Jesus: The New Way

By N T Wright

Session 2 – March 15, 2006

1. Last week….
1. Review of the political situation in the Middle East at the time of Christ’s birth

                                                               i.      Jews believed they were God’s chosen people.

                                                             ii.      They couldn’t compromise with pagans

                                                            iii.      They were looking for – and beginning to see – signs that history was coming to a climax (the night is darkest just before the dawn).

2. Jews were waiting for the Messiah

                                                               i.      Some had already acted – Judas Maccabaeus.

3. Symbols of Jewish nationality

                                                               i.      Temple

                                                             ii.      The Torah

                                                            iii.      The Sabbath and various dietary and purity laws.

                                                           iv.      Family identity – starting with Abraham and continuing on through local family lines. (Genealogies of the Old Testament)

4. John and then Jesus came in to this setting. Both were viewed as prophets, both preached a New Kingdom and both were the antithesis of what more militant Jews wanted and expected.
   
   
1. Video Two Questions
   
   
1. Who were the people forbidden from holding office and why?

                                                               i.      Read from Dead Sea Scroll – pp 11

                                                             ii.      Only the pure and physically whole (and, therefore spiritually whole)

                                                            iii.      Christ’s healings restored people to the community – the founded God’s Kingdom

2. In what way does the story of the Prodigal Son tell the story of the nation of Israel? How does this understanding differ from what we typically think of?

                                                               i.      Exile and restoration. It was the story of the Kingdom of God restored to earth.
Prodigal: “1) rashly or wastefully extravagant. 2) Giving or given in abundance, lavish or profuse”.

3. What is the importance of Jesus’ message to “Repent and believe”?

                                                               i.      Exile and restoration

                                                             ii.      General/Historian Josephus’ demand (30 years after Christ) that Galileans “Repent and believe in me” (pp 21) – a submission to the higher authority, to trust the higher authority.

4. What does Wright say about the “Sermon on the Mount”

                                                               i.      It isn’t some grand moral code; rather it is a call to be the true Israel, the light of the world. It was a reaction against normal revolutionary agendas.

                                                             ii.      It is a reminder NOT to build our life or faith upon the sands of human strength but upon the rock of God.

5. Who was Simeon ben-Kosiba?

                                                               i.      What is the importance of his coins which were minted and dated from the year “one”.

                                                             ii.      How does this understand the mindset of Jesus and his disciples?

1.      The kingdom has been inaugurated but not completed; it is both present and future; it is “now and not yet”.

2.      The battle is begun but the final battle has not yet been fought.

a.       Or – another way to look at it – the final battle has been won (D-Day) but the mopping up still continues.

b.      Inauguration vs Implementation