Let me state this clearly. There are some scholars who deploy this material in a very deflationary manner. That isn't my intention here. But there is no denying that these apocalyptic notes run through the gospels, and they do concern Jesus' mission. Consequently, if we want the fullest picture of what Jesus was up to when he welcomed sinners we need to take this apocalyptic context into account.
Scholars have long described Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet who was anticipating an immanent judgment, the long-prophesied "Day of the Lord." Why was Jesus regathering the lost sheep of Israel? To prepare Israel for this cataclysmic moment.
If you're not familiar with this theme that threads through the gospels, here are some of the main beats.
John the Baptist appears in the wilderness and describes his mission as one of divine judgment: "Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). The One who will follow John will continue this work: "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). This sets the stage for Jesus as an apocalyptic figure who will separate the righteous from the wicked and usher in God’s imminent judgment.
Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mark 1:15). Through his teachings and parables, Jesus emphasizes the urgency of repentance and calls for watchfulness for God’s coming judgment. For example, in the Parable of the Ten Virgins Jesus warns, "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13). As Jesus says to the crowds, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:1). Jesus also describes the apocalyptic figure from Daniel, the Son of Man, who is "coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26). The time, Jesus adds, is immanent: "Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place" (Mark 13:30). At the Last Supper, Jesus speaks of the kingdom’s nearness: "Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (Mark 14:25). And at his trail before the High Priest, Jesus again speaks of the immanent arrival of the kingdom: "You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62).
As I mentioned, this material can be read in a very deflationary way. That story goes like this. Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who proclaimed the immanent judgment of Israel. Given that the time was short, Jesus hurried to gather the lost sheep of Israel. Not everyone would heed his call--"But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:26-27)--but the ones who did would be spared the judgment. In this reading, however, Jesus' vision and mission ended in disappointment. Instead of triggering the judgment with his dramatic entry into Jerusalem and climatic clearing of the temple, Jesus is arrested and killed.
Again, that's the deflationary way of telling the story, Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet of an immanent judgment that failed to materialize. Traditional and orthodox Christians, though, don't read the gospels that way. And yet, the apocalyptic material is there in the gospels and it contextualizes how Jesus saw his mission in seeking the lost sheep of Israel. Because we have to ask and answer the questions: Yes, Jesus was "seeking and saving the lost," but why was he doing it? What was his motivation? And why all the parables, like the Ten Virgins, about vigilance and watchfulness about the Bridegroom who arrives in the middle of the night? Why all the references to judgment, hell, and predictions about the destruction of the temple? Why does Jesus open his kingdom proclamation with the cry, "Repent!"?
Simply stated, Jesus' regathering of Israel was eschatologically pressured. And while I don't think we need to read this material in a deflationary way, we do need to take that eschatological pressure into account when we look at the stories of Jesus "welcoming sinners." There is an apocalyptic urgency in these stories that, once again, cuts across our simplistic readings. Jesus was up to something that we tend to miss.
Now, having made this point I'll conclude with some posts reflecting about modern day applications. This task, however, has been made less obvious and straightforward as I've worked in this series to make the stories of Jesus welcoming sinners strange again, strange in ways that thwart conservative and progressive readings. Today's post contributes to that work by noting the apocalyptic context of Jesus' actions, a context that we don't generally pay attention to or know how to apply to our context. And if all that is so, what lessons can we learn from these stories if not the standard ones we've told ourselves?
