Like all kingdoms, God’s kingdom is political in nature. As a result, the kingdom requires allegiance from its citizens. By examining Jewish messianism and Roman political sensibilities, you’ll come to better see how early Christians prioritized their allegiance to the age to come over their local and national allegiances.
This is lecture 9 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade.
Notes:
two parts:
- Jewish Messianism
- Roman Allegiance
politics and religion were not separate realms in antiquity
Other leaders of messianic movements:
- Athronges (4 bc)
- Judah the Galilean (ad 6)
- the Samaritan Prophet (ad 36)
- Theudas (ad 45)
- the Egyptian Prophet (ad 58)
- Simon bar Giora (ad 69)
- Simon ben Kosiba (ad 132)
the Roman empire always perceives the leaders of Jewish messianic movements as threats and moves decisively to eliminate them
I bring up these leaders of messianic and quasi-messianic movements to contextualize Jesus
- he knows what he’s doing
- and he’s smart about it
Messianic Secret
- messianic secret: Jesus kept the fact that he claimed to be the messiah a secret
- Jesus had been extremely careful up to this point
- casting out many demons
- Luke 4.40-41
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
- Peter’s Confession (Mark 8.27-30)
- Matthew 16.15-20 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven…20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
until…the Triumphal Entry
- Mark 11. 7-11
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. - three coded actions
- riding the donkey
- waving palm branches
- called “Son of David”
Riding the Donkey
By riding the donkey Jesus provocatively fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy.[1]
- Zechariah 9.9-10
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from
