Jesus Was a Radical

by Sandy Johnson

Jesus was a radical! (So was John the Baptist.) What does it mean to be “radical”? The word comes from the Latin word radicalis: “having root.” Jesus was always getting down to the root of things, revealing the truth about life. He went around uprooting the idea that those with wealth and power owned the world and that those who kept to the letter of the religious law had a corner on righteousness and spiritual worth.

What really strikes me about this passage is its contrast to most of the messages we hear daily in advertising, news, t.v. sitcoms, and popular literature. The Gospel — God’s Good News — delves deeper into the real meaningfulness of daily life. God’s Good News is about our rootedness.

Jesus brought us a message of cataclysmic change — change from privileges belonging to the few to blessing belonging to all equally. No king, queen, ruler, or president has ever had this kind of power to bestow, even if he or she temporarily thought so.

But Jesus uprooted the idea of greatness. Who is great? John the Baptist, he says. But, he adds, the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John! Is this confusing? No, but it is radical truth. In God’s eyes, greatness is not tied to position, power, wealth, erudition, race, culture, gender, age, or any other ways in which we differentiate ourselves and claim importance. Greatness is tied to what God has done — made everyone equally important. And God’s messenger comes to us as — what? A baby? What a radical idea!