The book “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” is broken into seven chapters, focusing on the theological idea of New Exodus and follows the Biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation. It begins in Genesis with the murder of Able by Cain and God crying out to Cain asking him where he was and telling him that the blood of his brother “cries out to him from the ground.” Bell and Golden then continue with the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai where God made known to the Israelites that he needed a physical form on this Earth and that they (the Israelites) would be his priestly nation. That priestly nation then finds a home in Jerusalem but when people find a home they tend to settle and get comfortable. Unfortunately with King Solomon he got so comfortable in his wealth and power that he became like Pharaoh in his oppression of the people (slaves) making the bricks for his temple and palace. He became so comfortable that his harem of wives and concubines turned his heart away from the Lord and to other gods. With God’s promise to hear the cry of the oppressed here the book says, “At the height of their power, Israel misconstrued God’s blessings as favoritism and entitlement. They became indifferent to God and to their priestly calling to bring liberation to others.” The writers go on to say that, the Israelites had forgotten their story and in a word- this is called exile. While in this second exile, the prophets call for the people to reclaim their identity or their story of their first exile and their recommitment to God. The prophet also began “prepare the way” and “make straight the path” to the “second son of David.” The writers say that of all the ways the Gospels could have chosen to write about the coming of Jesus they chose Isaiah and the “announcement of the new exodus”. This “second son of David” the writers say can here the cries of people, all people everywhere. Jesus is here to re-establish the covenant, the marriage, between good and his chosen priestly nation and lead them in this new exodus. Jesus says he is “the way” again a reference to Isaiah. He is on his way to Jerusalem to re-dedicate the temple, he is that temple, and he is a temple greater than anything Solomon could have imagined. This temple is going to be established in a new kingdom and this kingdom is coming soon. Bell and Golden write that this Son of David is not just leading this new exodus for a specific group but for all peoples and new liberation of sorts. He is the great servant the prophets spoke about healing and caring for the poor. Then Jesus is arrested, beaten, and killed as a criminal by a new empire. The writers explain that just before his betrayal and subsequent death just shared a meal like that of the previous exodus. A Passover meal which spared the first born sons of the Israelites in Egypt, but this first born son could not be spared and so he took his body and broke it and he took his blood and he poured it for his disciples and those how would follow him in his exodus. He was broken and poured and the payment God requires for redemption was paid. In the chapter entitled Genital-Free Africans Bell and Golden begin to explain the development of the early church and how difficult this new reality and kingdom really was for the Jewish community of believers who were not even to enter the homes of gentiles let alone minister to them. The chapter begins with Philip and the fact he is a very traditional Jew being confronted by an Ethiopian Eunuch asking about this new reality and kingdom and what he must do to be accepted into this new kingdom. A Gentile asking a Jew for help with entering into the inner temple (Jesus) that has been blocked to Gentile up to this point. The writers continue with the story of Paul who continues to break down these walls of Gentile and Jew by taking Jesus commission and spreading this new exodus “to the ends of the earth.” In chapters five through the end to of the book, the writers change their flow a bit and direct their writing towards the reader. The writers engage the reader by calling out the fact that we live in a new empire, America, which in many ways can be viewed as a modern day ancient Egypt, Babylon, or Rome. They engage with the reader by forcing them into seeing America as a modernized version of Solomon’s Israel. America is a modern day Canaan filled with flowing Milk and Honey but we have become comfortable and we sometimes do not hear the cry of the oppressed, which is what got Israel into trouble with the Lord. We as community that claims they love the Lord and follow him must realize that we are abusing the blessing that God has given us, by not sharing with the oppressed of this world. Bell and Golden then reference John the exiled on Patmos and his writing to his church in revelation and how it is a call to civil disobedience and the rejection of the system that tends to drown out the cry of the oppressed. The writers believe that the only way for the church to be an effective tool of the kingdom is to be “Broken and Poured” like the “first born son” the “Son of David” and that they say is a manifesto.
This book did a number on me. I find myself with a lack of motivation and a burnt out spirit after being unemployed with out a college degree in a church that really was not feeding me and doing youth ministry to kids and parents who did not find it necessary to find a way of inviting outsiders to come and enjoy this kingdom. This book reignited my fire but it also rather scared me. I have to come to terms with the fact that I am very blessed one for being an American, two that I have the opportunity to gain and education, and three the fact that I can have at least one square meal let alone three. I feel like I have lost my ear to the call of the oppressed and if I am to look at my life and not be thrown into exile I need to find a way for me to come to terms with the oppressed. This books idea of a new exodus as a means for ministering is brilliant to me and I need to know more about it. I have read two other Bell books and both were fascinating and I need to read them very thoughtfully or I could get lost in his words and the same for this book. I am a fan of Bell’s writing no matter if people believe him to be a heretic.
For me it was the last chapter that I found most useful the epilogue. It burned through me like a wild fire. Some may say that I have a pride problem and most of the time they are right. If I am truly a minister of God in this new kingdom this new reality then I, like Jesus and his disciple, must be ‘Broken and Poured’, I must be willing to not only hear the cry of the oppressed but I also must be ready to answer the cry of the oppressed. I have a responsibility to myself and my community to preach and teach this message.
My question for the book and the writers would be how do we reconcile the fact that America does do a massive amount of aide to other countries in the wake of disasters, famines, drought, war, and even genocide but the massive churches including the Mars Hill church that Bell is the head of do some aide but their building are so of incredible size and cost? I feel that smaller churches may not be able to do as much work because of their funds just are not there but they still do much work in their community. All in all the writers did do a great job calling out the church and it members but it seems that these massive churches pay more to keep their building going than they do in their own communities.
