Page 98 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

Jesus preached against the pervasive injustice of society of his days. 112 He sensed the

catastrophic judgment looming over his generation. He challenged the people of his time that

“this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of

the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and

the sanctuary” (Lk. 11:50-51). He also called for repentance: “but unless you repent, you will all

perish just as they did” (Lk.13: 3, 5). Moreover, he did not preach merely to the inner circle of

his followers; instead, he rebuked his entire generation by aiming his preaching at the

stubbornness of their heart (Mark. 9:19), their being like people of the flood (Matt. 24:37-39),

Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke. 17:28-30). He also preached against the religious leaders of his

time that ruled over the people by imposing burdensome religious rules. 113 In his description of

Jesus’ role as a prophet, Brueggermann maintains that Jesus criticized “the royal consciousness”

of his generation. 114 In fact, Jesus “dismantled the dominant culture and nullified its claim.” 115

Jesus also incarnated his prophetic message by being related to and having concern for the

socially marginalized. Jesus functioned as a prophet of his generation.

112 Donald J. Goergen, O.P., A Theology of Jesus, vol.1, The Mission and Ministry of
Jesus (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1986), 154. He observes Jesus as “a socially
conscious prophet in an eschatologically conscious period of history.” Cf. Graydon F. Snyder,
Inculturation of the Jesus Tradition: The Impact of Jesus on Jewish and Roman Cultures
(Harrisburg, PN: Trinity Press International, 1999), 20. He maintains that “the role of Jesus was
a apocalyptic prophet since the his preaching contains a radical reversal…. The verbal and
literary carrier of that radical reversal is apocalypticism.”

113
Lk 11: 42-54. See Jeremias, New Testament Theology, 142-51.

114
Brueggermann, The Prophetic Imagination, 81. For his terminology of “royal
consciousness,” see Ibid., 28-43. The royal consciousness comprises an economics of affluence,
a politics of oppression, and a religion of immanence and accessibility.

115
Ibid.