Jesus and the Powers
Summary
N.T. Wright, a theologian whose work I always anticipate with excitement, has once again delivered a thought-provoking read with “Jesus and the Powers,” co-authored with Michael F. Bird. As with many of Wright’s books, this one challenges perspectives and offers fresh insights that leave me thinking. This time, Wright addresses the relationship between Christianity and political power. However, as is frequently the case with Wright’s work, this might have been just as effectively conveyed in a long-form article rather than a full book.
Wright and Bird take readers on a historical journey, exploring how Christians have engaged with political powers throughout the ages. From Jesus’s execution under Roman rule to early Christian resistance, through Constantine’s co-opting of Christianity for political gain (and the growth of the Church that followed), and into the modern interplay between Christianity and liberal and conservative ideologies, the authors paint a comprehensive picture. They argue that the Church’s foundation lies in resisting worldly powers, sometimes from outside the government and sometimes from within.
A key takeaway is Wright’s reminder that Jesus has already conquered the powers of evil in our world - our role isn’t to assist in this victory or forcibly establish God’s kingdom on earth. Instead, our calling as Christians is to “build for the kingdom,” a subtle but crucial distinction from “building the kingdom” itself, which remains the sole prerogative of the Creator. I believe Wright is correct in calling out modern Christians for forgetting this critical distinction. Wright emphasizes that loving our neighbor extends beyond mere tolerance to actively advocating for those with whom we may disagree.
While “Jesus and the Powers” offers valuable insights, if you’re seeking a more practical guide to Christian engagement in politics, I’d recommend Josh Butler’s “The Party Crasher” as a first stop. That said, Butler and Wright seem to align on many fundamental points, making both works valuable contributions to this important discussion.
Key Takeaways
- Wright and Bird’s main thesis is that our political engagement should occur within the context of the truth that the kingdom of God is not from this world but it is emphatically for this world. Our kingdom-vocation is not only what we say to the world but what we do within and for the sake of the world.
- Jesus has already won the victory over the dark powers of the world. This should change how we engage with the world and inform how we engage politically. Many Christians today forget the vital truth which often leads to either escapist piety in the present or an enlistment of clergy to bless our bombs and bullets for the sake of eliminating evil on earth.
- We should be contributors to the kingdom of God. It is not our job as believers to be mere consumers of Christianity, but rather active participants in building for God’s coming kingdom. Wright beautifully says that when we behold the future beauty of God’s new creation, it should strike us with a sense of deja vu, because it contains so many familiar, yet perfected, things that we have been building as the Church.
- Authentic Christianity and gospel-spreading differ fundamentally from pursuing Christian power and influence. Our goal as Christians should be the former, not the latter. We all too often are willing to pander to political leaders so that they might let us share their podium in an effort to speak the good news from a position of power and influence - in many cases in the exact opposite of how Jesus spread his good news.
- Jesus opposes both contemporary political extremes. Christian nationalism is the exact thing Jesus opposed when he was on earth, refusing to allow people to “make him king” by force. He also opposes civic totalism, where politics becomes the religion, eliminating the individualistic and egalitarian nature of laws for the sake of the progressive vision. I’m reminded of what Jim Mullins so frequently says, “we aren’t to worship the donkey or the elephant, but we are to worship the lamb.”
Favorite Quotes
Call [Christians] to seek to build something that carries over into the new creation.
- Page xiv
Do we regard the Church’s association with the empire as a marriage of providential convenience or an act of spiritual adultery? Did Christ defeat Caesar or did we merely turn Christ into Caesar?
- Page 34
Genesis 3 could serve as an allegory for (among many other things!) the notorious corruption of power. Given authority over God’s world, the humans tried to use it for their own advantage.
- Page 46
The biblical warnings assume that hell already exists for many people here on earth, and that it is the Church’s task both to analyse and denounce the idolatries that produce it and to model the way of life that, through the spirit, reflects instead the image of the true God revealed in Jesus.
- Page 67
If that is true, then, every act of love, gratitude and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely disabled child to read or to walk; every act of care for a dying patient; every deed of comfort and support for refugees; everything done for one’s fellow human beings; everything to preserve and beautify the created order; all spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the Church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, every prayer for the heart’s longings, and the worship that makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world - all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make. That is the logic of the mission of God. God’s recreation of his wonderful world, which has begun with the resurrection of Jesus, continues mysteriously as God’s people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his spirit. This means that what we do in Christ and by the spirit in the present is not wasted, not abandoned, not discarded. Our holy labours will last long, all the way into God’s new world. In fact, they will even be enhanced there.
- Page 86
When the people of the new creation behold its wonder and beauty, it should strike them with an acute sense of deja vu.
- Page 88
The peculiar thing is that the Western ‘culture wars’ between progressives and conservatives are really in-house debates in a post-Christendom context about Christian ideas. That is precisely why many Christians don’t map neatly onto the conservative versus progressive political dichotomy! Whether we are debating environmental care, a colonial legacy, women’s autonomy over their own bodies, police brutality against people of colour, or rights for sexual minorities, these are concerns that emerge from a specifically Christian world view.
- Page 142
Personal Thoughts
How this book changed my perspective
Many of my thoughts about this subject have been formed by the teachings of Josh Butler, Jim Mullins, and others at Redemption Tempe Church. I appreciated the way N.T. Wright outlined the history of Christian engagement in politics and many of the things I noted above were learnings I had about church history. That being said, I didn’t feel like this book changed my worldview significantly because of the solid foundation of teaching I’ve been subject to.
Practical applications
- Love your neighbor.
- Engage in the political sphere in a way that is working to build for the kingdom, not build the kingdom.
Questions for further exploration
- What are some concrete examples of “building for the kingdom” in today’s political climate?
- How might the Church’s approach to political power change if it fully embraced Wright’s distinction between “building for the kingdom” and “building the kingdom”?
Connections
Related Books
- The Party Crasher by Josh Butler
- A more practical and contemporary look at Christian engagement in the political sphere.
Last updated: 2024-08-19