The Politics of Jesus, by Obery M. Hendricks

Of the thousands of things that I am grateful for, in this weekend holiday, one is for the book that I just finished. This book of which I speak has been quite entertaining, but more so, educational. This book has given me an opportunity to look at the gospels in a way that I had never thought of. Also this book provides a detailed explanation of what life was like for the Jews of first century Palestine, under Roman rule. This book? It is The Politics of Jesus by Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.

I suppose that I had not really given serious thought to how Jesus impacted the Jews and the social culture of that area during his life time. I suppose that my focus has been so much on Jesus’ will for us as individuals, and our lives spiritually, that I haven’t taken the time to realize just how radical His teaching were politically.

Thanks to Brother Hendricks, I have such a deeper understanding of Jesus’ teachings, specifically the Sermon on the Mount. I had thought that the individual, of which Jesus cares so much, had so much to learn about their own spirituality through the teachings of Christ when given that day. Love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and so forth. It seems as though I have been under the wrong impression of what these teachings were really addressing.

My impression of the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus’ call for Christianity is a call for a passive mind set. Don’t strike back no matter what! Resist and evil person! Go the extra mile, and so forth. But, let me show you a glimpse of the insight that Hendricks has…

“But when we look more closely at the Gospel account we see that Jesus counseled not resignation, and passivity, but a definite action: to offer the other cheek. Why? Because by taking an action, the powerless and the oppressed became more than victims; they became actors who asserted their humanity, their somebodyness. By turning the other cheek they took back their dignity and refused to be defined by those in power. Instead, they defined themselves, and their self-definition was this: that they were not inferior beings, and they would perpetuate that fiction by hanging their heads. Rather their voluntary submission to additional insult said, “Strike me again if you life, insult me again, but I no longer care what you think of me. I now define myself.”
Thus turning the other cheek made a bold statement of equality of humanity and self-worth. Even if those who were dominated were struck again, it was on their own term; the had dictated the action. In the sense that the one striking and the one being struck were no both active participants in the act, thy had become equals. In a word, turning the other cheek was an act of self-determination.”

This is really insightful. But I suppose I should set this up more. Hendricks goes into great detail as to how significantly oppressed the Jews were at the time. The Jews, who were not Romans citizens, shared very little personal freedoms in their life. For example: Jesus says that if someone ask you to walk a mile, walk with them two. The history of this that Hendricks shares, is that it was a Roman custom to force a Jew to carry the soldiers packs and supplies for a mile, then they would release them and choose somebody else, and do it again. This humiliated the Jews. In fact, this practice was so customary, that it became legislation in the Roman congress. Jesus is saying that if you are asked to walk one mile, walk the other, thus negating the humiliation, by saying, I choose to walk this extra mile, and that is in my own personal agenda, thus, taking the power away from the legionnaire (or whom ever), and putting it back into the Jew. His arguments go on from there, and are very powerful.

I never realized how empowering the teachings of Jesus were, considering I do not feel oppressed or impoverished. I think that after reading this book, I might consider myself to be exploited, oppressed, and impoverished, but only because of the powerful persuasion of Hendricks argument. But, it was empowering for the first century Jews, and for sure one of the main reasons that He (meaning Jesus) was so incredibly popular for those first couple years. Jesus wasn’t passive, he was passive resistant. He resisted the Roman oppressing by giving back the personal power and the individual, and stripping the power of the oppressors.

This is a whole new perspective for me. I suppose know full well what the social and political scene was during Jesus’ lifetime is a serious advantage. Although his teachings are timeless, the were so very applicable and accessible to the first century Jew.

Hendricks finds it hard to grasp some of Paul’s teachings, considering what his understanding of Jesus’ core message was. Paul talks of recognizing your government and paying due recognition. He finds that Jesus’ teachings don’t encourage this. He does however point out that Paul, as a Pharisee and Roman citizen would have been raised in an environment of privilege, as to Jesus was born in a small Jewish town, and raised in the country, and appealed to the country people. I however think that it is God’s grace that Paul was chosen personally by Christ to lead the evangelistic efforts of the gentiles (as does Paul). Paul’s background and personal history gave Paul an advantage to reach out to others like him. The balance is perfect. I think that Hendricks’ difficulty is could simply be solved with a few personal bible studies.

Although Hendricks does have some terrific points of view, a reader should try not to let his few, but definite, mistakes in his understanding of scripture. One such mistake is that he thought it was Peter who was nicknamed the son of thunder, when we know it was James and John; and if fact Peter was Simon’s nick name. He also has difficulty with understanding why John the Baptist would call Jesus the ‘lamb’ of God. This again shows that he is more academic that spirit based, if you can understand that. Hendricks has served as Professor in several theological seminaries, and schools. Being that the case, we can easily forgive him (for we know that seminary is an excellent place to have ones personal faith destroyed).

Hendricks also goes into Modern politics, and offers some insight into politicians who show no personal piety, that do great things socially, and other presidents that show much personal piety, and have shown little or no interest in the needs of Americans in the low income bracket. He talks of how the needs of people should be seen as a holy thing. He shows that Jesus treated the needs of people as a holy thing. I appreciate what Hendricks has to say, and agree with almost all of it.

Over all, I consider this book, “The Politics of Jesus” by Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. to be an essential read for anybody who is a Christian, or would like a fresh perspective on the life of Jesus. You may not agree with every thing that Hendricks has to say, but you will be blown away by his point of view. I easily give this book five stars (out of five). If you know me personally, then I say to you, you must read this book, because I am so looking forward to talk to somebody about what he has to say.

You can find this book here - THe Politics of Jesus - There is another book by the same title by John Howard. That is not the book that I am endorsing.