Dave Andrews

In the fourth phase of his nonviolent jihad for love and justice Jesus created communities that were committed to doing justice to the marginalized and disadvantaged. The dominant value of much of Jewish society at the time was purity – but the dominant value of Jesus was inclusivity. While the Jews despised Gentiles, Jesus declared ‘my house shall be called a house … for all nations’ (Mark 11:17). While the Pharisees ostracized sinners, Jesus invited outcasts to his parties (Mark 2:16). In his countercultural communities, Jesus encouraged people to consider other people to be of enormous importance – not just as producers or consumers, but as people in their own right. The people that were usually considered least important, and consequently pushed to the side, were treated as most important and given a place of respect in these countercultural communities. Jesus said: ‘‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, (sisters, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous’, (Luke 14:12–14).

The counter-cultural communities Jesus developed managed to reconstruct such a substantial degree of liberated – and liberating – alternative political and economic reality, that their experience has served as an example of true love and true justice ever since. According to eyewitnesses, they all met together, breaking bread in their homes and eating together with glad and jubilant hearts. They had everything in common, selling their possessions and giving support to anyone who asked for help. There wasn’t a single person with an unmet need among them, and all the people spoke well of them (see Acts 2:44–47; 4:32–35).

Dave Andrews p126-7 The Jihad Of Jesus http://bit.ly/1CedNDX