The search for a prophetic voice

Traditional Christian teaching declares that God took on human form in Jesus of Nazareth. The early church argued about how that happened. Some said it happened with a child born to a virgin, conceived by God’s spirit. Others said this dual nature took form at the time of the baptism of Jesus. Paul never mentions the virgin birth and states that Jesus was declared “Son of God with power” at his resurrection from the dead. All three traditions survived, but the virgin birth became the standard of Christian theology.

In the process of identifying Jesus as the second person of a trinity, his role as a prophet of the kingdom of God on earth took a back seat. Without affirming or denying the divinity of Jesus, more and more ardent followers of Jesus in our own day are demanding that we pay more attention to the short but vigorous activity of Jesus as a prophet concerned with the reign of God on earth.

All through the narratives in the Bible about Jesus, he is identified as a prophet. We commonly speak and write about the prophet Moses, the prophet Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Micah, etc., but somehow we neglect to give Jesus his most important earthly title. In our distortion of the life and ministry of Jesus, we make much of accepting Jesus as Savior from sin, but turn a deaf ear to Jesus the prophet.

All through the Old Testament we learn that the prophet was a central figure in the history of Israel. To understand the role of the prophet we need to rid ourselves of understanding a prophet as someone who foretells the future. The prophet as a predictor is a theological fabrication with little Biblical justification. The prophet in Bible tradition is a person who speaks for God. A prophet in Israel was to be a truth teller in and to the nation. The truth in their message verified their legitimacy. It did not always work that way. There was no shortage of false prophets. In Israelite history, Moses was the greatest of all prophets. He brought the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel. He was the great bearer of truth.

A lesser example is the prophet Nathan. We know little about him except that he prophesied during the reign of Kind David. Nathan in his role as prophet confronted King David about his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. David had the power to kill Nathan. David had not hesitated to arrange the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. David wilted when confronted by Nathan. Such was the power of the true prophet of God.

Jesus was a prophet of a certain type. He was a “popular” prophet who emerged from obscurity. His roots were in a poor artisan family that lived in an obscure village. He was surrounded by the poor and disenfranchised. He was a homegrown interpreter of Torah (Jewish law). He saw Torah not through the eyes of the rulers of the Temple in Jerusalem, but from the perspective of people eking out a bare existence under the tyranny of the Roman Empire, local Herodian oppression and religious fundamentalism controlled in Jerusalem. As a popular prophet, Jesus had no power beyond the truth of his message.

In summary, Jesus was a deeply religious man steeped in Torah and totally committed to the justice that, in his understanding, was demanded by Torah. In his pursuit of justice, he did not hesitate to challenge the political, social and religious powers of his day.

In my lifetime, I have observed many supposed prophets. They have ranged from liars and bearers of falsehoods, to thoroughly harmless nice people, to capable persons compromised by lure of success, to those whose fears keep their higher calling shackled. I can identify only one 20th century American prophet who dared to act out a prophetic role in the tradition of Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. He developed his own understanding of the Christian message. He was immersed in American black culture. He did not seek the prophetic role that he played. He seemingly emerged out of nowhere. He was a popular prophet who clearly understood the demands of the Christian Gospel. He demanded justice in the name of God,

King confronted an entire nation. He offended the rich and the powerful. Most Christian ministers and priests were not supportive of his message and leadership. They either opposed him or kept silent. He was shot and killed by a single person, but there were thousands who would have gladly pulled the trigger.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a true prophet because he spoke the truth of God. He acted in the best of the Jesus tradition and the Bible tradition of prophetic truth telling.

The United States is intentionally a secular nation in which religion is practiced freely. That does not mean that our elected leaders should escape a confrontation with a demand for justice for all.

Truth has marvelous powers. Truth can grab us and point us in the way we should go. Truth can transform the way we live. Truth can rework the values we embrace. Truth is tireless and insistent. The job of prophetic truth telling in the United States is open. We do not seem to be able to generate any candidates.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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