I do not claim to be a Christian. Rather, I seek to follow the teaching attributed to Jesus by the authors of the synoptic gospels. My reading of them is heavily influenced by postmodernism, with particular regard to the ideas formulated by Jacques Derrida.
The synoptic gospels were written many years after the death of Jesus. No tape-recorders or social media to record verbatim the words he spoke. Instead we have the mysterious 'Q' source, myths, stories, customs handed down from generation to generation to which has to be added the interpretation of this body of information by the authors and the purpose each of the them had in mind for the material. Not the firmest foundation on which to develop a theology based on the bible being the inerrant word of God, to be understood and applied literally.
To understand the reason why Jesus was crucified by the Roman authority in Palestine it is important to tease out why Jesus was perceived to be a political threat to the established order. Rome was an occupying power. It had no problem with conquered nations practicising there indigenous religion and customs, Roman law was the preserve of Roman citizens. However Rome would not countenance threats to its authority and this is precisely what Jesus was perceived as doing. On Palm Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem to wide acclaim: hosanna they cried. Here was an existential threat to Roman rule in Palestine, the long-awaited and prophesied servant of God, fomenting an uprising, who would bring about Jewish independence and sovereignty. The crime was sedition and crucifixion the penalty.
The Roman authority was aided and abetted by the Jewish religious leadership. Jesus had explained on numerous occasions the failure of religious leaders to apply concepts of love and justice as set out in Hebrew scripture. His elimination would dispose of a threat to their authority. Yes, Jesus was political, perceived to be a major threat to the stability of the political and religious establishments. He had to go.
There was a further factor in play: Jesus is portrayed by the synoptic gospel authors as having challenged economic and social orders, which of course, had political implications. Hebrew scripture has many exhortations relating to caring for the poor and for systemic change to achieve social justice. These themes continue in the synoptic gospels: the Sermon on the Mount, the Magnificat, the parables, the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself and following Jesus to bring heaven on earth. All were threats to the established social order and hierarchies. They had a political dimension as statements of the need for fundamental change in the ordering of society.
Those of us who have a progressive/liberation theology mindset take these teachings attributed to Jesus and seek to apply the concepts to today's societies. But, the danger is that we may take a patronising or paternalitic approach, we may act as gatekeepers or guardians of the 'truth'. In other words our approach often is deductive. Instead we need to take an inductive approach: ask the marginalised, poor and excluded what the teaching of Jesus means to them: not tell them what it means for them.
