The Politics of Jesus
A 10-day study of how Jesus navigated the explosive political landscape of first-century Palestine. Discover why he rejected every faction's agenda and inaugurated a kingdom that subverts all earthly power.
Jesus was born into one of the most politically charged environments in human history. First-century Palestine was occupied by Rome, riven by competing factions, and burning with messianic expectation. Everyone wanted a king — but each group wanted a different kind of king.
The Zealots wanted a military liberator. The Sadducees wanted a diplomatic deal-maker. The Pharisees wanted a purity enforcer. Jesus disappointed them all. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a war horse. He submitted to a rigged trial. He conquered by dying.
What This Plan Covers
Over 10 days, we will trace the political dimensions of Jesus's ministry — not to recruit him for any modern cause, but to understand the radical nature of the kingdom he announced. Drawing on the scholarship of N.T. Wright, the pastoral wisdom of Tim Keller, and the costly witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this plan explores how Jesus confronted the political options of his day and inaugurated something entirely new.
You will discover that Jesus was not apolitical — his announcement that God was becoming king was the most explosive political claim imaginable. But his politics were not the politics of any faction, then or now. They were the politics of the cross.