Reading the Resurrection in Imperial Context
By Daniel R. Streett
It is a common Sunday School bromide that Jesus鈥檚 Jewish contemporaries were expecting 聽a 聽political messiah, and 聽thus misunderstood Jesus, 聽whose mission was 聽not 聽political but spiritual. He came not to liberate his people from evil rulers but to save individuals from their sins. When the Scriptures are placed in their proper historical context, however, it becomes clear that this is a grossly anachronistic 聽way of understanding the gospel narrative. It imposes on the ancient text a modern dichotomy between religion and politics, theology and statecraft. Ancient Judaism had no such concept; nor, for that matter, did any other ancient Mediterranean culture. Further, this view cannot accommodate the transparently political nature of the message of the early church, which boldly proclaimed God鈥檚 kingdom and declared Jesus to be Savior, Lord, and King , despite the fact that those roles were already claimed by Caesar.
Largely as a 聽result of 聽the 聽Enlightenment, moderns 聽tend 聽to compartmentalize religion and politics. Politics deals with public issues: how power, money, land, and other resources are distributed and used, how society is structured, and how laws are made and justice is upheld. Religion, on the other hand, is private and interiorized. It deals with the individual鈥檚 聽personal relationship to the divine, and is focused on providing 聽psychological fulfillment in this life and ensuring happiness (or preventing punishment) in the next. The primary problem religion addresses is the certainty of death; religion seeks to provide assurance that death is not the end, that there is a meaning to life beyond the suffering 聽and heartbreak intrinsic to human existence in this vale of tears.
When 聽the 聽early Christian 聽proclamation of 聽Jesus鈥檚 聽resurrection is seen through this modern lens, a severe distortion occurs. Often the resurrection is interpreted as part of a rationalistic apologetic to prove an abstract concept of Christ鈥檚 divinity. Or, in an individualistic soteriological framework, it is portrayed as an indication that Jesus鈥檚 鈥減ayment鈥� for sins was accepted. 聽More often, it is transmogrified to fit the watered-down Platonism that characterizes so much of pop Christianity in the West. On this misunderstanding , Jesus鈥檚 resurrection serves merely to make it clear that there is hope for life after death, that when the body dies, the spirit continues on, that death is just the beginning , etc.
All of this is quite far afield from the central message of Jesus and his followers, namely the kingdom of God. This message, from beginning to end, was couched in terms, stories, and symbols intended to provide a direct counterpoint to the dominant power of the day, the Roman Empire. My goal in this article is to explore the ways in which early Christian discourse on Jesus鈥檚 resurrection and its implications has a clearly anti- or counter-imperial texture. My survey of the counter-imperial nature of resurrection hope begins in the Old Testament, which funds much of the early Christian message. I will then touch upon several key texts in the Gospels, Paul, and the Apocalypse that express the heart of the resurrection 聽message as the replacement of the Roman regime with the righteous empire of God.
OT Background
We can beg in by examining 聽three Old Testament texts that touch on resurrection in one form or another. These three, we will see, all use the imagery 聽of resurrection in an imperial context, with clear counter-imperial force. While the dating of each of these texts is disputed, 聽for our purposes all that 聽matters is that 聽the y 聽formed a significant part of the Jewish heritage and worldview inhabited by the NT authors.
Ezekiel 37- From Dry Bones to a Powerful Army
Ezekiel 37 is situated in the wake of the Babylonian 聽exile and the destruction of Jerusalem by the invading Babylonian army. In the aftermath聽of this devastation, Ezekiel is commissioned to present a message of hope to 聽the exiles : the desolation wrought 聽by 聽that idolatrous empire will not be the end. Though Israel 聽is currently scattered like abused sheep without a shepherd, the Lord will restore Israel鈥檚 聽fortunes and 聽once again 聽reunite 聽them 聽under 聽a 聽virtuous shepherd-king , a new David (34:23鈥�24). He will avenge his people, renew the聽 covenant, restore them to 聽their land, 聽and g rant 聽them security and prosperity. After these promises in chs. 34鈥�36, Ezekiel is taken away in the prophetic spirit to a valley. A devastating battle has clearly taken place here, for the valley is full of skeletal remains, now picked clean by the vultures and dried out by the sun. This is a g rim portrait of Israel in exile鈥攁 once might y people reduced to virtual non-existence. 聽The 聽situation is hopeless. 聽The 聽Babylonian Empire has prevailed and Israel is no more.
Or so it appears. But the same spirit that hovered over the face of the abyss at creation beg ins to move, a might y rushing 聽wind summoned from the four corners of the earth. As it blows on the dry 聽bones, a miracle occurs. Flesh, muscle, skin, and finally breath come back to the bones. The y stand 聽up, a numerous and powerful army. The point is clear : while Babylon鈥檚 聽vicious empire may have the power to kill and destroy, it does not have the final word. Israel鈥檚 God will overturn Babylon鈥檚 edict and overthrow Babylon鈥檚 dominion, for he alone has the power to give new life, to raise the dead, and to restore his covenant people. Here it is clear that the resurrection of God鈥檚 people from the g rave of exile is God鈥檚 forceful rebuttal to the claims and actions of an oppressive empire.
Isaiah 24-27
The situation is much the same in Isaiah鈥檚 聽鈥渓ittle 聽apocalypse,鈥� as chs. 聽24鈥�27 are known. 聽Likely a Babylonian-era 聽composition, this section depicts the imperial city as a capital of chaos (24:10) and a terrifying sea-monster (27:1). This once proud and arrogant fortress city will become a city of ruins, brought down to the dust (26:5). The imperial city has taken God鈥檚 people into exile and ruled oppressively over them. Isaiah depicts its power as a dark shroud or cloud, a veil of death that hang s over Israel and other nations. But, again, the empire鈥檚 death sentence against exilic Israel will not stand forever. The Lord will come as a mighty warrior to avenge his people with a terrible swift sword, 聽slaying the serpent Leviathan, trampling 聽the oppressing city, and crushing the idolatrous altars to dust. More than that, however, he will reverse the empire鈥檚 聽death-dealing 聽blow. The Lord promises to 鈥渟wallow up death forever鈥� (25:8), (verses in this article are from the NR SV translation). 鈥� Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy !鈥� (26:19). It is possible that the resurrection imagery here is more a metaphor for national restoration than a promise of individual resurrection. But deciding that issue 聽is less 聽important than realizing that, like Ezekiel, 聽Isaiah depicts resurrection 聽as God鈥檚 reversal of imperial evil.
Daniel 12
Daniel 12 is the third key text about resurrection in the OT, and likely the latest. It is best understood as a second-century composition published in 聽the 聽heat of the Maccabean crisis. The Maccabean rebellion was a response to the oppression of the Hellenizing Seleucid king , Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus attacked Jerusalem, defiled the temple, outlawed traditional Jewish practices, 聽and decreed the worship of Zeus. This met with a guerilla style insurgency 聽led by Judas 聽Maccabee and 聽his 聽brothers, who 聽eventually succeeded 聽in turning back the Seleucid onslaught.
In the midst of this, the apocalyptic circle responsible for Daniel
12 set forth a vision of hope in the face of such a great tribulation. Daniel 7鈥�12 contains a cycle of visions which depict Israel鈥檚 suffering at 聽the 聽hands of 聽blasphemous, 聽beastly, 聽and 聽idolatrous 聽kingdoms which violently oppress God鈥檚 people. The vision, however, assures its audience that the time of the beastly 聽empires will come to an end. The prophet portrays the Seleucid empire and its oppression as the last, dying g asp of the bloodthirsty monster. In Daniel 12, the heavenly messenger Michael assures Daniel that this great tribulation will last only a short time. All who persevere in faithfulness to the covenant, even if the y are martyred for their fidelity, will be rewarded by God. According to Michael, 鈥淢any of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting 聽life. . 聽. 聽. 聽Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, 聽and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever 鈥� (12:2鈥�3).
Here is the first explicit textual witness in Israel鈥檚 history to the idea of individual resurrection. But, like its textual forebears in Ezekiel and Isaiah, Daniel 12 also portrays resurrection as God鈥檚 response to imperial oppression and bloodshed. God will by all means vindicate the faithful ; even death cannot stand in the way. Notably, 聽what is in view here is much more than simple resuscitation. That would not be true justice. Instead, the resurrected will be rewarded and exalted, g ranted a glorious existence of supernal radiance (astral immortality was a future often claimed for king s 聽and emperors in the ancient world ).聽 Resurrection, then, 聽is tied聽 up 聽with a future righting 聽of wrong s in which the tables are turned on the empires of this world鈥� the lowly and oppressed are exalted, while the mighty and oppressive are brought low.
New Testament
Jesus in His Context
When we come to the New Testament, the names have changed but the story is much the same. Some of Israel鈥檚 exiles may have returned to the land, but the vast majority of them were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, many living in Diaspora cities like Rome, Alexandria , Corinth, and Ephesus. The glorious visions of the prophets remained unrealized. 聽The 聽land promised to 聽the 聽fathers labored still 聽under subjection to the Roman Empire. While Rome allowed a considerable amount of freedom to Jewish worshipers, ever y authority in the land, whether king , 聽governor, or high priest, was chosen by the empire. The 10th Roman leg ion was a constant 聽presence at Israel鈥檚 national festivals鈥攁 clear warning to Passover celebrants not to let their hopes for a new Mosaic liberator get out of hand.
It 聽was 聽in 聽this 聽context of 聽imperial domination that 聽a 聽popular Galilean prophet named Jesus stepped onto the scene, heralding the soon arrival of God鈥檚 empire. The expectation of God鈥檚 empire had deep OT roots, as we have seen above. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all looked for ward to the day when the evil and oppressive kingdoms of this age would be toppled and replaced聽 by God鈥檚 righteous rule. A new Davidic king would sit on the throne, ruling the nations in justice and mercy. God鈥檚 name would be treated as holy, and a new era of prosperity and joy for Israel would dawn. When the kingdom聽of God came, the Jewish elite who ruled Jerusalem and profited handsomely from their oversight of the temple would be brought low, 聽while the dispossessed poor, 聽whose ancestral lands had been seized through oppressive taxation and usury,聽 would be exalted to prominence.
It 聽is no surprise, 聽then, that 聽Jesus鈥檚 聽radical message and mission culminated in a Passover assault on the temple-industrial complex in Jerusalem. Here the priestly elite joined hands with Roman military power to keep a lid on the simmering discontent of the masses who had made pilgrimage to celebrate Israel鈥檚 聽great liberation from the imperial power of Pharaoh and Egypt. Fearful that Jesus鈥檚 popularity would spark an uprising and further weaken their fragile relationship with Rome, the Jewish elite had Jesus arrested and handed over to Pilate on charges of sedition. Jesus was 聽executed with two other enemies of the state. The charge hung over his head : he claimed to be 鈥渒ing of the Jews.鈥�
Many popular versions of the 鈥済ospel鈥� 聽virtually end here. Jesus, so this 聽truncated 聽story 聽goes, was 聽tragically misunderstood. 聽His friends and enemies mistook him for a political revolutionary. This was never his focus. Rather, Jesus came with a single mission, to die as 聽an atonement for sin, thereby propitiating 聽God鈥檚 聽wrath against humans and ensuring 聽an eternal life in heaven for all who would accept his sacrifice. While this account has slivers of truth (e.g . early Christians 聽clearly came to interpret the death of Jesus as an atoning sacrifice), it effectively ignores the political realities of Jesus鈥檚 trial and crucifixion, sidelines Jesus鈥檚 central focus on the arrival of God鈥檚 kingdom, and relegates his resurrection and parousia to the status of afterthought or appendix .
When we place Jesus鈥檚 death into its proper first-century context鈥� where crucifixion was 聽a commonplace punishment meted out 聽to enemies of the聽 state鈥攖he 聽resurrection and the聽 parousia it 聽looks for ward to 聽take on 聽a much fuller meaning . 聽Jesus, 聽the 聽blameless lamb, the healing herald and agent of God鈥檚 emancipating empire, is brutally murdered by the bloodthirsty Roman beast. In this grievous miscarriage of justice, Rome鈥檚 pretense of bringing peace to the world is laid bare. Rome is revealed to be just like every other tyrannical regime, wielding 聽its 聽truncheon 聽of 聽death 聽against 聽all meaning fuldissent. But Rome鈥檚 verdict is not the final word. Jesus, God鈥檚 son, the rightful king , cannot be left in the g rave, his vision of the kingdom just another failed utopian fantasy. 聽In the resurrection, God acts decisively, 聽publicly and 聽powerfully to 聽overturn the 聽judgment 聽of Rome and to assert 聽the impotence of Rome鈥檚 聽ultimate weapon鈥� death鈥攊n the face of God鈥檚 聽life-giving 聽Spirit. The resurrection is God鈥檚 vindication of Jesus and his message. By raising 聽his Son from the dead, God declares that Jesus, not Caesar, is the rightful ruler of the world. Easter morning , then, is so much more than the promise of an afterlife to believers in Jesus. It is God鈥檚 聽powerful 鈥楴O !鈥� 聽to violent imperial ideology, and his resounding 鈥� YES !鈥� to the peaceful way of Jesus.
Gospel According To Mathew
We can now explore a sampling 聽of NT 聽texts 聽that 聽demonstrate the counter-imperial character of the early Christian resurrection message. Matthew 鈥檚 聽Gospel provides a compelling place to start. In Matt 28:16鈥�20, Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection. He indicates that in the resurrection God has not simply restored Jesus to life, but has also invested him with ultimate and universal authority : 鈥渁ll authority in heaven and earth.鈥� Who, living under the dominion of the Roman Empire and its priestly puppets in Jerusalem, could fail to hear the geopolitical nature of such a pronouncement? The Roman 鈥済olden age鈥� was coming to an end (see Jesus鈥檚 reference in聽28:20 to the 鈥渆nd of the age鈥�). God鈥檚 kingdom would dawn, bringing regime change and justice to a corrupt world in need of a righteous ruler. 聽The twelve, 聽who had earlier been promised twelve thrones from which they would rule Israel (19:28), are now commissioned as the new world-emperor 鈥檚 聽international ambassadors. The y are to proclaim the good news that Rome鈥檚 government and gods have been shown powerless, their greatest weapon鈥攄eath鈥攗tterly overcome by 聽an infinitely more powerful government. Thus 聽we see that 聽in Matthew 鈥檚 account of the good news, the death of Jesus does not shift the focus from Jewish and Roman politics to individual salvation and atonement for sins. Rather, the death and resurrection of Jesus continue the powerful narrative centering on the coming kingdom of God, and Jesus鈥檚 place at the head of that kingdom.
Pauline Letters
Paul鈥檚 letters continue this conceptualization of Jesus鈥檚 resurrection as an exaltation to the place of universal king ship, a clear counterpoint to 聽Roman imperial claims. 聽In 聽Paul鈥檚 聽magnum 聽opus, 聽for example, addressed to Christ-followers living in the imperial cit y, Paul beg ins his letter by summarizing 聽his message about Jesus, which he delivers as an emissary of Jesus, the Jewish king -Messiah foretold by Israel鈥檚 prophets (Romans 1:1鈥�2). Two key facts are highlighted : first, Jesus is from the royal line, a true son of David, and thus rightful king of Israel by birth (1:3). Second, at his resurrection, 聽Jesus was declared Son of God in power (1:4). This title would not be lost on Paul鈥檚 audience, 聽as Augustus, Tiberius, and Nero had also claimed such an appellation (divi filius). Noteworthy 聽for our purposes, of course, is that it is precisely at his resurrection that Jesus is so identified. For Paul, 聽Christ鈥檚聽 resurrection is his exaltation and enthronement as world-ruler. It is for this reason that Paul embarks on his international journeys, namely 聽to bring about the submission of the nations to the newly crowned emperor (1:5). Paul reiterates this point at the end of his letter, drawing on Isa 11:10: 鈥� The root of Jesse 聽shall come, the one who rises to rule the nations ; in him the nations shall hope鈥� (Rom 15:12). Here again, Jesus is described in Davidic kingly terms (鈥渢he root of Jesse鈥�), 聽and again his king ship is worldwide, as 聽he rules the nations. In the midst of such loft y rhetoric, it is easy to miss a key detail in Paul鈥檚 聽citation : this Davidic king 鈥渁rises鈥濃�攖he same terminology used for Jesus鈥檚 聽resurrection (anastasis/anistemi) elsewhere. 聽It 聽is as 聽the 聽resurrected one that 聽Jesus 聽is the 聽divinely installed Lord of the world.
We find similar notes sounded in other Pauline passages. In Ephesians聽1, Jesus at his resurrection does not merely come back to life, but is exalted by 聽God to sit at his right hand in the heavens 聽(1:20). This exaltation grants Jesus a status and power superior to every other ruler; all governments and nations of the world are 鈥渦nder his feet鈥� (1:21鈥�22). The same language appears in 1 Cor 15:23鈥�27, where Paul again draws on Psalm 8 as a promise of the Messiah鈥檚 universal reign. Philippians 2, likewise, recounts 聽how Jesus obediently endured the humiliating slave- like death of Roman crucifixion. Because of his obedience, God reversed Rome鈥檚 punishment of death, and granted to Jesus a status higher than聽that enjoyed by any king , emperor, 聽or potentate. According to Paul, at the divine name of Jesus, every human and angel would prostrate fall, recognizing 聽Jesus as the universal Lord. The message was clear: Caesar and his ilk were pretenders whose time was limited, for the true emperor of the world had taken his throne.
The Apocalypse
We would be remiss if we did not mention the last 聽book of the NT, 聽Revelation, in this vein. Perhaps no other NT book beats the anti-imperial drum more loudly. From the outset, Jesus鈥檚 resurrection is closely connected to his identity as universal 聽ruler. 聽In 1:5 it is as the resurrected one, the 鈥渇irstborn from the dead,鈥� that he is 鈥渢he ruler of the king s of the earth.鈥� Notably, the verse first names him as the 鈥渇aithful 聽witness,鈥� likely a reference to his martyrdom on a Roman cross for his faithful proclamation of the message of God鈥檚 kingdom (elsewhere in Revelation, the same terminology is used for the martyred Antipas [2:13], as well as the two executed prophets of ch. 11). The title 鈥渢he ruler of the king s of the earth鈥� here presents a clear counterpoint to 聽Roman imperial power, 聽embodied in the emperor, who ruled the ancient world through his client king s and governors.
The seer is acutely aware of the shameful death Jesus suffered 聽under the Roman occupation. But, as he sees it, the crucifixion of Jesus has been transformed from tragic conclusion to promising prologue. At the cross, Rome thinks that it has completely stamped out Jesus鈥檚 kingdom revolution. In his resurrection, 聽however, Jesus overcomes Rome鈥檚 most powerful weapon. He breaks the bonds of death, rising from the grave as a conquering hero, the keys of Death and Hades now in his possession (1:18; 3:21). Rome鈥檚 time is limited, for the new emperor is returning soon to judge his enemies (1:7).
Moreover, the martyrdom and resurrection of Jesus become a pattern and model for his followers. They are to be faithful unto death, just as he was. If they share in the Messiah鈥檚 聽death, they will also experience his resurrection. This resurrection, 聽again, is no mere resuscitation, but a transformation and exaltation. The faithful martyrs will receive from God an exalted status and will sit on God鈥檚 throne just as Jesus did (Rev聽3:21). They will participate in the glory of his victory as they judge the nations, reigning with Jesus as kings and priests (20:4; 22:5).
The 聽eschatological 聽vision of Revelation is geopolitical 聽and 聽theo-political through and through. Appropriately for the first century and the burgeoning Jesus movement, there is no dichotomy of spirituality and sociology, or piety and politics. The resurrection of Jesus is the turning point in a narrative whose telos is the worldwide geopolitical dominance of the Messiah, as expected 聽in the OT (Rev 21:24; cf. Psalm 2:8鈥�10). 鈥淪alvation鈥� in this scheme of thought refers not to an individual鈥檚 blissful disembodied afterlife, but to the liberation of the land/earth from the violent overlords who through evil oppression corrupt and destroy God鈥檚 good creation (Rev 11:18).
Conclusion
Read in this way, 聽the depth and richness of the early Christian message of Jesus鈥檚 resurrection is recaptured. If we can avoid imposing our modern biases and categories on the ancient text of Scripture, we will rediscover a dynamic and holistic gospel that speaks to every area of human existence, not merely to concerns about an individual afterlife. When 聽we hear the 聽story 聽of Christ鈥檚 聽resurrection in 聽its original context, we will encounter it as 聽a declaration of Christ鈥檚 universal king ship that 聽is thoroughly counter-cultural and 聽even dangerously 聽subversive, 聽no 聽matter 聽whether we find 聽ourselves in North America or North Korea . Perhaps it will be said once again of Christians that we 鈥渁re turning 聽the world upside-down 聽. . . saying contrary to the decrees of Caesar that there is another king named Jesus鈥� (Acts 17:6鈥�7).
About the Author
DANIEL R. STREETT, PhD, Associate Professor of Christianity at Houston Baptist University. His primary research and teaching interests are early Jewish esotericism and apocalypticism, the Johannine literature, Hebrews, and Greek pedagogy. He is currently writing on the reception of the Jewish festivals in early Judaism.
[Editor鈥檚 Note: Resurrection image from Luca Giordano鈥檚 Resurrection, c. 1665, found at聽.]