Esights Archives - Renewed Heart Ministries

Jesus as Liberation from Systemic Injustice

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery | February 17, 2023

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

“He was not creating a new religion, but rather seeking to spark a Jewish renewal movement. It makes much more historical sense to see Jesus working alongside Moses and Elijah, as a then-contemporary example of the works that Moses and Elijah had done . . . What difference does it make to see Jesus working in the spirit of Moses and Elijah rather than interpreting him as a replacement for Moses and Elijah?”

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew:

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:1-9)

Allow me to geek out for just a moment. This week’s passage is packed with interesting liberation themes.

First though, the story of the transfiguration in the gospels is another example where Christian supersessionism, or replacement theology, has harmed Jewish people. Christian history and traditions are full of interpretations of this story in ways that turn away from Moses and Elijah and toward Jesus. They emphasize a Divine endorsement that points the disciples who followed the teachings of Moses and Elijah (the Law and prophets in these interpretations) to now follow Jesus instead!

I couldn’t disagree more with this way of interpreting this week’s story.

Remember that Jesus was a Jew. His was a Jewish voice in a discussion with other Jewish voices from his society. He was not creating a new religion, but rather seeking to spark a Jewish renewal movement. It makes much more historical sense to see Jesus working alongside Moses and Elijah, as a then-contemporary example of the works that Moses and Elijah had done according to the Jewish legends about them.

What difference does it make to see Jesus working in the spirit of Moses and Elijah rather than interpreting him as a replacement for Moses and Elijah?

First, let’s talk about how the various transfiguration stories in the gospels emphasize Moses and Elijah differently. Mark’s gospel states, “There appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (Mark 9:4). Mathew reverses the order, placing Moses first: “Then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

For Mark’s intended audience, it was important to emphasis Elijah. Shortly afterward, he characterized John the Baptist’s renewal movement as a fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy: “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents” (Malachi 4:5-6).

The prophet Elijah called out the apostasy of elites who he felt were leading the people away into harm. Elijah paralleled how Mark’s audience interpreted John the Baptist. In the spirit of Elijah, John called out the elite of his era, their complicity with the Roman Empire, and the destructive effects of that complicity on the small rural farming communities of Judea, Galilee, and surrounding regions, as well as the poor in more urban areas.

So I understand why Mark places Elijah first.

But our passage this week is from Matthew, and Matthew switches the order to emphasize Moses. There are so many parallels between the story of Moses on the mountain and Matthew’s story of Jesus on this mountain. Again, it is much more intrinsically life-giving to see Jesus’ and Moses’ liberation work as the primary parallel. The often repeated replacement theory is that, as Moses once gave commandments, so too Jesus gave commandments that we are to follow instead.

But Matthew’s intended audience would have interpreted Jesus’ teachings in harmony with the laws of Moses (see Matthew 5:17). Moses as lawgiver is not the primary parallel we should emphasize here. Rather we should recognize Moses as the one who stood for the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian slavery. Moses the liberator from foreign oppression was the parallel to Jesus that Matthew’s gospel tried bring to mind for its audience of Jewish poor and rural farmers who desperately longed to be liberated from Roman oppression.

So Jesus doesn’t replace Moses. Jesus is another Moses. Jesus stood in relation to Roman oppression the way Moses stood in relation to Egyptian oppression in the Hebrew folklore.

Notice these parallels that Matthew creates to call to mind images of Moses:

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu . . .” (Exodus 24:1)

“Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” (Matthew 17:1)

“When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.” (Exodus 24:15-16)

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” (Matthew 17:1)

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD . . . his face was radiant . . . he put a veil over his face . . . his face was radiant . . .” (Exodus 34:29-35)

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun . . . ” (Matthew 17:1-2)

On the mount of transfiguration Jesus speaks with God face to face. This had only happened for two others in Hebrew folklore: Moses and Elijah.

“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10)

“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9-13)

Unlike Mark, Matthew repeats the words that were spoken earlier to Jesus at his baptism. This would have reminded Mathew’s audience of a verse in Isaiah:

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)

And lastly, Moses and Elijah were both Hebrew heroes for whom, according to tradition, death did not have the last word.

“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” (2 Kings 2:11)

“He buried [Moses] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.” (Deuteronomy 34:6 cf. Jude 9)

Remember, the good news for early Jesus community members was not that Jesus had died, but that this Jesus, whom Rome crucified, God had brought back to life (see Acts 4:22; Acts 2:22-24; Acts 2:32-33; Acts 3:12-16; Acts 4:10-11; Acts 5:30-32; Acts 10:36-43; and Acts 13:35-38):

“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” (Acts 13:32-33)

These early Jesus followers viewed his death as a Roman act of state violence to silence Jesus. But what was intended to stop Jesus only proved to be an interruption. The resurrection reversed, undid, and overcame everything accomplished through the death of Jesus, and this was the good news. The liberation of Jesus lived on in the lives of his followers who sought to spread his teachings of love, liberation, justice, inclusion, and peace.

Matthew’s version of the transfiguration was intended to inspire the gospel’s original audience with a vision of Jesus as a liberator.

A lot has changed in the world since then. Today, Rome is no more.

But now there are other systems of injustice in each of our societies that we need liberation from. How might the teachings of the Jewish prophet of the poor from Galilee inspire and liberate us today, as we, in our own way and context, work to shape our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for all?

Does Jesus liberate us from the concreted systems of injustice we suffer from in our daily lives here and now? Do Jesus’ teachings still have world-changing power and relevance for us today?

I believe they do.

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. What difference does it make for you to interpret Jesus as working in the spirit of Moses and Elijah rather than interpreting him as a replacement for Moses and Elijah? Share with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

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Also I want to share that we are partnering in a new weekly YouTube show called “Just Talking.” Each week, Todd Leonard and I will be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. Todd is brilliant in his discernment of how the Jesus story can speak into our lives today as we work together toward shaping our world into a just, safe and compassionate home for everyone. He’s worth listening to.

You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

My new book, Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels is now also available at renewedheartministries.com

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

Now Available at Renewed Heart Ministries!

It’s here! Herb’s new book Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels, is available at renewedheartministries.com, just in time for the holidays!

Here is just a taste of what people are saying:

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