The Politics of Jesus, 2nd ed.

by John Howard Yoder

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1994

Overview

Tradition has painted a portrait of a Savior who stands aloof from governmental concerns and who calls his disciples to an apolitical life. But such a picture of Jesus is far from accurate, according to John Howard Yoder. This watershed work in New Testament ethics leads us to a Savior who was deeply concerned with the agenda of politics and the related issues of power, status, and right relations. By canvassing Luke’s Gospel, Yoder argues convincingly that the true impact of Jesus’ life and ministry on his disciples’ social behavior points to a specific kind of Christian pacifism in which “the cross of Christ is the model of Christian social efficacy.”

This second edition of The Politics of Jesus interacts with more recent publications that touch on Yoder’s timely topic. Following most of the chapters are “epilogues” summarizing research conducted since the book first came out in 1972—research that continues to support the outstanding insights set forth in Yoder’s original work.

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Key Features

• Examines the traditional portrait of Jesus as an apolitical figure
• Attempts to clarify the true impact of Jesus’ life, work, and teachings on his disciples’ social behavior
• Surveys the multiple ways the image of an apolitical Jesus has been propagated

Contents

• The Possibility of a Messianic Ethic
• The Kingdom Coming
• The Implications of the Jubilee
• God Will Fight for Us
• The Possibility of Nonviolent Resistance
• Trial Balance
• The Disciple of Christ and the Way of Jesus
• Christ and Power
• Revolutionary Subordination
• Let Every Soul Be Subject: Romans 13 and the Authority of the State
• Justification by Grace through Faith
• The War of the Lamb

Top Highlights

“No such slicing can avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as the punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life.” (Page 53)

“In the present testimony of the gospel we are being told that the one whose birth is now being announced is to be an agent of radical social change.” (Pages 21–22)

“Or the reason may be more ‘dogmatic’ in tone. Jesus came, after all, to give his life for the sins of humankind. The work of atonement or the gift of justification, whereby God enables sinners to be restored to his fellowship, is a forensic act, a gracious gift. For Roman Catholics this act of justification may be found to be in correlation with the sacraments, and for Protestants with one’s self-understanding, in response to the proclaimed Word; but never should it be correlated with ethics.” (Pages 7–8)

“The second substantial affirmation of the mainstream ethical consensus follows from the first. Since, as we have seen, Jesus himself (either his teachings or his behavior) is not finally normative for ethics, there must be some kind of bridge or transition into another realm or into another mode of thought when we begin to think about ethics. This is not simply a bridge from the first century to the present, but from theology to ethics or from the existential to the institutional.” (Page 8)

“Our study, then, seeks to describe the connection which might relate New Testament studies³ with contemporary social ethics, especially since this latter discipline is currently preoccupied with the problems of power and revolution.⁴ Theologians have long been asking how Jerusalem can relate to Athens; here the claim is that Bethlehem has something to say about Rome—or Masada.” (Pages 2–3)

Praise for the Print Edition

I am convinced that when Christians look back on this century of theology in America, The Politics of Jesus will be seen as a new beginning.

—Stanley Hauwerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law, Duke Divinity School

When it was first published, The Politics of Jesus effected a coup de grace against neo-orthodox biblical theologies that had managed to depoliticize the ethical significance of Jesus’ message. This second edition is no less provocative in contesting the reevaluations of New Testament ethics emerging from recent scholarship on the historical Jesus. Yoder presses beyond the question of whether Jesus was political to ask what sort of politics is the mark of Christian discipleship.

—Dennis P. McCann, Wallace M. Alston Professor Emeritus of Bible and Religion, Agnes Scott College

Although most Catholics, Calvinists, and Christian realists will remain skeptical of Yoder’s view of Jesus and of politics, we are always challenged by him. This new edition includes acute responses to many critics. It will keep the discussion vibrant as Christians today decide how to engage our emerging cosmopolitan, global civilization.

—Max L. Stackhouse, Rimmer and Ruth de Vries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: The Politics of Jesus
• Author: John Howard Yoder
• Edition: 2nd
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 1994
• Pages: 271

About John Howard Yoder

John Howard Yoder (1927–1997) taught ethics and theology at Notre Dame University and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He received his doctorate from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and was a member of the Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana. Widely sought around the world as a theological educator, ethicist, and interpreter of biblical pacifism, he is best known for The Politics of Jesus, 2nd ed.. He is also the author of The Christian Witness to the State, The Royal Priesthood: Essays Ecclesiological and Ecumenical, and Nevertheless: The Varieties and Shortcomings of Religious Pacifism.