The World of Jesus ‘Ain’t Background You Can Skip’ DAVID: You’re really blunt about this point in your new series. At one point, you actually tell viewers: Hey, when we’re talking about the world of Jesus—it ain’t background you can skip. Those are your words in the video: “It ain’t background you can skip!!!” DOM: That’s right. Before Jesus ever existed, there was already a human being who was called God Incarnate and was given all of these titles that Christians later would use to describe Jesus. What Jesus and his early followers were doing was a direct challenge to Roman theology. Caesar, the divine conqueror, was saying that peace only comes through victory, through war. Jesus was saying that peace comes through a much different process. DAVID: Before we publish highlights of this interview with you, we will publish a “Part 1 story” that summarizes this main point in your new series. You’re saying that Jesus wasn’t just a divine figure who came down here to save us from Hell and open the gates of Heaven. Jesus wasn’t calling this world evil and simply offering a ticket to Heaven. In fact, you’re saying, Jesus taught that this world is God’s world. You’re saying that Jesus saw this world as a good place where people can establish God’s kingdom. DOM: Yes, that’s right. When Caesar Augustus was called Savior of the World, everyone knew what that meant. It meant that 20 years of savage, devastating Roman Civil War was over. Augustus had ended that. He brought peace, finally. When people began applying that same title to Jesus, they weren’t talking about Jesus simply taking everybody away into some other world. They were saying that Jesus was the Savior of this world. They were talking about Jesus bringing a time of peace here in this world. If you believe in God’s creation, it’s blasphemous to say that God blew it and that this world is evil and that, in fact, this world is such a bad mistake that it should be called back to the factory. No, Jesus was talking about the transformation of this world. Pilate would not have had Jesus crucified if Jesus was talking about some other world. Pilate would have said: “Oh, you’re only talking about some other world. Well, no problem, then. We Romans are only interested in ruling this world, thank you.” That’s why it was so radical when the same titles used in Roman Imperial Theology got shifted to Jesus. Pilate understood that Jesus really was a threat to the Roman world view. DAVID: The Romans were saying that the only way to peace was through war and victory. Jesus taught that through God’s plan of justice and compassion, peace could be achieved in a dramatically different way. That’s still a deeply stirring message of hope 2,000 years later. DOM: Yes, Jesus’ challenge really was about the transformation of this world and this is not some secularism or humanism that I’m trying to push on people. This is based on the theology that this world belongs to God and it is good and can be transformed. That’s right out of the Bible. I don’t think the world ever will work by endlessly fighting wars in the hope that one more war somehow will bring peace. The problem is that, after each victory, the world gets more violent. In the Roman Empire, everyone thought Rome had brought a terrible new level of violence into the world. But, now, we have far more capacity for violence than Rome ever imagined. - See more at: http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/interview-john-dominic-crossan-on-challenge-of-jesus/#sthash.Rk68SR6W.dpuf

• published: 19 Nov 2014
• views: 492