Lenten Series: The Paradoxes of Jesus

#1: “Jesus, the Conservative Revolutionary”

Matthew 5:17-20 and 9:14-17 (NIV)

By Rev. John Gill

By John Gill ~ February 18, 2024

George Carlin was a comedian who was popular back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. I always enjoyed his humor, even if I didn’t appreciate the foul language he sometimes used. Every comedian has favorite subjects or gimmicks they’ve developed for their stand-up routine. Carlin liked to poke fun at the English language, especially the ridiculous things people say. One of his funniest routines he used to do focused on oxymorons – two words that we use together that actually mean opposite things – paradoxes of our language – unlikely combinations, like: jumbo-shrimp, or silent-alarm, or black-light, or new-age, or soft-rock. It’s sort of fun to try to think of the many oxymorons we use every day – you should try it.

As I was planning this sermon series for Lent, I remembered George Carlin and his oxymorons, and it occurred to me that, when we think about Jesus, we are struck by just how paradoxical he often was – how, many times in his life and ministry, he was like those oxymorons . . . filled with (what the world would see as) paradoxical contradictions. Yet, as we look more deeply, we see in the midst of those seeming contradictions, the heart of the Gospel.

Therefore, beginning this morning and continuing through Easter Sunday, we will take a look at “the paradoxes of Jesus,” and discover that words we use to describe Jesus which seem to be opposites, really reveal the true nature and power of Jesus Christ. Throughout this series, we will look, each week, at a different paradox of Jesus: Jesus, the Conservative Revolutionary, the Gracious Judge, the Liberating Master, the Tearful God, the Enemy Lover, the Servant King, and the Victorious Loser. This morning our focus will be on Jesus, the Conservative Revolutionary.

Within America today (and even within the Christian church) there is a polarization between conservatives and liberals. We see it in politics, in our culture, in the news media and social media – and, as we have seen first-hand over the past few months, even in our denomination and congregations! The battle lines have been drawn. There is the assumption that these world-views are mutually exclusive – that there is no middle ground.

In the 15th verse of the 3rd chapter of the Book of Acts, Peter delivers a sermon from “Solomon’s Portico” in the Temple – the most ancient part of the Temple Mount. In that sermon, Peter characterizes Jesus in words that the King James Version translates as “the Prince of Life.” Moffatt, in his translation of the Bible, renders the same passage, “the Pioneer of Life.” Each is a legitimate interpretation of the Greek, but in these English translations, the words have almost the opposite meanings. “Prince” suggests royal ancestry and continuity with the past; “Pioneer” brings to mind breaking new ground, marching forward, leaving the past behind.

Which is right? Was Jesus a “Prince,” or was he a “Pioneer?” Was he a creature of his past, or did he break with tradition? Should we think of Jesus as a “conservative,” or a “revolutionary?” That’s hard to say, because whichever way you go, the four Gospels give you plenty of evidence to support your opinion.

Maybe you’re a conservative and like to think of Jesus as a conservative, holding fast to his religious upbringing in the Jewish faith. If so, there are many examples in the Bible where we see a very conservative Jesus. Throughout his life, Jesus always conformed to the expectations of his religion: As a baby, he was circumcised as the law required; at age 12 as he was entering young manhood, he made his first pilgrimage to

the Holy City, as was the expectation of all Jewish men coming of age; Jesus worshiped every Sabbath in the Synagogue; He dressed in the rabbinical robes of the day, with tassels at the hem of his prayer shawl which the woman with the flow of blood touched and was healed; and he faithfully observed all the Jewish religious holidays and festivals. In every way, he was a model Jew.

Our first lesson this morning also shows us that Jesus was very much in line with his tradition. In the passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Throughout his ministry, Jesus drew very heavily on his religious tradition. He often quoted or made reference to Jewish scripture:

Do you remember the Parable of the Good Samaritan? Jesus told that parable after a teacher of the law asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And how does Jesus answer him? “What do the Scriptures say?” (And he was speaking of Jewish Scripture, the Old Testament.)

Or, think of the time a rich man came to Jesus and asked him exactly the same question, and in response, Jesus quoted from the Ten Commandments.

Or, during the final week of his earthly life, when Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, and he quoted two: one from Deuteronomy, the other from Leviticus.

Yes, if you like to think of Jesus as a conservative – as a “princely” heir to the Jewish tradition, you certainly can find support in the Gospels. And, it’s very obvious that Jesus himself felt that he was in continuity with the past.

But the opposite is also true. Jesus is depicted as a Revolutionary in the Gospels, as well – a “pioneer,” upsetting traditional thinking, blazing new trails into the future.

Our second lesson this morning reveals this side of Jesus: "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.” Jesus was doing a new thing that could not be contained in the “old wineskins” of Judaism as it was practiced in his day.

In another place, Jesus also seems to call for a break with the past. He says that a person, who puts his hand to the plow and looks back, is not fit for the Kingdom of God.

The Gospels are filled with examples of times when Jesus seemed to act like a liberal, breaking with conventional wisdom. He called into question the teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes, and often got in trouble for his revolutionary approach to the faith:

He socialized with outcasts, prostitutes, and sinners, not at all concerned about being made “ritually unclean” himself. He got in trouble for breaking the laws concerning the Sabbath by healing a man – which was prohibited by legalists because it was considered “work.” He chose not to fast when others thought he should. With the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he broadened the scope of God’s love to embrace everyone,

even the enemies of the Jews. He went right to the heart of Jewish tradition – the Temple in Jerusalem – and disrupted everyone by running around cracking a whip, chasing out those who were cheating people while they exchanged pagan Roman coins for Temple currency – the only money that would be acceptable as an offering in the Temple upsetting the religious leaders of the Temple. Then, Jesus boldly exposed the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious establishment by preaching his fiery “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisses” sermon, condemning them right in front of a crowd worshiping in the Temple,

Yes, as we read the New Testament, it appears that Jesus was a rebel – often willing to break with the past - to literally “turn the tables” on Jewish customs and practices, and call for his followers to leave behind the legalism of his own tradition. It seems that Jesus was a liberal rabble rouser, who troubled the religious establishment so much that they nailed him to a cross to silence him!

So, if you want to call Jesus a revolutionary, a “pioneer” breaking new ground, there are plenty of passages in the Bible you can cite. Those among us in the Christian church today, who would take revolutionary positions that call into question the historic teachings of the church which they believe are misguided, see themselves in line with this subversive aspect of Jesus’ teaching.

Was Jesus a Traditional Conservative? YES! A Radical Revolutionary? YES! How can both be true? It’s a paradox!

Jesus is a conservative – and – Jesus is a revolutionary. It’s not either/or. It’s both/and. In fact, it is precisely when we think of him ONLY as a conservative, or ONLY as a revolutionary that we get into trouble. IS it possible to think of Jesus as a “conservative revolutionary?” I believe it is! In fact, it is essential!

The key to this paradox can be found in our first reading: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

You see, Jesus was the FULFILLMENT of the tradition, the culmination of all the hopes of the ages. What the law and the prophets had promised, but could not attain on their own, has come to pass in Jesus.

So, how was Jesus - “Conservative?”

As the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, it is true that Jesus went beyond the rigid legalisms and hardened dogmas of Jewish tradition – but he didn’t OVERTURN the law or the moral standards of the Old Testament. In fact, as a Conservative, Jesus holds us to an even higher standard than the law does. Listen to what he preached to the crowds in his Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…. You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus says that our sin is not just in the doing of the act. We sin even when we consider doing it! (How much more Conservative could he possibly be than that!)

Yes, in many ways, Jesus was VERY conservative. But Jesus wasn’t crucified because he was so conservative. Jesus was nailed to the cross for being too revolutionary! In what way was Jesus a Revolutionary?

Even though Jesus endorses the Jewish laws and encourages people to observe them, he preached that it is possible that we can keep every rule outwardly, and still have evil in our hearts. That’s why he taught that it is so vitally important that the law be written on our hearts.

You see, the law was given by God to help us learn to live a righteous life – so that we might come to love God, and to love others. When confronted about his understanding of the law, Jesus distilled all the commandments into two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind – and …love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Love God, and love others – and you will be keeping the spirit of the law. Jesus is saying that, if you concentrate on keeping the spirit of the law, keeping the letter of the law will take care of itself.

In Jesus’ day (as in ours) the law had been reduced to rules to be obeyed, “legalism” for its own sake. It had become increasingly clear that some people, who were meticulous in observing the letter of the law, had no love in their heart. Those are the people Jesus had the most conflict with – “religious” people, who were quick to judge others, rather than show love.

Jesus believed that God’s command to love trumps legalism, every time. Do you remember the story in John’s Gospel about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery? The arrogant self-righteous religious men of the village dragged her into the street and threw her on the ground at Jesus’ feet. They picked up rocks and prepared to throw them at her. Then they said, “According to the law of Moses, this woman deserves to be stoned to death – Jesus, what do you say?” And you recall how Jesus simply bent down and wrote something in the dirt. Then he said, “The one of you who is without sin, should be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one, they dropped their stones and left, leaving Jesus alone with the woman. Jesus asked her, “Where are your accusers? Is there no one left to condemn you?” “No one,” she said.

Then Jesus said the most conservative-revolutionary thing that ever passed his lips. “Neither do I condemn you – but do not sin again.”

Love trumped legalism. But love demands righteousness and obedience. If that’s not a “conservative revolutionary” statement, I don’t know what is!

You see, Jesus actually lived the kind of righteous life which the law was supposed to produce – and he calls you and me to a new righteousness… not a righteousness earned by trying to obey all the rules, but a righteousness motivated by love that comes naturally because it is based on our loving relationship with God and with others.

He taught that, if our heart is right – if we let love be our guide – we will naturally keep the spirit of the law – and therefore, we will live a life that will be pleasing to God.

We have now entered the Season of Lent, as we begin to journey with Christ to the cross and the empty tomb. Some of those who encountered Jesus that fateful Holy Week thought he was a conservative, while others saw him as a revolutionary. Both were right. And at the same time, both were very wrong – And Jesus paid the ultimate price for their blindness.

If only they could have seen the paradox of Jesus… that the only way to live out the Gospel of Love is to hold those two opposites in creative tension, just as Jesus did.

But they just couldn’t see it. The question is - will we? © 2024 by John B. Gill, III