Jesus, Justice, and the Reign of God

by William R. Herzog II

By building on his view of Jesus first developed in Parables as Subversive Speech, William Herzog II argues that Jesus is intensely interested in the social, political, and economic well-being of humanity. He examines the conflict stories, exorcisms/healings, and the passion narrative to develop his thesis and, in the final chapter, he interprets the resurrection in light of this viewpoint.

Genres: Theology

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Ryan Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herzog's study of the historical Jesus shows not just the value, but the necessity, of situating Jesus' life and ministry within the political and economic conditions of his day. He argues that Jesus was a prophet in the Deuteronomist tradition whose concern was in interpreting Torah with an eye towards God's covenant relation of justice and equity with his chosen people. His verbal sparring with the Pharisees and Scribes provided public situations where he could turn the tables on his accusers and give his interpretation of the Torah, which always focused on forgiving debts, kinship bonds, and restoring right and compassionate relations with kin and society; a social and political system he termed the Reign of God. In doing so, he constantly undermined the temple and colonial systems that exploited the peasants in Roman-occupied Palestine, exposing them for the brutal oppressive systems they were.

But Jesus was not just a prophet in the tradition of former prophets, who criticized current systems of power. He was, more than anyone up to that point, a mediator of God's forgiveness and compassion. Through his healings, table fellowship, and inclusion of the marginalized, he increased the scope of God's covenant where the ruling religious elites sought to decrease and circumscribe the circle of those who could access God. He did not refer to God as a king, or lord. He referred to him with the tender kinship title "abba", conveying the fundamental reciprocal and loving relationship between humanity and God. Herzog interprets the resurrection as showing that Jesus' teaching and action were so in line with the way of God that God vindicated him even after death, as a message to humanity and to his followers to continue on with his ministry of justice and liberation. An inspiring and provocative study.

[Deborah Brunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent exploration of the historical Jesus, in particular portraying Jesus in the prophetic tradition. Herzog expounds on Jesus critique of Torah and temple and his bringing the Reign of God through forgiveness of debt and healing that bypass the oppressive temple system. He proposes Jesus was using Torah to challenge the oppression of the Roman imperial system, of which some Jewish leaders played a role in sustaining, particularly through temple taxation and lack of following of debt relief of jubilee.

Herzog sheds light on the challenge-ripostes that elite leaders dared Jesus with, essentially a duel of words, a zero sum game resulting in honour or shame. This has important ongoing ramifications for Christian faith traditions that continue to enforce rules and compliance through systems of honour and shame rather than life-giving systems of healing and forgiveness.

One of the shining concepts in this book was the idea that Jesus spoke of something greater than the temple, and that the early Christians post Easter conceived that greater thing than the temple was the body of Christ.
Powerful and stunning!

[Drick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most provocative books on the New Testament I have read in along time. This is a follow-up to Herzog's Parables of Subversive Speech, by placing his discussion of Jesus in the ongoing debate about the nature of the historical Jesus. The added dimension Herzog brings is an articulation of the social and politi9calworld in which Jesus operated and the way in which his life and ministry was a direct challenge to the domination of and hegemony of the Jewish-Roman retainer system, which rendered the vast majority of peasants poor and "unclean". Herzog contends that Jesus represents an expression of the Galilean rejection of the Pharisees focus on the purity, and instead saw the Torah focused on forgiveness of sins and of debts, something that wold have been a direct challenge to the landlord control system of first century Judaism. I so appreciate this work because it shows the political nature of Jesus work in context. This is a book that will continue to shape my more political reading of the Bible, and the gospels in particular.