Gospel of Mark @ PJEFC

The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God:
The Earliest Narrative

From March 7-28, over a period of 4 Sundays, I will be teaching a course on the Gospel of Mark at Petaling Jaya Evangelical Free Church.

Synopsis:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1): these are the first few words found in the prologue of the Gospel of Mark, often regarded as the earliest eyewitness account of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament. What is this “good news of Jesus Christ” according to Mark? How does Mark tell the unique story of Jesus Christ? What does Mark hope to achieve by telling the story the way he tells it? In this course, we will examine and unpack the structure and major theological themes in Mark’s narrative. We will also discover that Mark’s Gospel still challenges and invites us to a fuller understanding of what it means to be authentic disciples that embody “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1) in our lives.

Dates:

March 7, 14, 21, 28

Time:

11:15am - 12:30pm

Jesus Matters: A Product of both the Old and Young

I have just met Dr David Shenk in the seminary a couple of days ago, and he graciously gave me the latest book that he co-edited that is just hot from the press, Jesus Matters: Good News for the Twenty-First Century (Scottdale: Herald Press, 2009). Shenk was really enthusiastic about this book. This is because it is not simply another book about Jesus.

After reading the book, I can understand David Shenk's excitement. The uniqueness of this book is that each of the 17 essays is written by at least 2 authors - an established senior scholar/leader and one or more young adults - to consider the various ways Christians encounter and experience Jesus. Some of the topics included in this book are: Jesus and the Bible; Jesus and creation; Jesus and the Kingdom of God; Jesus and God; Jesus and the cross; Jesus and salvation; Jesus and mission; Jesus and the church; Jesus and other religions; and Jesus and the future. Some of the authors include Stanley Green, Michele Hershberger, William Shenk, Mark Thiessen Nation, Tom Yoder Neufeld, Willard Swartley, Jack Suderman and April Yamasaki.

This book is written in a very engaging manner, and is suitable for use even in bible-study groups and Sunday school classes.

What is particularly great and unique about this compendium of essays is that the reader not only listens to the voice of a season scholar/leader, one also gets a glimpse of how a young adult struggles to make sense of his/her faith in the contemporary world. I really like this book because it forces both the old and the young to listen to each other, learn from each other, engage with each other, and to work together.

I wonder in the Malaysian context, if a book such as this is commissioned where each essay is both written by a senior leader/scholar/pastor and a young adult, what result would this project accomplish? Would the senior leader listen and engage the younger generation? Would the younger generation learn from the wisdom of the old? I think I would like to see such a book being birthed in Malaysia.

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 3: The Parable of An Inculpatory Servant and A Gracious Master

Since I will soon be teaching a course on the Parables of Jesus for our Theological Education by Extension programme, I thought that it might be good for me to attempt to write a parable as well.

The following parable is inspired by many personal encounters with believers who question God or others for the consequences of their actions. Sometimes it is sad that we refuse to take responsibilities for our mistakes, weaknesses, and failures; rather, we find it much easier and convenient to point our fingers at others.

Parable of An Inculpatory Servant and A Gracious Master

How then shall I describe our relationship with God or with one another? It is like a slave that works for a very wealthy master. One day, the master discovers that the slave has stolen some money from the safe, and he questions the slave about the theft. The slave denies any knowledge until the master produces the evidence as recorded in the CCTV. However, instead of dismissing the slave, the kind master graciously decides to give the slave a second chance to work for him, hoping that the slave would have an opportunity to repent from his serious mistake and would turn over a new leaf and become a better person instead.

A few weeks have passed, and the master discovers to his horror that the slave has once again stolen some money from the safe. The master confronts the slave, but as in the first instance, the slave denies any knowledge, refusing to admit his acts of dishonesty. When the evidence of his dishonest act as recorded in the CCTV is brought forward, the slave becomes very angry and upset at the master for exposing his deeds and for dismissing him from his job.

Not only does he not repent from his sins, the slave decides to engage a lawyer to sue the master for an amount of RM10 million for installing the CCTV with the purpose of surveillance in order to expose his shame. Now that his reputation has been seriously undermined and the prospect of finding a job elsewhere appears dim, the slave also demands another RM10 million in compensation from the master for potential loss of income.

Questions:
What is the main point of this parable, taking into account the culture and custom of an Asian society than places emphasis on honour and shame?

How many of us, instead of taking responsibility, would blame God and our fellow brethren for our sins and the consequences of our actions?

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 2

I have been reviewing some of the resources that could be recommended to the students who will be taking my upcoming elective course on Teaching and Preaching the Parables of Jesus. One of the graded assignments for this module is the preparation of a lesson plan/sermon based on the student's choice of a parable of Jesus. To give some practical ideas in helping the students prepare for their lesson plan, I have been reviewing some of the resources available in the market.

One of the most useful resources that I have reviewed is Zondervan's The Parables of Jesus under the Deeper Connections DVD series.

This series contains a comprehensive study guide on six of the parables of Jesus:

• Matthew 13:24-33: the coming of the Kingdom
• Luke 7:36-50: the grace of the Kingdom
• Luke 15:11-32: the God of the Kingdom
• Matthew 13:44-46: the demand of the Kingdom
• Matt 22:1-14: the mission of the Kingdom
• Matt 25:31-46: the fulfillment of the Kingdom

Each of the studies above is taught by six well known and well respected NT scholars:

• Gary Burge
• David Garland
• Mark Strauss
• Michael Wilkins
• Matt Williams
• Ben Witherington III

In order to help the participants appreciate the impact of the message of the parables in the times of Jesus, each of the lesson plans consists of three components:

• historical and cultural background
• an engaging investigation of the biblical text and its meaning
• challenging application of the message of the parable in contemporary context.

This DVD series is also accompanied by a Participant's Guide that helps the participants navigate through the teachings of the instructors. It also contains thought provoking questions for discussion. In addition, the Participant Guide also brings the application of the message of the parables further by providing five daily personal reflection studies that could be used as personal devotions.

I will be using some of the lessons from this DVD series for my lectures and will engage the students to review critically the effectiveness of the teaching method and to consider how to contextualise this resource for the use in our local context.

Hopefully, this excellent series by Zondervan could help us reflect on how best we can creatively teach and preach the parables of Jesus so that the message of the parables can still be driven home in our contemporary context.

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 1

I will be teaching a modular course for the seminary's Theological Education by Extension programme to be held at the Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya centre (which happens to be my church) on the weekends of September 5-7 and 12-14.

The course, Teaching and Preaching the Parables of Jesus, is an elective course that offers an in-depth study of selected parables of Jesus, including a survey of the history of their interpretation, their role in Jesus' ministry, and reflection upon their challenge for NT theology and interpretation. Special attention will be paid in the use of parables in contemporary teaching and preaching ministry where students will attempt to understand the parables of Jesus in light of their First Century Jewish environment, and to bridge the gap between then and now in applying the parables to their present situations in life.

One of the requirements of the course is to create a 15-minute teaching/preaching presentation based on the student's choice of a parable of Jesus, in consultation with the instructor. The presentation should include the student's interpretation of the parable in the form of sermon, teaching lesson, drama, Sunday school material, bible study, movie clip, music, or any other creative form which demonstrates a clear indication of how the parable functioned in the ministry of Jesus and how the parable is relevant to the situation of the current audience of the student. This assignment will be evaluated based on originality, creativity, and clarity of the presentation and the effectiveness of conveying the message of the parable to the student's contemporary audience.

For registration of the course, please get in touch with Ms Sarah Yap, Director of TEE Programme at sarahyap at stm dot edu dot my.

Lectures by Ben Witherington at Gordon Conwell

Prof Ben Witherington, a Gordon-Conwell alum and noted New Testament scholar, recently presented a series of lectures on the theme "What Have They Done with Jesus?" at the Annual Cooley Lectures, hosted by The Robert C. Cooley Center for the Study of Early Christianity at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary campus in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The lectures are now available and can be listened and downloaded from Gordon-Conwell's website.

Lecture 1: What Have They Done With Jesus?

Lecture 2: The Talpiot Tomb - The Family Tomb of Jesus?

Lecture 3: The Jesus History and the Pseudo-Christ of Gnosticism.

Enjoy!

The Upper Room in Art

CT posted an article depicting the Last Supper in Art.

"Believers who grew up hearing the stories of Holy Week find that its familiarity can rob it of its force. At our worst, we treat the events in Jesus' last week as mere chapters in a book we've grown to consider a comfort rather than a disturbance."

"One way Christians make afresh the events of Holy Week is through art. Visuals of Jesus washing Peter's feet, or of Judas walking away from the Last Supper, money bag in hand, remind us of all the complex experiences and motives real people have. They also allow us to experience the heightened emotions of such events, as we imagine, for example, the shock of Jesus' announcement that his followers would desert him in his final hours. The following images, a collection of art spanning time, geography, and culture, allow viewers to have a seat around the table in the Upper Room, listening and watching as Jesus reveals what's to come in the hours leading up to his death."

Click here to view the slideshow.

Stories with Intent and the Parables of Jesus

I am delighted to see a parcel from Eerdmans waiting for me in my mailbox. Klyne R. Snodgrass' Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus has finally arrived.

According to Eerdmans, this book "offers pastors and students an accessible and comprehensive guide to Jesus’ parables. Klyne Snodgrass explores in vivid detail the context in which these stories were told, the purpose they had in Jesus’ message, and the ways they have been interpreted by the church and modern scholarship. While holding a consciously evangelical approach, Snodgrass deals throughout with a broad spectrum of opinions and interpretations."

"He begins by surveying the primary issues in parables interpretation. Offering both a new, more functional classification system for Jesus’ parables and guidelines for interpreting them, he provides an overview of other parables — often neglected in the discussion — from the Old Testament, Jewish writings, and the Greco-Roman world. The remaining chapters group the longer and more important parables of Jesus thematically and give a comprehensive treatment of each, including background and significance for today."

The reviews of the book are extremely encouraging and positive. The table of contents seems very promising. I am now making my way through the book and seriously considering it as one of the textbooks for the upcoming Theological Education by Extension course, Teaching and Preaching the Parables of Jesus, that I will be co-teaching with my Principal in September 08. But with a price tag of US$50.00, it seems to be a little bit on the high side for many of us from the Two-Thirds world. That is the only set back, despite the slight relief of the weakening Greenback in recent months.

It's unfortunate that when books cross over the Pacific to South-east Asia, they suddenly become expensive and beyond the reach of many. Is there anyway publishers in North America are able to give special concession to the Two-Thirds world?

Biblical Training Announces New Course

Biblical Training announces a new course on New Testament Survey by Dr Craig Blomberg. In this course, "Dr. Blomberg introduces you to the background and content of the books of the New Testament. Understanding more about the historical background, authorship and the theological ideas emphasized in each book and the NT as a whole, can help you understand scripture more completely and apply it to your life more effectively."

Dr Blomberg is the author of numerous NT books and commentaries.




The contents of the 10-hour course include the follwoing topics:

• Why and how should you study the NT
• Historical and religious background for NT study
• The canon and text of the NT
• The Gospels
• Letters of Paul
• General letters and Revelation

You need to register in order to listen to the lectures. Registration is free! Check it out, and you will not be disappointed.

2 New Movies about the Boy Jesus

ChristianityToday reports that two new movies about Jesus' early years between 13-30 are now under way. Read the report below.

-------

Filming the Boy Jesus: Two new movies about Christ's early years are on the way—The Aquarian Gospel and Jesus: The Lost Years.

by Josh Hurst posted 10/01/07

Good News Holdings might have scrapped its plans to make a movie out of Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, a fictional story about Jesus' childhood years. But that's not stopping others from making films with a similar theme.

Drew Heriot, director of the self-help documentary The Secret, has been tapped to direct The Aquarian Gospel, a movie that follows the life of Christ through his "missing years"—including ages 13 through 30. Meanwhile, Jesus: The Lost Years, a documentary based on the Paul Perry book Jesus in Egypt, comes to DVD on November 13.

Variety reports that the script for the former film is based on a pair of books: The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ, by evangelical writer Levi Dowling, and The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ, by Russian anthropologist Nicholas Notovich. The film "chronicles Jesus' journeys from Israel through India, Tibet, Persia, Greece and Egypt as he encounters people of all creeds, classes and faiths."

Meanwhile, Jesus: The Lost Years, billing itself as "The Greatest Story NEVER Told," takes a speculative look at Christ's boyhood years in Egypt after his family fled Israel. Press materials say that "acclaimed" researcher John de Bry and filmmaker "traversed the sands of Egypt, following the Holy Family's actual route." This alleged route was allegedly "outlined by Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians and officially certified as authentic in 2000." (There's no mention who actually "authenticated" such a speculative, and possibly outright fictional, "Holy Family Trail," but mere conjecture never stopped anyone from writing a book or making a movie before.)

Was Jesus Political? A New Testament Perspective - 3

This is the 3rd and final installment of the full text of my lecture given at the OHMSI Inaugural Dialogue on September 15, 2007. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of the lecture.

4) The Implications for the Church Today

In the beginning of this paper, I have raised two questions.
1) Does Jesus exhibit any political awareness in his earthly ministry?
2) Do the multitude perceive the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus to be political?

After our brief consideration, we can only come to a conclusion that both Jesus and the multitude understood him as political, not in the narrow sense of gaining and maintaining powers in party politics, but in the broad sense of ensuring the good life of the community. This involves making decisions affecting social groups in terms of ethical values and priorities; proper and just economic allocation and distribution of resources; calling the political and religious establishments to integrity and transparency by exposing their inner corruption and abuse of power; and ultimately calling Israel to live as a people of God in light of God’s covenantal faithfulness, failing which, the dreadful judgement and the wrath of God would await them. Notice that all of these are carried out in the public square and not in the private sphere of religion.

What does this mean for the church today? As believers, Jesus not only summons us to a radically exclusive commitment and wholehearted devotion to him but also challenges us as a body of Christ to be the alternative assembly for the society. In this respect, the church is also political. This means that the church does not and cannot exist in isolation from the community that God has placed her.

Admitedly, in this paper, I will raise more questions rather than providing answers. Therefore, the questions for us are these: If we believe that if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation, could the church therefore be a social unit that undercuts even our biological and familial relations, demonstrating that the rule and reign of God does not belong to the distant future but is indeed a present reality in our midst where forgiveness, love and acceptance are our boundary markers and badges of identity? In this respect, would it be great that we as Christ-followers are known to our society by our practices – that we care about the environment; speak out against injustice, abuse of power and corruption; reach out to the poor and marginalized; investing our scarce resources to the training, educating and equipping the people of God rather than channelling them to build bigger and more expensive multi-million Ringgit facilities? Could greater Christian initiatives toward deeper racial reconciliation be appreciated in the church? Would the church be known as tranforming agents for our community and society? Would the church be known by her unity rather than disunity?

Can the church refuse the acceptance of the stand that privatises faith? Is the church willing to pay the price in seeking out and protecting those facing injustice and without a voice? Is the church courageous enough to call rulers away from tyranny and oppression towards embracing the Jubilee values of justice and mercy and principles of public servanthood and accountability?

Perhaps this is a good time to reflect on our role as a church, and it could not be more significant that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Operasi Lalang next month. Where was the church when Operasi Lalang was mounted? Have we not learned our lessons? Or do we continue to choose to remain silent, disengage ourselves and retreat to our comfortable cocoon, deceiving ourselves that all that we need to do is pray and wait impatiently for the second coming of our Lord?

To conclude: How can we impact and influence the community that God has placed us? Taking the cue from the Parable of the Good Samaritan, have we in anyway defined who is our neighbour? Have we reduced others in the world as classifiable commodities by drawing distinctions between persons, deciding who is, and who is not, our neighbour? What are some of the factors that would discourage us to “go and do likewise” today? Perhaps it time we are reminded that we cannot define our neighbour. We can only be a neighbour. To be effective salt and light for the Lord, we need, first of all, to be a neighbour. Perhaps it is time we rethink whether the church of Jesus Christ today exist for the city or the city exist for the church? Does the church exist for the believers or the believers exist for the church?

--- THE END ---


For other perspectives on and response to the dialogue, please see:

1) OHMSI Inaugural Launch - Was Jesus Political? - Sivin Kit (check out the video for the opening and closing part of the event)

2) "Was Jesus political"? - Pearlie

3) Oriental Hearts & Mind Study Institute - Johnny Ong

4) How Was Jesus 'Political'? - Dave Chong

5) How Was Jesus 'Political'? - The Agora

6) Yesterday at OMHSI (sic) forum, "Was Jesus Political?" - Steven Sim

7) Was Jesus Political? - Tricia

Was Jesus Political? A New Testament Perspective - 2

This is the second installment of the full text of my lecture for the Inaugural Dialogue organised by OHMSI. The first part can be found here.

1) The Self-Understanding of Jesus and his Mission
One does not need to go far to consider what others believe to be the political significance of Jesus life and ministry. Because of time, let’s limit our discussion to the birth narrative. Reading Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-55 would have heightened our awareness just how political his mother thinks the birth of his son would be:

“He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:51-55)

While many of us are accustomed to spiritualising Mary’s song, when we read it in close context, it is nothing short of being very political. Not only will humility be exalted above pride, the rulers will be deposed, the hungry fed and the rich turned away. The outpouring of God’s mercy on the poor and those who fear him will no doubt bring significant change in the social order in which reversal of status is anticipated. As such, the mission of Jesus is seen in light of what is prophesied by Amos and the other prophets in the Hebrew bible – his birth is going to bring about the anticipated social justice.

Further political evidence surrounding the birth narratives of Jesus is also too strong to be ignored. For example:

• the significance of Bethlehem as the city of David (Luke 2:4; cf. Matt 2:1, 5-6);


• the angels’ proclamation of “peace on the earth among whom he is well pleased” to the shepherd (Luke 2:8-14) – this undermine the pax romana – peace is now from God and not Rome;


• Herod’s fear and the massacre of the infants in Bethlehem ensuring no rival competitor for the throne of Israel could possibly survive (Matt 2:1-16);


• the expectations of both Simeon (Luke 2: 25-35) and Anna (Luke 2: 36-38) that underscore the political significance of the coming of the Messiah, particularly in the appointment of Jesus “for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” (Luke 2:34).
  

We have seen how the multitude perceived the political significance of Jesus. What about Jesus himself? Time only permits us to look at one particular synagogue incident in Luke 4:16-21 where Jesus read the scripture from the Isaianic scroll.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-20)

In reading Isaiah 61:1-2, Jesus understood himself as fulfilling Isaiah’s vision of an eschatological jubilee year. The proclamation of Jubilee is itself a political declaration. Properly observed, it would severely limit the concentration of power and wealth by the rich. Isaiah’s vision anticipates a new world order where God’s justice is administered; wrong will be made right; the injustices which lead to oppression and captivity will be reversed; and God’s people would receive the full measure of his blessings. Proclaiming “liberty to the captives” and “to set at liberty those who are oppressed” could mean nothing more than liberation from Israel’s enemies – Rome. And Jesus publicly announced the inauguration of this new age “today” (Luke 4:21), and not in a distant future.

2) The Message of Jesus
Jesus began his ministry with these words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). One cannot help but to be impressed at the precise vocabulary carefully chosen from the political realm. It hardly needs to be argued that “kingdom” is a political terminology. What is less prominent for many of us is that the “gospel” is also political. Originally, gospel refers to the kind of report or important public announcement highlighted by the Roman government deserving attention and celebration when it is received. But with the ministry of Jesus, the gospel is no longer good news of the deeds and works of Rome, but it is now the retelling and re-enacting of the works of God climaxed in the story of Jesus. God has now finally acted in and through Christ.

The kingdom represents the long awaited hope that Yahweh would one day save his people by fulfilling his covenant promises toward them, bringing both vindication and restoration to Israel by defeating her enemies. By proclaiming the fulfilment of this expectation publicly is itself a very political move of Jesus.

What about the teaching of Jesus? How would others perceive the teaching of Jesus? One of the most common teaching methods of Jesus is parables. We have only time to consider one – the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In this parable, a lawyer approached Jesus with this question: “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus told the parable that is highly political in nature. The best species of the Jewish people – the priest and Levite, representing the law and temple, did nothing to help another fellow Jew in the ditch. This would be totally unacceptable. The only person that came to his rescue is a pariah of the Jewish society – a Samaritan. This Samaritan demonstrated his godly compassion (as reflected in the Greek word, splagcni,zomai in Luke 10:33 – it is very unfortunate that NIV misses the nuance by translating this word simply as “took pity”) on the wounded Jew by helping him and bandaging his wound, and going the extra mile in ensuring that he was taken care off until he recuperated completely. At the climax of the story, Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who is a neighbour to the wounded Jew?” and exhorted him to “go and do likewise.”

In this parable, Jesus overturned the question of the lawyer and replaced it with one that is more fundamental. If the issue is about love of neighbour, the question one should be asking is that of how one is to express that love and compassion, not to whom it should be expressed. Could there be more subversive instructions with greater political overtones in this parable? This parable crosses the divide between culture, race and creed. It talks about unjust crime, racial discrimination, hatred, exploitation and prejudices. It even impeaches the religious leaders who are turning a blind eye and are unwilling to do anything about these problems. The national and ethnic loyalties are abandoned. The Samaritan is no longer the enemy, but a neighbour. Therefore, the ethics of the kingdom challenges one to reconsider one’s relationship with others. To ask the question, “Who is my neighbour?” (10:29) is grossly mistaken because in effect, one is asking “Who is not my neighbour?” Once we can define who our neighbour is, we are also in effect defining who our neighbour is not.

3) The Activities of Jesus
In what ways do the activities of Jesus inform us of their political significance? One thing without doubt, Jesus did things that got him into trouble and caused controversy. Consider the following activities:

• his preference to participate in table fellowship with the most unlikely group of people – sinners and tax collectors - instead of the pious, holy and respectable figures of his days (e.g., Luke 15:1-2);

• his decision to do things on Sabbath that were considered sacrilegious by others – such as healing and performing miracles (e.g., Mark 3:1-5);


• his choice of allowing the untouchables prostitutes to anoint him (e.g., Luke 7:36-50);


• his act of over turning the tables of the corrupted money changer in the temple courts during a Jewish sacred festival (e.g., Luke 19:45-46);


• his harsh criticism of the ruling authorities by calling Herod a fox (Luke 13:32).

In addition, the choosing of the Twelve disciples is also a highly symbolic act that could not have been understood other than in light of the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel and the end-time reconstitution of Israel. The miracles that Jesus performed and the acts of exorcisms are collectively pointers to the present reality of the kingdom of God. Finally, the ministry of Jesus is not only limited to the Jews as well. He also chose to reach out to the Samaritans and Gentiles, groups of people considered outcast by the pure-blooded Jews.

All these acts of Jesus simply point to one thing: they are not merely acts of mercy or compassion. They are prophetic symbolic acts. Jesus clearly knows what he was doing and what others would say when they saw him performing these acts. They revealed Jesus as one with a specific mission to the nation of Israel. It is no wonder that the religious establishment had him crucified as a criminal – a death befitting a person charged with sedition and for causing political uprising.

To be continued.....The final part, Part 3: The Implications for the Church Today.

Was Jesus Political? A New Testament Perspective - 1

The OHMSI Inaugural Dialogue was held on September 15, 2007, with more than 300 people filling the newly completed church hall of Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall, Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya. Apart from the two speakers (of which I was one) and five commentators who spoke on the topic, there were also interesting and lively comments from the floor. I guess the only regret that we had was that time was simply too short for further discussion and clarification.

Some have requested for the text of my lecture, and I promised that I will post it in my blog. However, let me just say that in my lecture, I have avoided interacting with various scholars and the wider issues because of the limited time (I was allocated 15 minutes) and for other reasons that I have mentioned elsewhere in my earlier post.

For those who wish that I could have interacted with New Testament scholars including John Dominic Crossan, Richard Horsley, Scot McKnight, Wolfgang Stegemann, Gerd Theissen, N. T. Wright, John Howard Yoder, and others, I hope that your patience will be rewarded as I am already in the process of expanding my lecture to include further interaction with these scholars. I hope to have it published in a peer-reviewed/academic journal in the very near future. In the meantime, your critical comments for my lecture is welcome.

FULL TEXT:

OHMSI Inaugural Dialogue:
“Was Jesus Political?” A New Testament Perspective
By Dr Lim Kar Yong
Lecturer in New Testament Studies
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia

Introduction

I recall reading an influential evangelical pastor affirming that the church should not engage in political action. For this pastor, the mission, energy and investment of the church is not to clean up the evils of society but to evangelise society. Unfortunately, this also characterises the position of the majority in our own shores. It is unfortunate that when the studies of Jesus are carried out within the confessional setting in the church, it is often accomplished though our theological framework. “Standard” understanding of Jesus is that he is the Son of God who died on the cross for the salvation of humanity. It is also often assumed that the Gospels and other scriptural writings are solely religious in nature. While this theological approach to the study of Jesus is no doubt true to our orthodox confession, this approach regrettably presents a one-sided perspective of Jesus – one that I am tempted to describe as a domestication of a “spiritual Jesus.” It is a Jesus that is, in the words of Scot McKnight, “described exclusively…in the category of a spiritual master, (and) as one who was primarily concerned with the inner religious life and its disciplines for the individual.”

This morning, I hope to reconsider our understanding of Jesus. Drawing from the contribution of the Historical Jesus research and the recent rise in the interest of social-scientific approach to the New Testament, we hope to reflect on this question, “Was Jesus political?” Or, in other words, is there a place in our faith for a “political” Jesus instead of merely a “spiritual” Jesus?

Before we proceed, perhaps it is good to clarify what I mean by the term, “politics.” In antiquity, according to Aristotle, politics is understood in the broad sense in which the objective is to realise the idea of a good life of a community within a city. On the other hand, politics can also be understood in the narrow sense as an art of gaining and maintaining power. I prefer to engage my reflection on the political Jesus in the broad sense. I use political to mean relating to public, state, or civil affairs. As such by “political” I do not mean that Jesus was thinking in terms of forming political parties or launching a revolt against Rome or Jerusalem. By “political” I propose to reconsider the historical Jesus as someone who has a mission to the nation of Israel in calling her to repentance in light of the coming judgment of God.

So the two questions I would like to consider are:
1) How much awareness does Jesus exhibit in his self-understanding of his mission to Israel as being political?
2) How would the multitudes perceive Jesus to be political through his teachings and activities?

Because of the limited time, I propose to consider briefly three aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus in light of the above two questions:
1. The self-understanding of Jesus and his mission
2. The message of Jesus
3. The activities of Jesus

To be continued.....

Part 2 - The self-understanding of Jesus and his mission; the message of Jesus; and the activities of Jesus.

Part 3 - The implication for the church today

How Does A Biblical Scholar...? The Struggle to Give A Public Lecture

I have been invited to give a 20-minute lecture on "Was Jesus Political?" from a New Testament perspective for the OHSMI Inaugural Dialogue to be held on September 15, 2007. I think the biggest struggle for me is how should I organise the lecture? At what level I should be giving the lecture - should it be more intellectual or devotional? How can I strike a balance?

I guess it all depends on the crowd that would be coming. If OHSMI dialogue is "designed for good scholarship towards effective discipleship," then I am tempted to do something more scholarly and intellectual. Perhaps there might be a group of people that might appreciate this approach. But again, being a public dialogue, the audience might be mixed and I am also concerned that perhaps some of the crowd may not fully appreciate or understand some of the issued addressed and where I am coming from - and the picture of Jesus that I will paint may differ significantly from one that they are used to - the Saviour of the world - and this may cause uneasiness among some of them.

I guess at the back of my mind, the question I have is this: Can Jesus, in the words of Scot McKnight, "be understood if he is described exclusively, or even primarily, in the category of a spiritual master, or as one who was primarily concerned with the inner religious life and its disciplines for the individual"? Is there a place in our faith for a "political" Jesus instead of merely a "spiritual" Jesus?

The struggle of a budding NT scholar in giving a public lecture.....Hope I survive!

Official Launch of OHMSI

The Oriental Hearts and Minds Institute, which is established on 31 July 2004, will be officially launched on the 15 September 2007 at the Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall, Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya from 10.00am to 12.00pm.

In conjunction with the OMSHI launch, there will be a Launch Dialogue entitled, "Was Jesus Political?"

Details of the dialogue are as follow:

• Moderator: Bishop Dr Hwa Yung


• Speakers: Dr Lim Kar Yong, Lecturer in New Testament Studies, STM; and Dr K. J. John, Executive Director, OHMSI.


• Commentators: Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, General Secretary, CCM; Goh Keat Peng, Former General Secretary, CFM; Dr Beth Baikan; and representatives of NECF and an active Christian Organization (to be confirmed at a later date).

Do support OHMSI for this event (read: also come and support me lah). For further information, please contact Dr K. J. John. His contact details can be found here.

Jesus Legend: New Book by Eddy & Boyd

Once again, Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd join forces in writing what seems to me a very interesting book, The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition, to be published by Baker in August 2007.

The description of the book provided by the publisher is as follows:

"Much New Testament scholarship of the last 200 years has seen fit, to one degree or another, to relegate the Jesus tradition as recorded in the Gospels to the realm of legend, i.e., to the realm of fiction. But is this really what the evidence points to? By drawing together recent scholarship from a variety of fields, including history, anthropology, ethnography, folklore, and New Testament studies, Paul Eddy and Gregory Boyd show that the evidence actually supports--rather than refutes--the historical reliability of the Gospels and the existence of Jesus."

"After first presenting the cumulative case argument for the 'legendary Jesus' thesis, the authors proceed to dismantle it and seriously bring into question its viability. In the process, they range through issues such as the historical-critical method, form criticism, oral tradition, the use of non-Christian sources, the writings of Paul, and the Hellenization of Judaism. They come to the conclusion that the view of Jesus embraced by the early church was 'substantially rooted in history.' Here is an important book in the field of Jesus studies, with potential textbook use in courses in New Testament studies and apologetics."

In one of the blurbs for the book, Robert M. Price, Professor of Biblical Criticism, Center for Inquiry Institute, and fellow of the Jesus Seminar has to to say: "I am gratified that my friends and colleagues Paul Eddy and Greg Boyd have taken my work as seriously as they have in this comprehensively researched book. Bravo for their repudiation of any bias of philosophical naturalism! Amen to their urging that the burden of proof is on whomever would reject any bit of gospel tradition as unhistorical. Other than this, I would dispute almost every one of their assertions--but that is why I recommend the book! What can you learn if you only reinforce your own viewpoint? I urge any reader of my books to read this one alongside them!"

Robert Price has successfully increased my appetite for this book. Will the Ringgit strengthen against the US dollars, please?

Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives

I have just been alerted on the latest book by prominent NT scholar, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor - Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives (Collegeville: Liturgical Press : 2007). I hope to get hold of this book soon, as its description sounds really fascinating:

Belying the assumption that there is nothing more to discover about the similarities between Jesus and the apostle Paul, Jerome Murphy-O’Connor gives us this enticing study. Extracting his information from a variety of sources—pagan, Jewish, and Christian—Murphy-O’Connor imaginatively interweaves geographical, cultural, and historical elements into configurations that reveal important parallel trajectories in the lives of Jesus and Paul. Murphy-O’Connor begins by discussing the births, early years, and family settings of Jesus and Paul. He continues with an examination of their education, refugee status, social class, economic position, political circumstances, cultural influences, and conversion experiences. Finally, he explores details surrounding their deaths. In the end, Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives gives us incisive comparisons that include but also go beyond the Scriptures to suggest novel ways of picturing Jesus-Paul. Readers will appreciate the labors of Murphy-O’Connor to contextualize Jesus, the God-Man, alongside Paul, Man of God and Apostle to the Gentiles—and will thereby have a greater appreciation for the missions of both.

In my own doctoral thesis, I argued that the influence of the story of Jesus in Paul's understanding of his suffering and gentile mission has not been given its due recognition. As such, this is one book that I wished could have been published before I completed my thesis. I strongly believe it would have made a significant contribution to my thesis and further strengthened my argument.

Thanks Jerome for what appears to be another interesting and significant contribution by you on the Jesus-Paul debate. I look forward to reading your latest book!