Jesus the prophet heals a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6–11)
A little later Luke shows that Jesus went into the Synagogue and found a man with a withered hand. The synagogue rulers acted as guardians of people’s access to God. In Luke 6 these rules were more concerned about regulating God than this man’s hand being restored! In a number of places in Luke’s gospel Jesus confronts this kind of abuse of religious power and political power. Jesus the prophet also cares about the injustice of abusive power.
Jesus the prophet is consistently practices nonviolence (Luke 13:34 and 19:41)
Jesus is interrogated by the disciples of John the Baptist: “are you the one to come or should we wait for another?” Jesus’ answer is a direct quote from Isaiah 61: “go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news preached to them.” Jesus sees himself as fulfilling the ancient prophecies of all God’s prophets and Isaiah in particular. In fulfilling these prophecies Jesus is consistently a man of peace, even the prince of peace. Jesus the prophet consistently practices nonviolence in his words and actions. Jesus cared deeply about the injustice of violence in this world.
Jesus the prophet confronting the exploitation of those with little resources by those with an abundance (Luke 21:1–4)
The fourth depiction of Jesus as a prophet in Luke’s gospel is his concern for the poor and its roots in the greed of others. Jesus saw a poor widow giving everything she had. This story is often cited on stewardship Sundays to encourage people to give generously but this is only one half of Luke’s story. The less comforting part—less encouraging for those with more ability to give—is Jesus’ confrontation of those who “devour widows’ houses” (Luke 20:47). The earlier part of the story critiques the greed of some that causes the widow’s poverty! Jesus cares deeply about poverty and its causes, namely, greed and acquisition by others.
Luke’s Jesus is cast principally as a prophet. Someone that cares about exclusion, cares about abusive power, cares about the injustice of violence, cares about poverty and greed. Luke presents to us the restorative Christ who continues to speak to these same issues in our world, in our communities, in our own lives. Jesus, through Luke, prophetically critiques contemporary exclusive practices; abuses of the power; violent words; greed and acquisitiveness! The restorative Christ shapes the kind of justice his disciples must care about.28
In Luke’s gospel Jesus is both a prophet but more than a prophet. Jesus’ death and resurrection is predicted a couple of times in Luke with Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem, Jesus knows that he would die. It is in Jesus’ saving death and resurrection that Luke presents the most intimate and revealing account of the justice of the restorative Christ.
Each one of the four theologians whose work features in the pages that follow (Marshall, Yoder, Bonhoeffer and Volf) are biblical theologians who engage extensively and thoughtfully with the Scriptures. For example, Marshall is a New Testament specialist who has published in the disciplines of Biblical studies, law and justice, pioneering an interdisciplinary dialogue between them. Significant theorists in both law and restorative justice have recognised and affirmed Marshall’s inter-disciplinary approach.29 Furthermore, other New Testament scholars (such as Ched Myers) have followed Marshall in his inter-disciplinary endeavour.30 Both Yoder and Bonhoeffer were skilled exegetes and their respective Christologies of the nonviolent Jesus and Jesus for others were grounded in the New Testament. Most recently, Volf has noticed and affirmed the trend within the broader discipline of systematic theology is to become more consciously biblical (and within biblical studies to be more consciously theological):
In my judgment, the return of biblical scholars to the theological reading of the Scriptures, and the return of systematic theologians to sustained engagement with the scriptural texts—in a phrase, the return off both to theological readings of the Bible—is the most significant theological development in the last two decades.31
The converging trend in theological and biblical studies to engage in the study and reflection on the Scriptures has a growing body of literature attached to it: theological interpretation of Scripture!32 Volf’s affirmation—a scholar who has reflected deeply on issues of justice and reconciliation—suggests that theological works on justice need to be more thoroughly engaged with Scripture. The bible core sample in each chapter seeks to answer this challenge with an extended engagement on Lucan passages for the justice of the restorative Christ. The enemy-love taught enacted and embodied by Jesus Christ—in his life, death and resurrection—provides the depth and clarity that justice needs to respond effectively to many forms of wrongdoing.
Despite the positive development of theologians returning to the Scriptures, there remains another issue this book seeks to address. More than a decade ago Saunders and Campbell identified the problem of academic interpretation that resonated with my own reading the Scriptures alongside homeless people suffering addictions and a range of mental health issues on the streets of inner city Sydney.33 In time I would begin to add my own voice to those asking for the liberation of serious study of Scripture from the sometimes narrow confines of the academy.34 Most recently my friend and mentor Ched Myers has edited a volume demonstrating the need for our contemporary storytellers—from artists to activists—to join in the task of making biblical theology more public.35 It requires the deliberate straddling of “the seminary, the sanctuary, and the streets” because such reading “reshapes . . . what vantage point, and in whose interests we read and study the Bible.”36 Each of the following chapters include an introductory street view and the practical disciplines required to follow the restorative Christ as bookends to the biblical and theological reflection.
The restorative Christ: Who is Jesus Christ for us today?
Shared convictions about Jesus draw together a disparate group of people with diverse views about justice. Some of Jesus’ followers are passionate about justice and reconciliation. Others prefer a stricter, adversarial justice. There are some who are skeptical (or even hostile) towards any talk about justice in Christian discourse. Having certain convictions about Jesus Christ and holding a commitment to justice are not incompatible. God’s unchanging desire for reconciliation and justice is constitutive of being a true disciple of Jesus and being a sincere member of the Christian community. I acknowledge that a shared commitment to justice also brings together people with conflicting views about Jesus Christ. There are people working for justice who are convinced followers of Jesus Christ. Others admire his life and teachings but are repulsed by the message and meaning of his death. Still others are sceptical about the relative importance of Jesus’ words and work in the pursuit of justice. A small group are hostile to any Christian theology and Church influence in this area. My modest proposal—and I am trying not to overstate my argument—is conviction about Jesus Christ (his life, death, resurrection) has a decisive bearing on the vision of justice for any of these individuals and their communities. The restorative Christ