Consider This Man Dangerous!

Jesus was a dangerous man! At least this is how he was perceived by the establishment—both the Roman Empire and the Jewish Temple. So what made this prophet of love and peace so threatening? I think it must have been his message that the middleman isn’t necessary. Jesus went directly to the Man, and his radical message by example was that anyone else could (or still can) do the same. Jesus didn’t need the Temple priest to connect with God. Jesus didn’t seek the permission of the ruling authority to go straight to the top (a weak metaphor theologically). Jesus was in complete communion with his Creator, and the good news he preached was that this relationship was available to everyone regardless of gender, creed or color. A contemporary scenario might go something like this: George W. Bush believes that he has been instructed by God to wage war on the Iraqis, and because he is President makes it so. But along comes Nobody who just as sincerely believes that God has communicated to her/him that violence of any kind is immoral. Or, the Pope believes that he has been instructed by God to keep women out of the priesthood. Again, along comes Nobody who proclaims that God has communicated to her/him that exclusion of anyone from the Body of Christ is immoral. The revelation of the Christ is one of equality, and such insight is heresy to those who covet power. Who was this Jesus to proclaim that the reign of God is imminent? Even a casual review of the gospels will reveal that this was the question being asked by the powers of his time, and why Jesus was considered so dangerous that he had to be eliminated. Jesus’ demeanor may have been meek and mild, but his gospel continues to turn the world of the pseudo-powerful upside down.