The Radical Side of Jesus

The Radical Side of Jesus
John R. Petrilli

Stop. Before you read any farther I want to clarify the purpose of this article. It is not intended to portray Jesus as some kind of anti-authority figure. To the contrary, He was a very law-abiding citizen Who showed the greatest respect for people in all walks of life, including those holding positions of God-ordained authority. Neither is this article intended to picture Jesus as a total non-conformist, for we know for a fact that He regularly attended church as a child and Youngman, and that he paid His fair share of taxes. No, Jesus Christ was neither revolutionary nor pure non-conformist.

That being said, I’ve decided to write on this topic because I believe the modern church has taken on an imbalanced view of our Savior, one that highlights His conventional side without adequately or accurately exposing the often unconventional nature of His teaching and behavior. Nor did Jesus go against the flow for the self-serving purpose of capturing press as someone who was seriously counter culture. So what was this radical side of the Lord Jesus? I have come up with at least ten areas in Jesus’ life and ministry that can easily be categorized as radical.

JESUS TOOK A RADICAL STANCE ON WORSHIP.

When you think about it, it must have been one rough ride for Jesus to enter our world. I wonder if He REALLY knew experientially what it would be like before He traversed the heavens to come to planet earth. Imagine the pain in His heart as He saw so many of His own people simply going through the motions of a long-dead Judaism. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Temple worship services. Outside the temple courts He found the most crass forms of religious commercialism (John 2:14-17). Inside He witnessed folks mumbling repetitious prayers that got them nowhere with God (Matthew 6:5). In the surrounding community Jesus encountered repeated instances of supposed violations of the law regarding “working on the Sabbath”. While upholding the Sabbath as a day set apart for rest and worship, He came down ultra hard on those who had twisted the meaning and purpose of that day into a thing that bound men instead of freeing them to worship (Mark 2:27 ; Luke 6:1-11). And when it came to giving as an act of worship, Jesus challenged and exposed the conventional view of tithing, saying that a woman giving her last two cents exceeded her peers. In other words, God measures giving by the level of sacrifice and attitude of the heart, not by the greatness of the amount (Mark 12:41-44). And the Lord roundly rejected the prevailing “holier than thou” worship attitude by commending the humility of the repentant publican and dethroning the self-exalting Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14).

JESUS HAD A RADICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW. (Matthew 5:17-48)

In His famous “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus repeatedly prefaced His points with the phrase, “you have heard it said”. When He said this He was making a direct reference to the Law of Moses. His hearers were on the same page and on board with Him until He upped the ante. He raised the bar on every aspect of spiritual life exponentially. Now angry people were murderers, lustful people were adulterers, enemies were to be embraced with love and retaliation was to be replaced by gracious accommodation. Such takes on the law weren’t merely unprecedented but revolutionary. In short, Jesus upset the apple cart big time.

JESUS DISPLAYED A RADICAL REACTION TO RELIGIOUSLY DISINGENUOUS PEOPLE. (Matthew 23:1-4)

When Jesus saw a spade, He called their number. He had a virtual heyday exposing flaw after flaw in the theology as well as the practice of the religious hierarchy of His day. Christ had what might fairly be called a policy of “zero tolerance” toward hypocrites. He didn’t mince words as He pointed out the legion of inconsistencies of those who preached but didn’t practice. The interesting thing about His critiques is that they were never ever challenged. Those He rebuked had no answer to His charges. Jesus was right on target, they knew it, and they were silent in His presence. Nobody likes a hypocrite. In fact, one of the most despised classes of people are those who live in direct contradiction to their stated beliefs. And when it involves religious hypocrisy, the seriousness of those glaring inconsistencies make them even more reprehensible. I thin k this quality in the life of Jesus is what made Him so beloved in the populace. He was on their side, seeing the same two-faced living that they did, and He called them on it. The common people heard Him gladly, and I think one of the reasons was the fact that He took on religious phonies and won convincingly every single time!

JESUS COPPED A RADICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD-DISHONORING TRADITIONS. (Mark 7:5-13)

So what’s a little ritual here or a little religious custom there? According to Jesus? Everything. The time-honored ways of relating to God and our fellow men were clearly outlined in summary fashion in the Ten Commandments, but by the time Christ set foot on earth’s terra firma, things had gotten way out of control. Children were giving away money to the church while their elderly dependant parents needed that money to buy food and pay the bills. It had deteriorated to the point where the law of God was being superseded by a human tradition in many areas of religious life. This was totally unacceptable, and Jesus made it clear in no uncertain terms that it had to go. He’d seen enough of this nonsense. Traditions were fine, but only when they stayed within their Biblically proscribed boundaries. The outrageous practices that made God’s commands null and void were a spiritual poison that had to be banned, and banned they were by the Savior.

JESUS POSSESSED A RADICAL VIEW OF FORGIVENESS. Matt. 18:21-22

Remember the Beatles’ tune, “Day Tripper”? The lyricist claims he has a good reason for taking the easy way out of a relationship. For some strange reason, we always seem to be looking for the easy way out. That was the case with the disciples one day as they queried the Lord on the topic of forgiving their offenders (Matt. 18:21-22.) Jewish rabbis taught that three times was a reasonable degree of extending forgiveness, so Peter’s offer of seven more than doubled the accepted standard requirement. Jesus blows his doors in when He ups the ante 70 times to 490! I’m sure the disciples had scratched their heads for quite some time before they got what the Lord was trying to tell them. Forgiveness isn’t about doing what’s obligatory or customary. It’s a heart attitude that wants to show mercy, and to do so without any limits whatsoever. Just as love doesn’t keep a running tally of offenses done to it, so our forgiveness must be limitless as well. This kind of relational theory was nothing short of revolutionary. No more keeping score, then lowering the hammer. No, no, now it was about healing and reconciliation, a much harder path to follow, but a path a thousand times more blessed than
the other.

JESUS HELD A RADICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CHRISTIAN LIVING. Luke 9:23 ;14:25-27

Just like many in our day, some Jews of old did just enough religion to get them by. They’d go through the routines of Sabbath observance once a week, then never give another passing thought to God the rest of the week. Here comes Jesus saying things like, “Following Me [e.g., being a Christian] will require you to deny yourself, lose your life, and be willing to publicly acknowledge Me before men”… “Your love for your family members must look like hate when compared to your love for and loyalty to Me”. Can you imagine the furor He raised with such incredible demands? The people thought John the Baptist was radical with His monastic lifestyle, crazy diet and course clothing. But now they have to figure out and deal with this guy named Jesus.
By comparison, John was mild. Deny ourselves? Lose our lives? “Hate” our families? What’s He talking about? Isn’t my weekly worship and tithe good enough for God? Jesus upset a whole lot more important things than just money changer’s tables. He turned conventional wisdom and practice on its head more than once.
He’s still doing the same today. Just when we think we’ve got the Lord all figured out, He goes and changes the entire program and leaves us baffled. Christian living is all about where our hearts are at. When we are “heart right”, we’ll be right everywhere else, be it in relation with others or relation with God Himself. Christian living isn’t a set of 15 neatly packaged rules to follow. It’s letting Christ live His life in and through us.

JESUS PRACTICED A RADICAL APPROACH TO SPIRITUAL OUTSIDERS. Luke 5:27-31 ; 7:34 ; 19:1-10

“Keep your distance”. “Avoid that person, they’re really bad news.” Well, I would NEVER spend time with that individual, they’re (you fill in the blank). While both testaments of the Bible caution us to choose our closest friends carefully, it never directs us to completely insulate ourselves from those who have a lifestyle that’s “visibly sinful”. If we’re not careful, we can end up living inside a Christian bubble of our own making, never venturing out to make contact with those who so desperately need the Lord. Such were the “religious” of Jesus’ day. They made it a point to stay away from any social, business, or personal contact with people who were spiritually “out of the loop”. They limited their fellowship circle to the “kosher” folks, the ones who talked, dressed, ate, and were entertained in all the correct ways. Outsiders? No way Jose! Let’s leave them alone and let them stick to their “own kind”. In steps Jesus to overturn the applecart, making it a point to spend huge quantities of time with the outcasts of His society… the drunks, the call girls, the thieves. This must have spun the collars of His religious contemporaries around in circles! Not only did Jesus associate with them, He ate meals with them! How could He DO that?! Simple. He did that because He loved people. He looked beyond their moral filth and spiritual guilt and saw their need. Paul exhorts us to practice this same kind of evangelistic association with unbelievers (1 Cor. 5:9-10).

JESUS EMBRACED A RADICAL POSITION ON SOCIAL JUSTICE. Matt. 23:23 ; Pro. 31:8-9

The church folks of Jesus’ day had it pretty down pat. They understood and practiced the tithe to a fault. They not only gave ten percent of their produce (that time’s equivalent of income), they even gave a tithe of the very
spices used on their foods! Admittedly, they had taken the spiritual high road on the issue of tithing. But it wasn’t in the tithe that Jesus found fault. It was the lack of concern for their neighbors in need that disturbed the Lord. Jesus approved their tithing practices one-hundred percent, but was troubled deeply over their failure to remember and assist the less fortunate among them. Like some modern day Christians, they were strong on gospel but weak on social action. This was no new development in the individual and corporate lives of God’s people. Way back in the book of Proverbs we see the Lord chiding His people for their chronic neglect of the poor and vulnerable (Pro. 31:8-9). Even in the Spirit-born New Testament church the problem persisted (Jas. 1:27-2:17). Unlike our day of dependence upon governmental agencies who help the poor and provides a plethora of social services, in the early church that burden fell to the believing community. As those who professed the compassion of Christ and the generosity of the Spirit, others naturally looked to these Christians to practice their preaching. And our world does the same today to a greater or lesser degree. While the church isn’t usually the first agency a person in need will go to, she does have a role and responsibility in the area of social action on behalf of the needy, beginning within the walls of their own believing community, and extending out into the community at large (Gal. 6:10). Jesus had little patience with people who talked about God then ignored the needy person living right next door to them. He was radical by simply reviving a principle and practice of social concern and social justice that had been and continues to be a real “hot potato” for those professing faith in God.

JESUS ADOPTED A RADICAL STANCE ON SALVATION. John 14:1-3 ; Matthew 7:13-14

Count them. For hundreds, even thousands of years, the Jewish people operated under a serious misconception that doing the right things made them worthy of eternal life. They completely misunderstood that the Law’s purpose was to show up their sinfulness and need of a Savior. Granted, the Law provided a tangible, workable framework for a civil society and personal piety, but it never claimed to be the vehicle of salvation. That’s what Jesus came up against as He tried to minister to the folks of His day. They were on a “law” wavelength, while He was introducing the “grace” concept. It was a hard sell to say the least, but, fortunately for us, some got the concept and bought into the plan. Repeatedly we find the God squad of Christ’s day fingering Him on violations of the Jewish law. But those so-called violations were merely instances where He was upholding the spirit of the law in ways that made it look like He was violating the letter as well. When He did so, He was actually violating the elongated, exaggerated, warped interpretation of the law which they had erroneously arrived at after centuries of adaptation and misapplication. This, as a matter of course, spilled over into the grave and critical area of salvation. It was on this point that absolute clarity was required, and Jesus delivered nothing less. “I am the way, the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through ME”. The words couldn’t be any clearer if you used Windex a million times on them. Yet such a position was radical indeed. No one else was preaching a gospel of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He was the only one doing that, and even more exclusively, He Himself was that one through whom salvation was to be secured. His contemporaries were shocked to find out that, according to Jesus, the road to Heaven was a small alleyway, not a broad way. It was a narrow spiritual corridor fraught with risk and danger, not an easy going open road with minimal difficulties. This was new to them, and a discovery most were unwilling nor ready to embark upon. They opted for the comfort zone of the law and measurable righteousness, and missed the saving grace of God!