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Jesus:
Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2023
Icebreaker:
Would you rather know the uncomfortable truth or believe a comforting lie?
Would you rather be poor but help people or become incredibly rich by hurting people?
Subversive Witness 7 Jesus - 20230325.pdfIntroduction
Introduction
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not simply a get-out-of-hell free card. Rather, the good news is that God invites us to participate with him in the restoration of all things. God seeks to restore broken people, and broken systems, and broken communities (Gilliard 102).
The Material Cost of Discipleship (Matt 19:16-22)
The Material Cost of Discipleship (Matt 19:16-22)
19:16 WHAT GOOD DEED MUST I DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? The Gospel writers are untroubled about any controversy over faith and works. Life after death does indeed require some action in order to be entitled to it. Jesus tells the man to sell and follow (France 401). What deeds do you think God requires of us?
19:21 IF YOU WISH TO BE PERFECT. What has your family and society taught you as the perfect, ideal life? As the example of Job shows, a pious man was expected to prosper and then to serve as a benefactor for those in need (see Job 1:1-5; 29:1-25). Being a benefactor in turn won gratitude from the beneficiaries and a good reputation in society at large. Jesus is asking the man to divest himself of all his goods once and for all and so deprive himself of the socially elevated role of benefactor (Donahue and Harrington 303). What does a disciple risk losing by following Christ?
19:21 SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS, AND GIVE THE MONEY TO THE POOR…THEN COME, FOLLOW ME. How literally versus spiritually do you understand Jesus’ instructions?
The Greek words “sell” and “give” are aorist imperatives that prescribe a single, complete disinvestment and donation, whereas “follow me” is a present imperative indicating a new and continual course for the future. Jesus is not only asking for renunciation of possessions but also for a total change in his lifestyle. The rich young man is to join the itinerant group of Jesus’ closest disciples and become dependent on the material support of others (France 403). How much has your lifestyle changed since following Jesus?
St. John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) teaches that giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here; following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling (Maximos et al. 1306). Do you agree or disagree? Why?
19:22 GRIEVING, FOR HE HAD MANY POSSESSIONS. The rich man’s desire to retain his possessions made it impossible for him to accompany Jesus (Donahue and Harrington 304). Technically, the man was not sinning. He simply could not follow Jesus. Like him, many believers are ‘good, law-abiding’ people. But they still do not do what it takes to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. The more they have, the more they have to lose. What similarities and dissimilarities do you see between the man and yourself?
19:22 HE WENT AWAY. Affluent Christians frequently evade and over-spiritualize Jesus’ teaching: the man’s attachment to his possessions manifested an inordinate love for them that blocked generosity to the poor and led him to say no to following Jesus. Jesus really did ask the man to sell all that he had, to give it to the poor, and to embark on a new life of itinerant kingdom poverty with the community of disciples. Those who followed Jesus frequently did exactly that. And Jesus really did teach that whether wealth is acquired by work, by inheritance, or by luck, it presents profound spiritual dangers (Gushee and Stassen Loc. 9056). Examining your own heart, what spiritual dangers lurk in the dark?
Dominique Gilliard summarizes the central point on the rich young ruler:
Rather than intentionally leveraging his wealth, possessions, and power for justice to further the kingdom and love his disenfranchised neighbors, he chose self-centeredness. In the end, the cost of discipleship was too high for him. He chose what he knew — the financial, social, and political perks of this world — over the unknown. He elected privilege and the pleasures of this world over kingdom treasures (Gilliard 101). Is the gospel still good news when it costs me something? When it costs me everything?
Jesus’ Self-Emptying Mindset (Phil 2:3-8)
Jesus’ Self-Emptying Mindset (Phil 2:3-8)
In Phil 2:3-8, Gilliard sees Jesus’ self-emptying mindset as a choice not to exploit his status as fully divine and fully human to avoid discrimination, persecution, and suffering for inaugurating the kingdom amid an oppressive empire (Gilliard 103-104). What layers of privilege do people in your social circle have to avoid discrimination or suffering?
Indeed, the patterns of this world seduce us into climbing the socioeconomic ladder to make a good life for ourselves and our families, distracting us from God’s greater mission (Gilliard 105). Is it necessarily wrong to want a good life for yourself and your own? Where, then, is the danger?
The gospel calls us to care for more than just our biological families. Scripture declares that we are our brother's keeper, that we have a responsibility to care for the poor, the vulnerable, and the least of these. New life in Christ liberates us from the bondage of rugged individualism and calls us into a life of mutuality, hospitality, and sacrificial love. Life in Christ gives us a new identity and a new family; it transforms the “us” and “them” categories that sustain worldly empires by creating an interdependent people who no longer choose apathy in the face of oppression, injustice, and systemic sin (Gilliard 105-106). How do you see the gospel transforming your own heart towards serving others?
2:3 SELFISH AMBITION. This means working to advance oneself without thought for others (Coleman 1897). How does this challenge an individualistic and capitalistic society?
2:3 CONCEIT. Conceit causes us to despise those who have a different way of life, thinking we are better than they (Maximos et al. 1613). How does this challenge a paternalistic and nationalistic society?
2:3 REGARD OTHERS AS BETTER THAN YOURSELVES. If you put this to practice, how would your perceptions of and interactions with others be different?
2:4 THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS. 2 Cor 8:9 says that Christ became poor that he might make many rich. Does this square well with the theme of leveraging one’s privilege to lift up the lowly?
2:6 EQUALITY WITH GOD. Unlike Adam, who being human sought divinity (Gen 3:5), Jesus, being deity, relinquished his rightful position of honor (Keener Php 2:5-6). How willing are you to forsake societal honor to be counted among the disreputable?
2:6 EXPLOITED. In other words, Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be used to His own advantage (Wilson et al. 186). He did not hold on to his privileges. Does this square with the theme of not exploiting one’s own privileges for oneself?
2:7 EMPTIED HIMSELF. This literally means “to pour out until the container is empty” (Coleman 1897). How can followers of Christ imitate Jesus’ self-emptying today?
2:7 THE FORM OF A SLAVE. F.F. Bruce clarifies that this does not mean that Christ exchanged the nature of God for the nature of a servant: it means that he displayed the nature of God in the nature of a servant (Wilson et al. 186). In other words, it is in God’s nature to serve. Christ goes from being the ultimate master to become the lowest slave (Coleman 1897).
Christ shed every layer of human status and descended through every level of human dignity. He became not just a human being but a servant; not just a servant but a slave; not just a slave but a dead slave, degraded and disgraced by execution on a cross (Knowles 626). Does this touch or inspire you?
2:8 DEATH ON A CROSS. In your own words, explain why Jesus’ obedience led him to die on a cross. How do you see such obedience playing out in today’s world?
Jesus and the Disenfranchised
Jesus and the Disenfranchised
Jesus embodied many forms of marginality. As God, Jesus could have opted out of any suffering or persecution. Nevertheless, he chose solidarity with the disenfranchised.
He chose to come as a helpless babe, born to impoverished parents in the ghetto of Galilee, Nazareth. Jesus had a death sentence placed on him by the most powerful man in the land at birth. He was forced to flee political persecution, migrating to a foreign land with his family for what would equate to asylum today and was later falsely arrested, tried, and crucified. Jesus knows what it is like to endure injustice, oppression, and systemic sin (Gilliard 114).
In what ways have you felt Jesus enter into solidarity with you? In what ways can you enter into solidarity with someone who is disenfranchised, someone who is a victim of systemic sin?
Reflection Questions
Reflection Questions
Given that John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,” what keeps us from choosing to love one another?
First John 3:16 reads, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” How is God calling you to lay down your life for your brothers and sisters?
Our response to neighbors in need communicates something to the world. What does your response communicate?
How could taking on the mindset of Christ change the tenor of ecclesial conversations about movements for needed social change?
How do the Greek definitions of the words poor and oppressed shift how you understand Luke 4:18-19? 6.
How is Matthew 25:31-46 prescriptive for who the church is called to be?
Works Cited
Works Cited
Coleman, Lyman. Life Connections Study Bible. Holman Bibles, 2019.
Donahue, John R. and Daniel J. Harrington. The Gospel of Mark. edited by Daniel J. Harrington, vol. 2, Liturgical Press, 2002. Sacra Pagina.
France, Richard T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. William B. Eerdmans, 2009. The New International Greek Testament Commentary.
Gilliard, Dominique DuBois. Subversive Witness: Scripture's Call to Leverage Privilege. Zondervan, 2021.
Gushee, David P. and Glen H. Stassen. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. 2nd / Kindle edition, William B. Eerdmans, 2016.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Knowles, Andrew. The Bible Guide. Augsburg, 2001.
Maximos, Metropolitan et al. The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World. edited by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, Thomas Nelson, 2008.
Wilson, Earle L. et al. Galatians, Philippians, Colossians: A Commentary for Bible Students. Wesleyan Publishing, 2007.
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