christ

How to Transform
Society1

Jesus’ Action Plan

Session 8
Homework
 Introduction
A society cannot be reformed unless it is first informed of what is wrong
with it, what is right and how to get it put right. Some societies permit
action for reform. ey are called ‘open’ societies. ey grant freedom to
the citizens to oppose the evils of the rulers. ese societies have inbuilt
self-correcting mechanisms. But this is a relatively recent phenomenon in
world history. Many societies even today are ‘closed’. Insiders can hardly
speak against the evils in their society, without great danger to their safety
and lives. Openly attacking social evils in these societies is virtually
impossible; even preaching takes enormous courage.2 Yet, change is still
possible, as Jesus showed when he began his ministry in occupied
Palestine, which was controlled by one of the greatest and most oppressive
powers in world history, ever – the Roman Empire.

ree Ways to Reform a Society

Before taking a closer look at Jesus’ action plan, it may be appropriate to
reflect how societies are generally reformed. Usually, there are three ways
to change a society.3

1. One can accept the basic structure of the society –

i.e. the Hindu caste system or the Mexican
neoliberal economic structure of inequality – and
seek to minimize injustices inherent in it by law, as
the government of India has tried to do for several
decades, or the government of Mexico in
conjunction with the World Bank and Inter-
American Development Bank has tried to do via
stunted poverty alleviation programs. However, such an approach
cannot transform the situation fundamentally since its impact often
doesn’t go beyond a drop on a hot stone.
2. A second option is to refuse to accept the basic structure of an unjust
society and seek to change the people on top who are responsible for
injustices. It is almost impossible to change the
people on top merely by preaching, because they
are usually happy with the status quo. As Jesus in
essence said, it’s easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a beneficiary of the
kingdom of Satan to enter the Kingdom of God.
e oppressive, exploitative system is favorable to
the people on top; therefore they don’t want to
change it. So, one is tempted to use either violent
or non-violent force to overthrow the oppressors.
e use of violent force, which has been tried over
and over again, unfortunately doesn’t lead to the liberation of the
oppressed as the stories of Russia, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Peru,

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 Democratic Republic of Congo and multiple other countries show. In
all of these cases, the formerly oppressed simply became the new
oppressors.4 Using nonviolent force, however, particularly when
coupled with the third option, has proven more successful and brought
significant changes in places as varied as South Africa, India, United
States, Rumania, Serbia, and the Philippines among others.
3. e third option then is to change the oppressed. One can refuse to
accept the basic unjust structure of society and reform the system by
changing the oppressed, i.e. if the untouchables in
India cannot change the high-caste oppressors, or if
the Mexican poor cannot change the 20 families
governing the country, their only option is to
change themselves! is change has to be at two
levels. First, they have to be set free from mental or
ideological slavery. e Dalits have to cease
believing that they are born untouchable because of
the karma (actions) of their past lives; they have to
cease believing that blessings of their future lives depend on fulfilling
the duties of their present low status. e poor in Mexico have to stop
believing that only a benevolent patron or calculating strongmen can
lead them out of poverty; they have to break the decades-old cycle of
dependency thinking. Since both Dalits and the poor in Mexico are
held in slavery by faith in a falsehood, the truth alone can set them free
from this mentality of slavery. Second, they have to opt out of the
socio-religious system propagated by the dominant group; i.e. the
Dalits have to cease to be Hindus, in order to cease to be
untouchables. e poor in Mexico have to cease to put their hopes in
self-serving populist political movements or corrupt party structures,
which perpetuate the mental framework that ultimately they are
dependent on political strongmen for their betterment. ey have to
accept a new worldview, which has a high view of humanity and
promotes the equality of all humans. At the same time they have to
join a community which practices these truths.

Oppressive and exploitative systems survive not only because of the

strength of their institutions or their physical and military force, but by the
spreading of their faith, by propagating falsehood. Many common people
believe the falsehood; therefore, they allow themselves to be exploited5
When centers of power have been taken over by corrupt vested interests
that have no interest in changing the status quo, a reform movement has
to do four things: a) uncover the lies of these systems, b) proclaim an
alternative vision for society, c) create an alternative social structure and d)
organize a people movement to confront the powers that be. And that is
precisely what Jesus came to do in his earthly life.

A Reform Movement: e Model of John the Baptist and Jesus

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 John the Baptist was first a lone voice preaching a new kingdom. But he
triggered off a reform movement that inspired people and grew in
influence, so much so that Herod Antipas started to feel threatened.
Josephus, a Jewish aristocrat and historian of that time, wrote of John: “He
was a good man and exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, practice
justice towards one another and piety towards God, and so join in
baptism…. When many others joined the crowds about him, for they
were greatly moved on hearing his words, Herod feared that John’s great
influence over the people would lead to a rebellion. Herod decided
therefore that it would be much better to strike first and be rid of him
before his work led to an uprising. Accordingly John was sent as a prisoner
to a fortress because of Herod’s suspicious temper, and there was put to
death.”6

As Jesus continued and molded the reform movement that was started by
John, it seems he understood his mission in terms of gathering Israel into
the eschatological people of God. As we saw in Luke, he sought to make
Israel a reconciled community that implemented Jubilee and lived
according to Shalom principles. e Gospels thus portray how he turned
to all of Israel, to the rich… and poor…, to the educated… and
uneducated…, to the rural population of Galilee… and the urban residents
of Jerusalem…, to the healthy… and the sick…, to the just… and to
sinners, to the Sadducees… and the Zealots…, to the Pharisees … and the
outcasts. Joachim Jeremias, a German theologian makes the point: “e
sole meaning of the entire activity of Jesus is the gathering of God’s
eschatological people.”

However, the way in which Jesus knew he had been sent to answer Israel’s
profound identity crisis, reached infinitively deeper than all the other
answers that ventured at that time. In contrast to many others, he was not
just out to blame Rome for all evil on earth (as the Zealot’s, many
Pharisees and most of the people believed). Nor was he interested in
proclaiming ritual purity as the answer to the world’s woes (as the Essenes
and some Pharisees did). He definitively wasn’t interested in maintaining
the status quo (as the Herodians, Sadducees and the Jerusalem temple
aristocracy promoted). He also wasn’t about to establish an earthly Jewish
kingdom that, in turn, would perpetuate the same spirit of discrimination,
exploitation and oppression towards other ethnic groups, that was
foreseeable to happen, given the Jews’ ethno-centric outlook.

In contrast to most other visions that circulated during that time, Jesus
proclaimed that God’s in-breaking kingdom foremost required the true
repentance of the people, whether rich or poor, since this was
presupposition for entering into the kingdom of God. He inaugurated a
new era when he said that his concern was to “seek and save” people and to
work for their moral and spiritual redemption, which would then lead to

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 their social and political liberation. e word repent, which Jesus used, is
one of the casualties of our language shift in the West. e Greek verb
used in the New Testament is metanoia, which literally means “to think
differently”. It is derived from two Greek words: meta… change; and
nous… intellect. e original idea of repentance, then, was much more
than feeling bad about one’s sin. It meant changing how one thinks about
God, the nature of reality, who humankind is, God’s purpose in history…
yielding to God’s perspective and changing our allegiance, our
expectations, our values, our priorities, how we live, and our lifelong
mission.

It was clear to Jesus that salvation from sin is necessary for social reform
because the Kingdom of God is built on righteousness and justice, whereas
the kingdom of Satan is often built on ideology and injustice. Jesus knew
that sin breeds poverty. Social evils are the consequences of the rule of
Satan. Satan has authority over us because when we choose to sin, we
choose to obey him. erefore salvation from sin is the heart of holistic
reform. e individual bears the image of God. erefore, s/he is the
central object of God’s love and salvation. Socio-political freedom is
worth something only if the people are free from the power of sin in their
individual lives. e renewal of society begins with the renewal of
individuals who pass from death to life, from unrighteousness to
righteousness, from self-centeredness to community-centeredness and
who then join others in like-minded communities. Only repentance from
sin and obedience of faith renews trust, the basis of Shalom.7 e call to
repentance, the possibility of forgiveness of sins and the invitation to an
alternative community, thus became foundational to all of Jesus’ activities,
as we shall see in the next sessions. At the same time, Jesus didn’t stop
there, for he knew that the renewal of individuals was just a first step in his
action plan.

e Four Primary Objectives of Jesus’ Earthly Mission

Indeed, to reform society, gather Israel into the eschatological people of
God and bring it back to the vision of Shalom, as outlined in
Deuteronomy and even beyond Deuteronomy, Jesus had four overriding
objectives:

• Expose the Lies of the Systems & Reach the Ruling Elite
• Reach the Common People & Outline an Alternative Vision for Society
• Create an Alternative Social Structure that would Practice the Truths of
the New Kingdom
• Establish a Powerful Disciple-based Movement & Confront the Powers
that Be

reflection questions

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 • e article mentioned three ways that are usually used to reform
societies. Is there any other way you can think of?
• What do you think of the third option that was presented? Does it
ring true, when you look at the context of your community and
nation?
• What did you think of the definition of repentance? How does this
definition differ from what you have heard in the past?
• What was your initial response to the claim that while Jesus saw the
renewal of individuals as a first step in his action plan, he didn’t stop
there?
• What do you think about Jesus’ four overriding objectives to
transform society and bring Shalom to the nation?

application journal:

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 endnotes
1 A significant part of this article is adapted from Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social
Reform, ???
2 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 33
3 Adapted from Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 44-45
4 Paulo Freire, the Brazilian pedagogue, has shown so pointedly, that, without a renewal

of their minds, the oppressed often turn into the new oppressors. Due to their
internalized oppression, they have no other models of governance once they come to
power, and so perpetuate the same damned cycle of dehumanization and oppression.
5 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 40
6 Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds to Early Christianity, 457-458
7 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 78-79

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