[John Howard] Yoder suggests that texts such as “Do not be anxious” may be given in the context of the fallow year and that the prayer “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” should be interpreted far more literally than has usually been the case in praying our Lord’s prayer. “Sell what you possess and put in practice compassion” may not so much be a counsel of perfection as a jubilee ordinance that was to be put into practice here and now....
There are many other indications of the political nature of Jesus’ ministry. His intimate associates were political. As many as one-half of the disciples ... were zealots, members of the political revolutionary party of Judaism. ... Though he was traded for an insurrectionist, the charge against Jesus was likewise political, charging him with aspiring to be king of the Jews.
Dale W. Brown was professor of theology at Bethany Seminary and a Sojourners contributing editor when this article appeared.
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