We’re continuing our new series today, called Jesus: The Most Interesting Man in the World.
What kind of man can be a shepherd, a revolutionary, a prophet, a king, a teacher, and more?
We’ll be studying 14 characteristics of Jesus, far more than most people could ever possess. We’ll be building up to the last one in our list that will be the most important, as it’s the one makes all the difference, and makes sense of all the characteristics that came before. This week, however, it’s all about Jesus the revolutionary.
Most Canadians think of Jesus as representing the status quo for years in western culture, not as anything new and revolutionary. But many people in his day considered him a revolutionary, there to overthrow the Roman government that oppressed them. He wouldn’t have been the first, others had claimed to be messiah before, gathering followers to take up arms and march on Jerusalem to retake it for the Jews.
Jesus even started developing his following in the hills of Galilee, just like the Guerillas of South America, choosing a place with some protection and a bit of a buffer between the power brokers and his budding movement.
At least one of his followers was called a zealot, Simon, known for his passion for rebellion. Jesus was speaking to the masses, and sharing a bold new vision about a different kind of world.
These were all hallmarks of a revolutionary leader about to lead a rebellion, but we’ll explore this week whether that is really what he was up to.
Since then, all kinds of people have seen Jesus as leading their kind of rebellion against the particular status quo they hate – are they right, or are they trying to use his credibility?
For example, a leading socialist in the 1920’s once said, “We socialists would have nothing to do if you Christians had continued the revolution begun by Jesus.” Is that true? Do socialists and Jesus have the same goals, or at least overlapping ones? Or is he a different kind of revolutionary?
We’ll have to examine Jesus on his own terms to know for sure. But first,
Question: From what you know about Jesus, what kind of revolutionary vision was Jesus casting?
Meeting with a Group? Your discussion questions are in this week’s Group Study Guide
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