N.T. Wright on Repentance

In the middle of N.T. Wright’s Jesus and the Victory of God (JVG), he has a discussion about repentance, as it is in Jesus’ proclamation found in Mark 1.15:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

The contemporary connotations abound rather negatively towards this word repent. It carries heavy {dark} religious overtones for us today. We have easily lost the context of which this word was used because of contemporary {mis}uses of the term.

N.T. Wright frames the first-century context very well. Instead of drawing to mind images of these likes, it is rather about return as seen in the prodigal son. In this parable, N.T. Wright believes, is the best description Jesus gives us of what he means by repent.

The prodigal son doesn’t focus on his ‘sin’ as such in that moment of repentance, rather he is focused on his bad condition and the distance from his father. He thinks, if only I could get back, things would be better, even if only as a servant. The scene as the father welcomes him, shows the restoration that occurs with repentance. The father has been waiting this whole time for the son to return, and when he does he celebrates. In even more dramatic fashion the lost sheep, has the shepherd not waiting for the return but goes even further to find the lost one.

He spends much ink to show how Jesus’ call for repentance was in line with the traditions of the prophets calling for a turning towards YHWH. What we see with Jesus is him calling for a return to Israel’s god. He is heralding in god’s kingdom and for the people to be included they must align themselves with the king, through repenting.

This repenting was a call for the community as much as it was for the individual. The nation was being called to return to its first love. Too often today we have lost this communal sense, in our individualistic western culture we struggle to even understand how this could be the case. Read any of the prophets, repentance can always be found on the level of nations.

With Jesus as with the prophets of old, there is an implicit and even explicit connection between repentance and restoration of the nation—a return from exile, as N.T. Wright is so keen on highlighting. What does this mean? This act of repentance is a once for all act, not simply the cyclical repentance which the Temple offered annually. Rather this call for repentance was a call to usher in the eschatological end of days, the restoration of the people, the vindication of god and his people.

What is also important is that John the Baptist’s & Jesus’ calls for repentance don’t involve the Temple process or its authority. This call for repentance is outside of the normal power structures of Judaism. Jesus message of repentance is subversive because he proclaims to do it with his own authority, a restoration of Israel independent of the Temple power structure. He does this by his own authority and through his own process.

The call of Jesus is actually much more radical than simply a moral repentance; his call is completely world altering. It defies the religious, political, economic structures, even so far as the basic family structure. What is beautiful about Jesus is he goes further with his message than even the average radical street corner proselytizer is willing to go; Jesus goes all the way down to destroying your whole world view, not just your moral code.