Prophets, Popular Movements, and the World of Jesus
Robert Myles, Dean of Research and Associate Professor of New Testament, Wollaston Theological College
Around the time of Jesus, the land of Palestine was alive with expectation and religious fervour. Many ordinary people felt the weight of political oppression and economic hardship and had longing for change. Out of this atmosphere emerged several popular prophetic and messianic movements which promised that the God of Israel was about to intervene in dramatic ways. Understanding these movements helps us appreciate why the Jesus movement made such an impact, and why it was also seen as dangerous by the political and religious authorities.
One striking example is the first-century Jewish prophet known simply as “the Egyptian”. He gathered a huge following (possibly tens of thousands) by proclaiming that God would soon overthrow the ruling powers. The Egyptian led his followers from the wilderness to the Mount of Olives opposite Jerusalem, claiming that at his command the city walls would fall, thereby allowing him to overpower the Roman garrison and establish himself as king of the Jews. His movement was crushed, but it was influential enough that, in Acts 21:38, Paul is briefly mistaken for this same revolutionary leader.
Another prophetic figure, Theudas, led a popular movement to the Jordan River, promising to part its waters so that people could cross. His symbolic actions echoed the story of Moses and the exodus and tapped into associated hopes of liberation from imperial oppression. However, the authorities saw him too as a threat. Theudas was quickly captured and beheaded, a grim reminder that removing the leader was the quickest way to dismantle a popular movement. Interestingly, Acts 5:36 suggests that some among the Jerusalem authorities viewed the Jesus movement as comparable to the rebellious Theudas movement.
John the Baptist is perhaps a more familiar fiery movement leader from around the time of Jesus. He preached that the present age was ending and that God’s judgment was imminent. He gathered crowds in the wilderness and performed baptisms which, according to the Gospels, symbolised repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Like Theudas, John famously lost his head for his fierce criticism of the immoral conduct of the royal elite.
John’s movement appears to have had a significant influence on the early Jesus movement. In fact, their movements may have partly overlapped, and their messages certainly resonated with one another. Some scholars have suggested that John’s movement was probably more popular than Jesus’, and that the Jesus movement sought to align itself with John to bolster its own credibility. This may explain why the Gospels repeatedly portray John as the forerunner who points the way toward Jesus.
What all these popular movements have in common is a pattern: a charismatic leader, bold symbolic actions, a message of divine intervention, and a challenge to the powers of the day. And in each case, the authorities responded with lethal force. Questions could be asked later. In Jesus’ time, proclaiming a new kingdom coming down from the heavens was not simply a spiritual message, but would have been understood politically as a regime change on earth in which the authority and territory of Herod or Rome would be handed over to God’s anointed.
Understanding these contemporaneous movements helps us see what made Jesus’ teachings and actions appealing for some of his followers. Jesus’ own message of God’s coming kingdom - a new world order to replace the existing one - spoke into this world already full of longing and tension, and with concrete hopes of liberation and deliverance from deeply-felt discontent.
 | Join Associate Professor Robert Myles this October for Mark: A Gospel of Urgency, an evening module over four Wednesdays in the Archbishop’s Certificate at Wollaston Theological College: wollaston.edu.au/mark-a-gospel-of-urgency/ |