Sometimes, Jesus—through the gospel writers—repeats a particular phrase to grab our attention. For example, within the span of several breaths in Matthew 12, Jesus says several times that “something greater” has arrived. With each repetition of this proclamation, Jesus takes on an aspect of institutionalized structures and systems that supported daily life in that time and place. First mentioned is the role of the temple, then the reverence of prophets, and ultimately the very understanding and use of wisdom.
Jesus is verbally shoving a dagger into the institutions and ideology at the core of the peoples’ identity. Not other peoples’ identity mind you—the very people and society that has reared, raised, and supported Jesus up to this point in the gospel narrative. Jesus is putting into question the relevance of the institutions, beliefs, practices, and ideals that have served the people well. What has brought them—realistically sometimes and nostalgically more often—peace, prosperity, law, order, and purpose.
It is no wonder that those in power called Jesus such harsh names as son of Beelzebul, blasphemer of God, prince of the devil, friend of sinners, etcetera. The disruption to normal life that Jesus suggested was just too much to tolerate. Jesus could by no means be a true citizen of their society if most norms were now being brought into question.
Today, we’d probably label Jesus as a socialist, a communist, an enemy of the people, etcetera. The labels are different, yet our resistance to societal change remains. We may say we want change, however too much change feels dangerous and threatens civil society as we know it. We instinctively desire to preserve the worldview we are comfortable and complacent with, even when it as deeply flawed.
The reality is, societies strive for greatness and once a society convinces itself that it has reached such a plateau, it is hard for that society to look further. We become comfortable looking back, especially if we sense that we have reached the peak of greatness and are now coming down from that pinnacle. When we look back though, we often miss out on greater opportunities that lie ahead. More often than not, greater summits are waiting for us, not in the past but in the future.
Following Jesus means always seeking after something greater. We are called to dismantle, to rebuild, to reform, to bring about a new creation. To not rest on our laurels however noble they might have seemed in the past. That is what the work of the Eternal Kingdom is all about—working towards something greater, for the glory of God and the betterment of humanity.
Relevant Reformation 