For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. -Isaiah 9:6-7
Today’s radicals aren’t radical enough for Jesus. “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” may sound old school and conservative to our ears. But the concept of the a new way of living and being is at the center of Jesus’ message. After a deep dive into all the verses of the Bible where Jesus used that term, it’s clear that his message is far more radical than our radicals’. The contrast between the two boils down to one difference. Jesus does not trust human power to bring lasting justice and peace.
Underneath the protests and prognostications of today’s radicals on the left and right is the opposite assumption: the just and peaceful world we long for comes about through force of will.
This assumption becomes visible in the variety of activities they call righteous: speaking out, organizing, taking action. These “virtuous” acts are fueled by spreading increasing impatience with the way things are, proclaiming an ever more dramatic condemnation of those presently in positions of power, and a deepening urgency to do whatever it takes to bring social change.
This is where a serious problem arises with this radical approach: what is to be done with recalcitrant people standing in the way of their goal? Bumper sticker slogans like “Silence is violence” and “If it’s going to be it’s up to me” only exacerbate the problem.
Jesus pointed out this problem more than a thousand years earlier:
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. -Matthew 26:50b-52
This radical approach has been tried again and again, across languages, cultures, and generations. None of them solved the problem without extreme violence.
The French Revolution, for example, sought new political structures to represent the will of the people. With the slogan “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (‘liberty, equality, fraternity’) they used protests and uprisings to force through their demands and bring about their better world. 16,000 French citizens and neighbors who disagreed with their vision met the sharp edge of the guillotine.
Jesus’ words, shaped by centuries of radical history, have given rise to the well-known phrase: “Violence begets violence.”
Maybe that has something to do with why Simon the Zealot joined Jesus band of disciples. The Zealots were a radical group in Jesus’ day that promoted the violent overthrow of their Roman oppressors. Simon must have realized the Zealot cause wasn’t radical enough.
Jesus’ more radical agenda values preparation for dramatic social change. But since this change doesn’t come through our own will or power the associated virtues and actions are radically different. We do not need to bring in the kingdom through our own power because the kingdom has already broken into our world through Jesus. Instead, we await the day when Jesus’ way of life becomes the only way of life; according to God’s timing. We don’t know when this will happen, and this changes everything about being radical for the kingdom.
While preparation for a better world continues to be a value, impatience and urgent action are replaced by virtues like long-suffering, patience, and perseverance. For example, when Jesus’ disciples express an urgent desire for his kingdom to come, he tells them the following story:
‘At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ‘At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” ‘Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” ‘“No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”‘But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. ‘Later the others also came. “Lord, Lord,” they said, “open the door for us!”‘But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” ‘Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. -Matthew 25:1-13
This approach is more radical because it solves the problem of recalcitrant people. Everyone is invited to enter. Yet the Bible recognizes that many will choose not to. People who disagree with his kingdom are not pushed aside, forcefully converted, or neutralized. Jesus did not respond with anger and violence to those who chose not to participate in the kingdom he proclaimed. Instead, he showed deep sadness for the results of their decision.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
-Matthew 23:37-39
Those who follow the kingdom and those who do not will continue to live together until the day we are waiting for arrives.
Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared. ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?”‘“An enemy did this,” he replied. ‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”‘“No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”’ -Matthew 13:24-30
In this “in-between time,” forgiveness, love, and eternal citizenship in the kingdom are offered to all who choose to repent and believe. As Richard Bauckham wrote, “To know and to refuse this extravagant generosity of God is to exclude oneself from the kingdom. The judgment is really self-imposed.”
On the day Jesus’ kingdom becomes all, his legitimate authority will be acknowledged by everyone; those who chose to follow and those who did not. In the meantime, Jesus’ followers should live their lives as he did:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:5-11
This is a truly radical agenda. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “The Christian ideal hasn’t been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”