CHRIST THE
REVOLUTIONARY
Born to raise hell
Born into the working class, Christ’s story has been one shrouded in
mystery and intrigue. From the very beginning, Jesus’ life was recorded by
writers as divine: A virgin birth; declared “King of the Jews”; the Savior of
mankind. It was clearly not a royal birth, having taken place in an out
building of an inn in Bethlehem. And immediately, the Roman government was
worried about this birth.
The gospel’s give us the only accounts of Christ’s birth,
life, and death. The first book was surprisingly not Matthew, but was Mark. * (123)
Mark was written some 35-70 years after the death of Jesus, by an anonymous
writer. * (67) The writer was more than likely sitting in Rome, using stories
that had been transmitted by oral tradition. There were no firsthand accounts
of Jesus life. Josephus, a prominent historian of the time, mentioned an
apocalyptic preacher who was roaming the countryside at the time, but there
were numerous preachers doing so. It remains unclear who he was referring to.
No one was there, standing next to the writers, telling them what they saw.
They relied on orally transmitted stories.
The facts surrounding Jesus life has been argued for the
last 2000 years, and will no doubt be argued the next 2000. For me, it is not
the facts that are as important as the story. The story highlights what
Christians should be striving for: Revolutionaries for the poor, mistreated, sick,
and forsaken.
(to be continued)
·
“Introducing
the New Testament.” Achtemeier, Green, Thompson. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001
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