The gospels about Jesus of Nazareth, therefore, stood as an alternative narrative to the gospels of Caesar. These stories were, in their first context, about a subversive reality in which the God of the Jews had chosen a servant named Jesus to lead a liberation movement. This liberation movement was not fought with armed resistance against the imperial powers' military machine. It was fought with Words (teaching) and acts of healing, as we will see.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, recognized as the first of the four gospels that are part of the New Testament, Mark lays out a story that stands against the Roman imperial story.
He uses language like "Son of God", and "Kingdom of God", and "baptism of repentance" and "forgiveness of sins". The first two phrases place Jesus in conflict with the identity claims of Caesar. There is the Kingdom of Caesar and the Kingdom of God. They are not the same. We will see the contrast in the gospel of Mark. Jesus will teach that "the kingdom of God is like...", and this will reveal a very different use of power and authority. This is political language, addressing power and authority over people and land. How does God's kingdom and chosen ruler differ from Caesar? The other two phrases discuss how one converts from allegiance to one authority to the other. How one rejects Caesar's dominion and accepts Jesus' or God's dominion. Baptism is the personal act of the convert. Forgiveness is the merciful acceptance offered by the Lord to the one pledging allegiance to him. Condemnation and punishment for past transgressions against the ruler and the Kingdom are expunged. The record is reset. Therefore, the convert is received as a trustworthy and loyal subject, not as a betrayer or turncoat.
Sins are defined as the ways in which we think and act contrary to the expectation, demands, or rules of the God or Lord. Everything from breaking the law to personal offense; from stealing to lying; harming others or selfishly hoarding. Sin is defined as a state or condition in opposition to what is good, right, or true--as defined by the ruler or God. One can sin by omission or commission---by doing what one ought not to do or failing to do what one ought to do. To sin against God was to disobey the commandments found in the Hebrew Torah (books of the law). To sin against Caesar was to fail to pay taxes, fail to acknowledge Caesar's supremacy, stand against the military occupation (i.e., open rebellion).
The Spirit identifies Jesus as the beloved son of God and sends him to be tested in the wilderness. This Spirit is understood as an extension of God's self will. It is the sustainer of life and breath. It is a source of internal strength, forbearance, and power. His survival in the wilderness prepares him for his mission/quest. And what is the quest?
To reclaim sovereignty over the people and land from those that have taken it from him. This land and this people were occupied, possessed by the Roman Empire through the use of military force. They used violent punishment to maintain control of conquered populations. Jesus will use nonviolence and compassionate service. The gospel of Mark is a collision, a confrontation between competing claims of power---Caesar's and God's. This confrontation will create conflict and tension. Someone will die. Will the death be the end of the proposed alternative kingdom or the beginning of a movement?
Driving out unclean spirits (exorcism) sets people free from the internalized oppression. They have accommodated themselves to the powers of the empire that oppresses them. That the first exorcism happens in the Capernaum synagogue suggests that the Galileean Jews have internalized their oppression, adapted to it, accepted it, and need to be released from it. Their minds and hearts have learned to accept Caesar's lordship and Rome's dominance. Jesus' teaching will free them from their bondage to Caesar's ways. For Caesar's ways are destructive, selfish, and emphasize social control through punishment. His ways are hierarchical and authoritarian. He is at the top of the pyramid. The majority are at the bottom. Rome made use of middle men, people who were part of the oppressed majority who could be persuaded to serve the interests of Rome. Tax collectors were part of this group.
The other difference between Caesar and Jesus is that Caesar used propaganda to oppress the people. The evangelists who brought the "good news" of Caesar's recent conquest subjugate the people, making them feel powerless against Caesar's army. Jesus, on the other hand, insisted that those he conquered through healing (instead of through physical torture like Caesar) were prohibited from speaking. He insisted on their silence. This only encouraged them to share public testimony about him. But they were not forced or coerced into telling the news, as part of a propaganda machine. Jesus was not a candidate. But the people he healed exercised the freedom to speak publicly about him. Jesus initiated free speech that promoted his mission and stood in contrast to Caeasar's.
Jesus touched untouchable people. Lepers. These people stood outside of the community. They were marginalized because of their disease, twice oppressed---by the Romans and the Jews. To touch the leper was to infect one's self, to assign one's self to their status. Jesus became a "leper" by touching a leper. Jesus also exercised personal authority and power when he healed the leper. In so doing, he disrupted the accepted status quo. He rejected the person's assigned identity as a leper and restored his identity as a human, a person with value. He restored dignity and potential.
Why does this matter? Imperialism persists. The values and actions of empire continue to oppress and limit people. In the U.S., the original sin of slavery developed a way of seeing people of color as inferior to whites. This value persists in the form of systemic institutionalized racism. Internalized oppression continues to challenge racial minorities, long mistreated with disrespect and various forms of violent controls---from Jim Crowe laws to mass incarceration.
Imperialism builds an economy that favors the few at the top and disfavors the few at the bottom, who must work the hard labor to maintain the empire while not benefiting from it. In the first century world of Palestine, Herod the great used his middle-man status as a puppet rule for Rome to build cities and forts, temples and palaces. The notion that employment was itself a benefit is part of the economic propaganda that was sold to the people. Work will make you free is always the propaganda of the empire. The Jewish God subverted these claims by enshrining in their national charter (the ten commandments) a Sabbath day, a weekly day of rest. And in order to overcome the imperial claim that work brings economic freedom, the Jewish God established laws of Jubilee. A 50 year forgiveness of all debts. In fact, lending was prohibited. Generosity, the offering of gifts to the poor, characterized Jewish economics found in the Torah law.
Jesus taught an alternative political and economic system to the values of empire; one that offered freedom from oppression through punishment and healing from the wounds of marginalization and prejudice. One that emphasized generosity and the sharing of resources/wealth.
Readers of the gospel of Mark might begin to recognize the marks of oppressive empire still at work. We might also begin to see the proposed alternative laid out by Jesus of Nazareth as a viable way forward in human community. It is a proposed revolution, against the dominant culture's accepted status quo and the empire's logic of power by oppression.
What questions emerge for you?
Now on to Mark chapter 2.
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