The Politics of Jesus

One of the great books. John Howard Yoder considers the ethic of Jesus in terms of his claims about the values of the Kingdom, of poverty, nonviolence, of mutual grace; he scrutinises power and how we use it (or, more often, misuse it); and he places the witness of the gospel in the deep line of prophetic inspiration from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is far more than simply an exegesis of the injunction to love our enemies, but, as such, it is an intelligent and measured plea for peace. It reminds me a lot of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 'Cost of Discipleship', which, in a similar way, explores the Beatitudes as a basis for profound metanoia and the radical reordering of our lives towards justice. If a few more people actually lived this way, show more possibly religious commitment would seem plausible to the kind of world we live in. show less

If you've followed my blog (http://stephenbarkley.com), you'll know that I've summarized and reflected on each of the 12 chapters that make up The Politics of Jesus. Since all the details have been covered, I'll offer a few final thoughts here.

The Politics of Jesus was a landmark book. It was first published in 1972 in a world that didn't take the ethical-social stance of Jesus seriously. In this right-place-at-the-right-time book, Yoder defended his belief that Jesus' teaching has direct ethical implications today. The book was updated with additional material in 1994 to review the theological and sociological landscape since the first printing.

The book is 40 year old, and it shows its age. We miss the revolutionary impact today that show more it had in the 1970s because the main battle has been won. Yoder's passionate defense of Jesus' ethical-social relevance feels almost quaint in an age where that point has become a given. It's akin to hearing arguments for the importance of wearing seat-belts. The war's over.

Even though the main point's commonplace now, the book is still worth reading for the wide variety of angles Yoder takes to support his thesis. When I read Hauerwas I'm amazed at the seemingly random conversion of stand-alone essays into chapters. Now I know where he got that style from! In one chapter, Yoder's summarizing evidence for political relevance of Jesus throughout the Gospel of Luke. A few chapters later, he's delving into the Stoic antecedents for the Haustafeln. This style might excite or terrify you, depending on how your brain's wired.

I have to admit that Yoder stretches the exegetical evidence at times to strengthen his case. In the end, though, we're left with a groundbreaking study on the political relevance of the Messiah. show less

This was a book I've been wanting to read for quite a while so I definitely went in with high expectations. As I read through the introduction, I was extremely happy to find out that this would not be a book that simply perpetuated(or supported those who perpetuate) the social justice Jesus. In my opinion this does what many who support this do in providing for a narrow Jesus who has a very one dimensional agenda. Yoder makes it very clear that it will be a thorough study and will not settle for simply meeting any agenda.

With that said, however, the book gets off to a pretty slow pace and it is not really into the second half until he really gets into some of the meat and potatoes(or tofu and potatoes...all things to all people). Later show more on we are brought more fully into the realm of the kingdom that Jesus was bringing and announcing. It wad not what was expected and seemed to disappoint some, yet it was an enlargement of the nature of God.

Additionally in one of the last chapters we see some discussion on justification that is extremely similar to what had put Bishop Wright on the hot-seat in recent months. It was encouraging to see some of the beginning roots of when this analysis of the Reformation's opinion on justification with references to Stendahl and Markus Barth used to make his point. Yoder must not have had the same attention on him as Wright but it is helpful to note that in any fair analysis of the Bible there should never be a closed opinion. I enjoyed this book very much an would enjoy reading more by him in the future. show less

John Howard Yoder was at least twenty-five years ahead of his time when he first wrote this rich piece. While many, including himself, may regard it as a apologetic toward Christian pacifism, I really think it lays a thesis of taking all the teachings of Jesus seriously and living them out. My favorite chapter is his working through Romans 13, and looking at it through the larger context of Romans 12-14. A must for every critically thinking Christian.

I will never read the Gospels in the same way after reading this book. I also appreciate how he shows this works into Paul's writings as well. Hopefully, one day I'll get to do a class on this book.

The Politics of Jesus was convicting. Powerful. It was, however, a little denser than I would have liked - hence 4 instead of 5 stars. I will need to re-read it sometime soon.

Yoder, a Mennonite and a pacifist, engages the academic New Testament crowd with this overview of Jesus' stance on non-violence. (For Yoder that is the majority of Jesus' politics.) Yoder uses the academic work on Jesus very well, and makes a very compelling case. He focuses mostly on Luke. This is not neccessariy an overview of the topic--more a focused study on one aspect of the "politics of Jesus."