Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was

First of all: what the evangelist summarizes here is proclamation. Jesus is not just talking about the reign of God. He is announcing it. He proclaims it, and later he has his disciples proclaim it in Israel (Matt 10:7). A proclamation always has a public character. What Jesus says about the reign of God is not apocalyptic secret knowledge but a public address to all Israel.

Furthermore, the beginning of this proclamation is precisely not a call to Israel to repent and believe the Gospel. Rather, repentance, turning back, is a consequence of the salvation that is already present: the time is fulfilled and the reign of God has come near. At the beginning, then, as throughout the Bible, is God’s action, not human action. God has taken the initiative. He alone gives the reign of God. It is the business of the people of God to respond. God’s action makes human action possible.

But the structure of Mark 1:15 shows us still more: biblical scholars have rethought many times what exactly “has come near” could mean. Is it that the reign of God is now closer than it was before in the dimension of linear time? That would inevitably mean that it is still not here. In that case the threshold to the new has not been crossed, and Jesus would have been no different, at least as far as his proclamation about the time of the reign of God was concerned, from the others who had preached “imminent expectation” in Israel.

The problem is solved if we take the first part of the proclamation seriously: “the time is fulfilled.” This opening clause gives the accent and clarifies the question of time. “The time is fulfilled,” of course, appears in the garments of solemn biblical language. But it means nothing different from our expression, “the time has come.” The biblical clothing of the expression indicates that this is about the promises of the prophets: now they are being fulfilled. Paul means the same thing when he writes: “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2). The second clause, “the reign of God has come near,” following the groundbreaking opening statement, cannot mean that the time of fulfillment has not yet really arrived.

It is true that “has come near” contains a “not yet,” but it is not about God’s action; it is about Israel’s response. The people of God, at this moment, has not yet turned back. It is still in the moment of decision for or against the Gospel. Therefore, the reign of God is near but not yet present. It is being offered to the people of God. It is laid at their feet. They are within reach of it; they can reach out and touch it. But as long as it is not accepted it is only near, and people must still pray: “Your kingdom come!” (Matt 6:10).

In the Synagogue at Nazareth

There is no scene in the Gospel that more clearly illustrates this tension between “already” and “not yet” than Jesus’ preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth, as narrated in Luke 4:16-30. Jesus has returned to Nazareth for a short time, and on the Sabbath he goes into the synagogue, is installed as lector, reads a text from the book of Isaiah describing the eschatological restoration of Israel by the Anointed One appointed by God (Isa 61:1-2), and then says, interpreting the prophetic text: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

What does that mean? Luke means to say that in Jesus’ appearance, his preaching, and his saving deeds the book of Isaiah is now fulfilled, and with it all of Scripture. Now, with the appearance of Jesus, the promised future is beginning. Now is the time of fulfillment!

And who brings this fulfillment? Who is the grammatical subject of the fulfillment, concealed in the passive voice? In the first place it is God himself. God takes the initiative. God fulfills. But at the same time Jesus is the “actant” to be supplied. He too, who is entirely surrendered to the will of God, now through his preaching and his mighty deeds is fulfilling the ancient promises.

But then the story goes on and in doing so betrays more and more clearly that—from Luke’s point of view—it summarizes Jesus’ whole public life and actions. First Jesus meets happy agreement. But then the wind shifts. Suddenly the inhabitants of Nazareth take offense at Jesus. The offense lies in the concreteness of the preacher: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22). That is: it is true that everyone prays for and dreams about God’s eschatological action, but in the hour when it actually happens it is evident that people had not imagined it quite this way. Not like this! not so concretely! not right here in Nazareth, and above all, not at this moment!

So Jesus’ hearers prefer to push everything off into the future, and the story comes to no good end. The reign of God announced by Jesus is not accepted. The “today” offered by God is denied. And that, that alone, is why “already” becomes “not yet.”

That Nasty “Today”