Rethinking Our Story: Can We Be Christian in the Quantum Era? by Doug Hammack

Author:Doug Hammack [Hammack, Doug]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, General
ISBN: 9781630871512
Publisher: Resource Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2014-01-13T05:00:00+00:00

In response to these primal questions of identity, Jews formulated several different responses. The Zealots believed that it was Israel’s complacency that was to blame for Roman occupation. They advocated a strong response of aggression and military action. Believing God helps those who help themselves, theirs was the cry, “Let’s get ‘em boys! If we do our part, God will do his. To arms! God will send us a heroic messiah to lead us to victory.”

The Pharisees responded differently. They believed God had abandoned Israel because of sin and would come to their aid only if they got their act together. Theirs was a focus on challenging bad behavior. They scrupulously and meticulously followed all the religious codes, and castigated those who did not. They had to. The fate of the nation was at stake. Their strategy was to get tough on drunks, whores, gluttons, and the Jews who collaborated with the Romans. They thought, “Once we get these rascals into shape, God will come to our aid and send us the promised messiah to lead us to victory.”

The Herodians weren’t nearly as hopeful as either the Zealots or the Pharisees. They didn’t really believe anybody could beat the Romans. Their posture was an old one: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Go along to get along.” They ran the puppet government for Rome, and became the tax collectors and land managers for the new landlord class.

I suspect they didn’t see themselves as collaborators, but more as pragmatic realists. In private, they quite likely still held the Jewish narrative as a personal and private belief. But in public, they worked with and for Rome. They probably believed their collaboration was short-term, practical, and necessary. But in private, they too held the Jewish belief that if God ever did get around to answering their prayers, he’d send the promised messiah to lead them to victory.

All three of these responses to Roman occupation shared an underlying expectation. Jewish freedom would be finally realized only when God sent a messiah to lead them to victory. This became the dominant element in shaping the way Jewish people perceived and experienced Jesus.

Jesus and the Role of Warrior Messiah

Jewish expectation was that God would send a messiah to save them from their predicament. It was not, however, an expectation that this messiah would be a prince of peace. Not at all. Theirs was an expectation of a military, warrior deliverer. Theirs was an expectation that a messiah would return David’s kingdom to them. Under David’s military leadership, the boundaries of Israel had extended further than ever before or after. David had protected the nation from occupation, defeated its enemies, fought great battles, and overcome great cities. So of course the return of military supremacy was their expectation.

They came by this expectation honestly, even biblically. The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with promises of such a messiah. The writings of the prophets all raise expectations of a promised military leader. Isaiah promised the messiah would “tread down Assyria, like mire in the streets.

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