explore Jesus' actions towards the
disenfranchised by looking at healing and forgiveness. Chapter 4
contains some very interesting insights on His healing work, pointing
out how different Jesus' approach to healing was from other healers of
His time.
Chapter
5 is about forgiveness and how Oriental people of the first century
looked at sin and its link with sickness and trouble. This is a
beautiful chapter about Jesus' friendship with "sinners" and how He
enjoyed being with them and they with Him.
"It would be impossible to
overestimate the impact these (festive) meals must have had upon the
poor and the sinners. By accepting them as friends and equals Jesus had
taken away their shame, humiliation and guilt. By showing them that they
mattered to him as people, he gave them a sense of dignity and released
them from their captivity...Moreover, because Jesus was looked upon as a
man of God and a prophet, they would have interpreted his gesture of
friendship as God's approval of them. They were now acceptable to God.
Their sinfulness, ignorance and uncleanness had been overlooked and were
no longer held against them....There can be no doubt that Jesus was a
remarkably cheerful person and that his joy, like his faith and hope,
was infectious...The poor and the oppressed and anyone else who was not
too hung up on 'respectability' found the company of Jesus a liberating
experience of sheer joy...He made them feel safe and secure...His very
presence had liberated them."
In
healing and forgiving and befriending the disenfranchised, Jesus had no
motivation to prove anything but was simply moved by deep compassion.
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