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I am excited to share my book review of “The Dawn of Christianity: How God Used Simple Fisherman, Soldiers, And Prostitutes To Transform The World” by Robert J. Hutchinson.
Robert is an award-winning writer and author who studied philosophy as an undergraduate, moved to Israel to learn Hebrew, and earned a graduate degree in New Testament. Hutchinson’s previous book “Searching for Jesus: New Discoveries in the Quest for Jesus of Nazareth is an overview of recent archeological finds and new developments in biblical scholarship that are calling into question much of what skeptical scholars have assumed and asserted about Jesus over the past two centuries.
Learn more about Robert at his web site.
I sit with the Jesus of my faith during my centering prayer practice. I love to learn more about the historical Jesus: the human Jesus. What can we know about his human actions? What was it like for Jesus to grow up in his small corner of this world?
Let me share some new things that I learned in this wonderful book.
Book Overview
What will we learn in this book?
“What did Jesus do and say, in as little as one year and a maximum of three years, that could possibly have had such an impact? How did the community he somehow gather together so quickly – made up of semi-literate fisherman, prostitutes, tax collectors, wealthy widow’s, day laborers, and even Roman soldiers – give birth to the spiritual revolution that became Christianity? This book is an attempt to answer that question.”
This book is nicely divided into four parts:
- The Road To Jerusalem
- Alive
- The Beginning of Persecution
- The Expansion of the Jesus Movement
Rival Armies and Bandit Militias
“As a child, Jesus likely hid with his friends and family as rival armies and bandit militias marched by on the main roads just a few hundred yards from Nazareth.”
“This indicated that the Jews at this time prepared for the upcoming war by fashioning underground places to hide. This is the political and military background to the gospels that is lost on most people today.”
Jesus grew up in a very volatile corner of the world. The Roman Expire was in charge. Over the last six centuries the Jews lived under brutal domination: Babylonians, Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans. (In fact, the Jews were self-ruled for only a brief period: 164 – 63 BC.)
The Jewish people were under a tremendous tax burden. They were taxed by both the Romans and the temple administration in Jerusalem. These taxes left the majority of the country to live in severe poverty. Civil wars would often break out against the Romans. The Roman response was harsh: execution, woman and children sold into slavery and those who led the rebellions were crucified.
I agree with Robert. I think what it was like growing up during this volatile period is lost on most people today.
Kingdom of God
“What Jesus actually meant by “the kingdom of God” has been a source of debate among scholars across the academic and religious spectrum.”
“But in recent years, even many secular new testament scholars have rejected the idea that Jesus was an end–times prophet proclaiming the imminent apocalypse.”
“So what was Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God? According to the records we have, when Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he said it was “good news” (Luke 4:43), “like treasure hidden in a field” (Matt. 13:44), not bad news. He compared it to a wedding feast, not a cosmic Artillery barrage (Matt. 22:2-14).”
This changes how we think about Jesus. This changes how we live. We are not to live waiting for the end times. Jesus wants us to enjoy and celebrate life right now. Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God was not only in the midst of us but it was within us.
Jesus was the temple of God. When Jesus was crucified, died and resurrected, he left us a helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within each one of us. The Kingdom of God continues to survive and expand within each one of us. Unfortunately, many of us fail to recognize this. This hidden treasure is closer to us than we imagine. It is within us.
The Eucharist
“But no one drank this blood! Drinking blood was condemned in no uncertain terms by the Torah, and was considered one of the abominations of the pagans.”
“Yet here Jesus was saying this wine was his blood and his followers were too….drink it? Why?”
This was shocking news. The lamb’s blood was passed from priest to priest in the temple and poured on the alter. It was not drunk. To drink blood was condemned by the Torah. It was considered an abomination of the pagans (Gen 9:4).
I think this is also lost upon us too. Something new has happened. A new era has begun. I think many of us take this for granted as we partake in communion with the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine. We eat the body of Christ. We drink the blood of Christ. This is powerful! Christ is within us. We are each the temple of God.
Psalm Sunday
“Christians are so accustomed to the story of Palm Sunday – of Jesus’ joyous entry into Jerusalem – that many forget what a profoundly dangerous and subversive act his arrival in Jerusalem actually was.”
Yes, this was indeed a dangerous and subversive act. Jesus was a threat to the Jewish council leaders and Romans. They needed to ensure their control and power over the masses to maintain their interests.
Jesus knew that his journey into Jerusalem was risky. It could get him killed. Jesus decided to bring the kingdom of God to the heart and center of Judaism. The heart and center did not want to hear it. It threatened their control, interests and power.
What does this dangerous and subversive act tell us about Jesus?
Jesus was a man on a Spirit filled mission. Jesus must have been extremely brave, calm, compassionate, confident and wise. As Marcus Borg would say, Jesus was a Spirit filled man. He let the Inner Spirit lead and guide his actions. He was in God and God was in him. He and the Creator were one.
Next Steps
“Through his followers, he created self – perpetuating “cells” of his kingdom movement throughout Israel, each with the mission of establishing new communities.”
“As a result of Jesus’ wise planning, demographer’s estimate the kingdom movement grew at a rate of about 40% per decade. Within two years, the few dozen men and women had grown to more than 500, then to 3000. Within a decade, the community could have numbered many tens of thousands. Within 300 years, it was 35 million. Today, it’s about 2 billion.”
Our job is to continue this Kingdom movement. The kingdom movement is an inclusive movement filled with empathy and compassion. We are the future “cells” of this kingdom movement.
I encourage you to check out The Dawn of Christianity.
Go Further:
Searching for Jesus: New Discoveries in the Quest for Jesus of Nazareth—and How They Confirm the Gospel Accounts by Robert Hutchinson
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith by Marcus Borg
Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N T Wright
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I remember, ,after studying Indian philosophy and contemplative teachings for several years, talking with Christians – scholars, laypeople, priests, ministers, etc. Almost to a person (this was more than 40 years ago), whatever varying interpretations they gave of “the Kingdom of God,” the one thing they were united on was – “whatever it is, it sure as hell is not WITHIN us.”
The folks who knew Greek insisted that the proper translation was “the Kingdom of Heaven is “AMONG” us.”
I found this shocking. It was so patently obvious Jesus was using the same kind of metaphor that spiritual teachers around the world had used for thousands of years. And “born of the spirit?” What else could that possibly mean?
Well, I think it’s very good news for the future of Christianity if Christians are starting to understand (and more important, experience) that the Kingdom of Heaven is as much here as it’s ever going to be – the problem is not the Kingdom, the problem is with us. “Having eyes, they see not.”
One might wish to point them to the Kena Upanishad, which asks:
What is that which sees through the eyes, but which the eyes do not see?
What is that which hears from the ears, but which the ears do not hear?
One might add,
What is that that reads the Bible through the mind, but which the mind does not think?
I agree Don! I hope more and more people can come to realize that the kingdom of God is within. That is a life changer! It was for me.