WHAT WAS HE THINKING
 

        In ancient Israel there was very little separation between religion and politics. The King and the High Priest worked closely together, and the prophets were constantly meddling in the theology and the politics of the nation. From 583 B.C. until 135 B.C., almost 450 years there was no independent Jewish nation. When the Maccabee family finally re-established an independent Jewish Kingdom in 135 B.C. they merged the office of King and High Priest. But in 63 B.C. the Romans conquered Israel, and Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, who was a Jewish convert from Idumea was appointed as Civil Administrator. The Maccabee family continued their hold on the office of High Priest, but they had lost control of civil affairs.


        The Romans continued to appoint members of the Herodian family to rule as native princes, because this kept the Jews divided. Many of the Jews refused to recognize the Herodians as legitimate rulers as well as the Romans. Religion and politics were always linked in Israel. So when John the Baptist burst on the scene preaching, "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand," those who listened to him instinctively heard this as a political as well as a religious message. We should not be surprised then that Herod Antipas, the Roman appointed "native prince" of Galilee and Perea, was watching John closely. And when John the Baptist began preaching that Herod was an unfit ruler, because he broke the Law of Moses by marrying his sister-in-law, Herodias, who was also his cousin, we should understand that in the minds of John’s listeners he was preaching politics—pretty hard ball politics. No wonder Herod had John arrested and finally executed.


        When John was arrested, Jesus began his public ministry preaching: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." The people of Galilee heard Jesus building upon the ministry of John the Baptist. They knew his message was political as well as religious, and so large crowds began to flock to see Jesus. The healings that often occurred, when Jesus was preaching, inspired awe and wonder among the people. And as word of Jesus’ ministry filtered back to Tiberias, those reports inspired suspicion and fear in Herod Antipas. Matthew 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him."


        We should not be surprised then in our gospel lesson this morning that members of the party of the Pharisees came to Jesus to warn him that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus took their warning seriously, for from that point on, he did not hang out for long periods of time in Capernaum, but instead he was constantly on the go. He made trips outside of Herod’s jurisdiction to Tyre and Sidon, Caesarea Philippi, the Decapolis, the region known as Batanea. And during this period leading up to Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, when he did travel in Galilee he did so in secret. Jesus was a fugitive. He hopped from one jurisdiction to the next maintaining secrecy about his movements. For Jesus was clear that the fulfillment of his mission should occur in Jerusalem, and he needed to avoid arrest and execution in Galilee.


        What then did Jesus conceive was the fulfillment of his mission? As he journeyed toward his crucifixion in Jerusalem, what was he thinking? As we meditate on Jesus’ motivations, let me beg your indulgence to review some historical background.




        First century Israel was a hodge podge of political, social and religious movements. The Roman Province of Palestine was under the general supervision of a Roman Governor who ruled from the sea side City of Caesarea. This was an artificial deep water port constructed by Herod the Great to accommodate the Roman Galleys that could bring quick reinforcements in case of Jewish rebellion. Under the authority of the Roman Governor were three sons of Herod the Great: Archaeleus, Herod Anitpas, and Phillip, who had been appointed by the Roman Senate to rule as "native princes," called Tetrachs. Archaeleus was so crazy, he was removed as the Tetrach of Judea, and the Roman Governor ruled there directly. Both Herod Antipas and Phillip had their own small armies, collected taxes, conducted their own courts, and had authority to execute sentence of death within their jurisdictions.



        In addition to the Roman Governor and the Native Princes, the Samaritans had a semi-autonomous region of their own, plus there was another semi-autonomous region called the Decapolis made up of 10 gentile Cities primarily colonized by retired Roman soldiers. In addition to the Gentile and Samaritan areas in Israel the Jews themselves were divided into at least five different social/political groups: Sadducees, Herodians, Pharisees, Zealots, Essenes. 



        The Sadducees were the small but powerful and wealthy group comprised of the families of the High Priests. They controlled the temple, the temple tax, and the lucrative concessions associated with the temple. They were the descendants of the Maccabees. They held permanent seats in the Sanhedrin, the Council of Seventy that was the highest authority in Judaism.



        The Herodians were the descendants of King Herod the Great and all of the governmental functionaries who depended upon their rule: native soldiers, tax collectors, court employees. The Herodians were despised by most of their fellow Jews.




        The Pharisees were a large and diverse movement within Judaism. There was the conservative school of Rabbi Shamai, who generally speaking would have been in conflict with Jesus. There was also the more liberal school of Hillel, who would have been much more sympathetic to Jesus’ message. Indeed, Jesus might have been considered by some to have been a Pharisee of the school of Hillel.



        The zealots were politically the most radical group among the Jews. They unequivocally advocated the violent over throw of Roman rule and the Herodians. At least two of Jesus’ disciples have been identified by scholars as probable zealots -- Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. Jesus’ preaching about the "Kingdom of God" attracted zealot support.



        The Essenes were a movement that had been founded by priestly families who protested the combining of the Kingship and the High Priesthood by the Maccabees. They believed that the Temple under the Sadduccees had become hopelessly corrupt, and so they withdrew into communities, where they practiced ritual cleansing in preparation for the coming of a supernatural Messiah who would lead the final battle in the struggle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. The Essenes were the group at Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Recently some scholars believe that there were other colonies of Essenes spread through out Israel. Bargil Pixner locates one of those colonies just outside of Jerusalem, and another one in the region East of the River Jordan called Batanea. There is evidence that John the Baptist and Jesus both had strong ties to the Essene communities. This would help to account for the strong opposition from the Sadducees to both John and Jesus.



        So what was Jesus thinking as he prepared for his final journey to Jerusalem? Why would he choose to enter the City at the head of a demonstration of people proclaiming him to be King. What was he thinking?
        When Jesus taught people about the Kingdom of God, again and again he seemed to be trying to help them understand that he was not envisioning a conventional nation state.
        Luke 6:20 "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
        Luke 13: 18 He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
        19 It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."
        20 And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

        So what was Jesus thinking? God had revealed to Jesus that the revolution of the heart only had a chance, if he was willing to be faithful to the vision, faithful to the peaceable Kingdom even through torture and death, so that he might reveal the miracle of self-sacrificing love – the miracle of resurrection. Even Jesus’ closest followers did not understand the Kingdom of God until they had experienced the resurrection. Then empowered by the presence of the resurrected Christ, his disciples were transformed into missionaries, who carried the message of self-sacrificing love throughout the known world. That’s what Jesus was thinking.
        The relevance of what Jesus was thinking is that we can be empowered to become missionaries of the message of self-sacrificing love. Luke 17:20 "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."



        The Kingdom of God is here and now, for those who seek God consciousness and embrace the life of love, sharing and forgiveness lived by Jesus. The Kingdom of God is not way back in some distant past, or some indefinite future, the Kingdom of God is here and now, when we love with the love of Jesus. When we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide shelter for the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, care for the poor, encourage, love and forgive one another, the Kingdom of God is now.
        I cannot realize the Kingdom of God by myself. Wherever two or three gather in the name of Christ, the Kingdom of God breaks through into the present moment. I cannot be a Christian alone. I need other followers of the way in order for the Kingdom to be in the midst of us. This community of faith is part of my salvation; it is part of your salvation. Together we can become the people of God. And that’s what Jesus was thinking.... Amen.