Justice of jubilee in Luke

A Bible study

Sang Chang

It is no exaggeration to say that until recently the church largely was not concerned with economic issues. Its interest in economic issues usually remained at the level of individual charity. Recent theological phenomena like the emergence of liberation theology or Minjung theology are a reaction to and supplementary result of the church's neglect of general economic questions. Furthermore, the collapse of socialist countries seems to indicate capitalism's superiority, and this allows one to stress openly the basic principle of capitalism: econo-centrism. This econo-centrism will prove to be the most important principle in future international disputes. Any ideology or moral principles will become secondary. The phenomenon of economic exploitation will be aggravated in international relationships.

Already, the western first world strongly proclaims economic reciprocity in its trade with developing countries. It is the simple principle of 'you scratch my back; I scratch yours.' The GATT convention (the so-called Uruguay Round (UR)), is the most typical institutionalization of unlimited economic reciprocity. Westerners suggest it as a fair principle; however, nothing can be more unfair than requesting undifferentiated reciprocity from nations with different degrees of national power under anarchic international relationships. It is like a boxing match between a feather-weight boxer and a heavy-weight boxer; the outcome is quite clearly determined before the match even begins, and the match is hardly fair. To enter the world of unlimited competition in the name of reciprocity means the continuous acceleration of the vicious cycle of the rich-get-richer and the poor-get-poorer.

As a matter of fact, people in this capitalist world are starving not because there is not enough food to go around, but rather because food is being wasted. The USA will not bring its surplus food to starving African nations because the USA is a strictly capitalist nation and African nations cannot afford the price. If the US government freely offered food to African nations, the price of grain would drop in the world market as the demand would decrease. Thus, the government buys surplus food to keep the price level from dropping, and simply dumps the surplus food in the Pacific Ocean or lets it decay into fertilizer. When 'price' instead of 'need' becomes the standard of production, such phenomena are seen frequently.

In this situation, the church cannot help but make clear the Christian understanding of God's law and economic life. Economic issues are of the essence of the Christian gospel and faith. We can learn this more clearly from Jesus as seen by Luke. In Luke, economic issues are directly connected with faith and mission, and gospel is the realization of jubilee.

Luke's focus on socio-economy

Among the New Testament writings, the Gospel of Luke shows the deepest concern about socio-economic factors. This can be seen in the way Luke deals with the common materials shared with Matthew and Mark, and in the special materials unique to Luke. Luke's special materials clearly show that the author was greatly concerned with the poor and the excluded. This is why the Gospel of Luke is often referred to as the 'Gospel of the poor' (H.Merkel) and the 'Gospel of the outcast' (T.W.Manson). There are various words that mean poverty. Among those, the word that indicates economic poverty is. This is the word that Luke uses to refer to poor people, pointing to the 'real' poor, not just the 'conceptual' poor.¹ He hands down Jesus' teachings to the readers from the viewpoint of the poor with considerable affection and fondness. This could be understood as a warning to and a criticism of the rich.

The characteristics of the Lukan community have been much discussed among scholars. Some say that the Lukan community is mostly composed of the poor. In his commentary on Matthew, J.D. Kingsbury claims that the Lukan community was relatively poor, pointing out that Luke in his writing used monetary units of much lower value than Matthew's. For example, whereas Matthew 25 tells of a parable using 'talents,' Luke 19 tells the same parable using 'mina,' which equals one-sixtieth of a 'talent.' Talents are not to be found in Luke's Gospel. Likewise, 'gold coin' appears four times in Matthew, but only once in Luke. 'Silver coin' is mentioned twenty-eight times in Matthew, four times in Luke. Kingsbury suggests that Luke used the monetary units that were consistent with life in his community.²

Other scholars claim that the Lukan community had more rich people than poor.³ They feel that Luke's socio-economic gospel is aimed more toward the rich and reputed. Luke emphasizes the good news for the poor, but he also speaks about the rich in detail. Even without delving into Acts, a book that can be seen as the continuation of Luke's Gospel, we find the rich mentioned many times in Luke. Luke 8.3 tells us that rich women of high standing were the economic supporters of Jesus' movement. The Lukan community included people who deserved high seats at tables (14.10). Also, the first guests to be invited in the parable of the great dinner were the rich (14.15-24). The parable of the rich fool (12.16-21), the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (16.19-31), and the story of Zacchaeus (19.1-10) all feature rich people.

Therefore, it is probable that the Lukan community was composed of both rich and poor. The economic gap within the community gave rise to socio-economic conflicts (Acts 6.1-6), and Luke appears to have striven to settle the conflicts. His solution is consolation for the poor (6.20-23) and criticism for the rich (6.24-26)-criticism that urged repentance. This repentance reveals itself when one shares his riches; when one does not lead a life of sharing, an eschatological warning is given. Luke's concern and effort about this may be seen throughout his Gospel. But of special importance is the introductory part of Luke's Gospel where events before Jesus' public ministry are told, as it provides essential clues about Luke's interests.

Concerns about the poor in the introduction of the gospel

The Magnificat (1.46-55) is a great song of liberation and shows that, at the very outset, the life of Jesus begins with the love of the poor-one of the key themes of the Gospel that follows. This eschatological song is precious to oppressed people for its vision of their concrete freedom from systemic injustice. It shows that the lowly and the hungry (1.52-53) are the foremost concern of the 'magnified' God (cf.Hoppe).

Also, in the birth of Jesus (2.8-20), the ones who came to the manger and praised the Lord were not wise men from the East (Mt 1.1-12) but rather poor and humble shepherds. Only Luke reports that Jesus was born in a stable because there were no room in the inn. Of course, all the Gospels describe Jesus as the friend of tax collectors and sinners and say that he was condemned by the pious Jews for that reason. But the Gospel of Luke pays special attention to the poor and the excluded.⁴

The proclamation of John the Baptist (3.7-14) was on the subject of repentance. The Gospel of Matthew also briefly mentions his message, but the message as told by Luke gives very detailed and practical advice (v.11: 'Whoever who has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise'). The preferential treatment and concern for the poor consistently appears, from the conception and the birth of Jesus to the message of John the Baptist who prepared the way for him.

The nature of Jesus' ministry: jubilee movement

After the introduction, Luke reports Jesus' first official sermon, the proclamation of jubilee in a synagogue at Nazareth (4.16-21). In contrast to other Gospels that briefly touch on Jesus' first proclamation (Mk 1.15, Mt 4.17), Luke reports this sermon in an exceptionally long and detailed fashion, and further introduces it as the proclamation of jubilee. This signifies that, to Luke, this proclamation and the realization of jubilee were the core of Jesus' movement. It is widely known that Jesus cited Isaiah 61.1-2 and 58.6 in his speech, and that those Isaiah passages applied the jubilee law of Leviticus 25 over the vast range of actual life. 'The poor' in Jesus' citation of Isaiah is an inclusive word that embraces the excluded class as a whole. He brought the good news of jubilee where people in captivity start anew with release, where blind people start anew with recovered sight, and where oppressed people start anew with freedom.⁵

The word (which means liberty, release, and jubilee) makes even clearer that the core theme of the Gospel is the proclamation of jubilee. This very important concept appears at the beginning and at the end of the Gospel. As a soteriological term, it means the forgiveness of sins (1.77, 3.3).⁶ In addition, Jesus commissions his mission to the disciples with this word (24.47). With this use of the word, we find that the year of the Lord's favour, jubilee, is the key term in Luke's understanding of salvation and mission.⁷

Originally, the jubilee law states that ultimately the only true owner of ahuzza, which means basic human property such as land, house, and body, is Yahweh. In other words, even if ahuzza-which, in principle, should not be traded-has been alienated or lost, all ahuzza must be returned to the original owner automatically and freely, even to the point of forgiving a debt by poverty, when the year of jubilee comes. But this returning of ahuzza is definitely not in defense of either destructive communism or laziness. For if a lazy person were to sell his ahuzza he would be losing any guarantee that he will regain his basic property until the jubilee, for about 49 years, which is practically one's life span. To return the ahuzza is ultimately to protect basic individual property, and to guard against unlimited accumulation, thus preventing the emergence of class differences with the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few individuals (cf. Kim).

The jubilee law is given to those who would grant freedom to the poor rather than those who would enjoy the freedom and liberation. The jubilee is the day when everybody returns to the starting point, and restarts their lives and history under the same condition and qualification. It is a race where failures are not counted and errors are not punished. The jubilee is where a new start becomes possible by the grace of God. It means a new start from the captive life to the free life. And it means the rehabilitation of human relationships.

The jubilee is also a movement for the integrity of creation. It enables the land to begin afresh. In the jubilee year there shall be a complete rest for the land. No one should sow or prune the vineyard; one ought to eat only what the field itself produces (Lev 25.4-5,11-12). The land needs to be set free from ceaseless cultivation. Through the proclamation of release for land, the jubilee restores the relationship between people and land. It is a chance for nature to rest and start anew.

The critically important fact is that Jesus not only cited passages from Isaiah but also said, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' (4.21) He declared that the jubilee had begun and demanded that people take part in the movement. The proclamation of the jubilee disclosed the purpose and characteristics of Jesus' ministry (cf. Marshall). The substance of the jubilee proclaimed was more concretely developed in the teachings of Jesus.

Socio-economic teaching in parables

The jubilee proclamation of Jesus is an eschatological admonition as well as a critical demand to the rich for repentance and sharing. It is a source of solace and deliverance to the poor, and it enables both parties to make a new start. Let us now closely examine how the proclamation is developed in parables. We will take three examples which reveal Luke's socio-economic concerns: the parable of the good Samaritan; the parable of the rich fool; and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

(1) The parable of the good Samaritan (10.30-37) is given as an example and an elaboration of the love commandment (10.25-28) which appears just before the parable. The conclusion of the parable is an admonition: 'Go and do likewise.' (10.37) Every Christian should be a practitioner of love like the Samaritan. Luke instructs his readers to give alms (11.41), but such charity is not simple giving a portion of what one has. To Luke, charity is the active love of sharing what one has to the extent that the poor person is able to start again. 'Love' is neither a word nor a theory, but a concrete action shown through proper use and sacrifice of one's goods. As he takes care of the wounded man, the good Samaritan makes good use of his possessions (olive oil, wine, and two denarii-as it cost only one-twelfth of a denarius for an overnight stay, the wounded man could rest for an extended period of time. (cf. Jeremias)

In light of this, the parable shows that it bears the rich in mind, and that love is not a word but an act of sharing-economic activity. Through the sharing, the Samaritan enabled the fallen to stand up and start again. A member of the most ungodly people has become a model for faith and piety, more so than a priest or a Levite. One of the excluded turns into the model of sharing and the leading part of the ministry of a new start.

(2) The parable of the rich fool (12.16-21) does not pose the question, 'God or Mammon?', but makes 'accumulation' the issue. It focuses on the foolishness and faults of the rich person who already owns more than enough to satisfy his greed. Luke added 12.13-15 that are not in the original parable, and turned it into a more socio-economic parable. In this parable, the rich man does not appear to have gained profits by unjust means. The parable does not say that he acted dishonestly. Jesus criticizes him for accumulating the profits and wealth only for himself. In other words, the rich fool's fault was that he believed his property belonged exclusively to him ('all my grain and my goods' 12.18) and was not rich toward God (12.21)

What does 'not rich toward God' mean? To learn the answer to this question, we must compare other similar passages in Luke's Gospel. Very akin to it is the phrase 'treasure in heaven.' (12.33, 18.22) It is notable that the phrases are used together with the recommendation to sell and distribute the wealth. Those who are not rich toward God are those who do not know to share their possessions with poor neighbours; they fail to have treasure in heaven (cf. Jeng).

(3) The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (16.19-31) begins with a detailed description of the rich man's extravagant and luxurious lifestyle. With such a detailed depiction, Luke is targeting a certain lifestyle for criticism and is emphasizing the striking contrast between the rich and the poor (cf. Marshall). The parable, from the beginning, has the wide gap between the rich and the poor as its major concern and theme.

The parable makes no mention of the moral state of the two characters. Nowhere does it say that the rich man was evil and poor Lazarus was good, or that the rich was an impious unbeliever while Lazarus was a devout believer. The rich man's failure lies in the fact that he did not properly use his wealth for the poor. The haves' surplus property is meant to be shared with the have-nots.

There is one thing more to keep in mind: give, but without any expectation to receive, for there will be compensation in the end. This compensation in the end is also what the parable is trying to say. Luke has already mentioned the eschatological compensation (6.27-38). This becomes clearer when compared with the Gospel of Matthew. While Matthew urges us to love our enemies so that we may be children of God (Mat. 5.38-48), Luke concludes the passage on loving enemies by saying that we will be rewarded in the end (6.35,38). Thus, Luke says, 'Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again' (6.30) and 'do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.' (6.35) This is the mercy that Luke means. We are called upon to be merciful, just as God is merciful (6.36), not to be perfect, as our heavenly God is perfect (Mt 5.48)

These three parables emphasize that property is not for possession or accumulation, but for distribution and sharing. Luke also tells a story of a sharing which took place in reality: the story of Zacchaeus.

The practice of sharing

In the story, Zacchaeus is the model for repentance (19.1-10). He was a chief tax collector and was rich. As one may deduce from the expression 'tax collector and sinner,' tax collectors were treated in same manner as sinners. But this story tells that Zacchaeus, a rich sinner, repents his sin. His repentance is revealed concretely as he shares his possessions. Repentance is not something vague; it is an active practice of sharing one's possessions with neighbours, right here, right now.

Right after meeting with Jesus, Zacchaeus promises to give 'half of his possessions' to the poor although the rabbis teach that donating one-fifth is sufficient. Also, he declares that he will pay fourfold to anyone whom he has deceived: this was the penalty imposed on robbers or thieves (Ex 22.1). Normally, if a tax collector wrongfully confiscated anything, he was obliged to pay back double the value of goods. Further, if no complaint had been filed within a year, replacement of equal value was sufficient. If force had been used, a threefold restitution was required.⁸ But Zacchaeus determines to distribute his wealth far beyond what the law requires.

When Zacchaeus declares his determination, Jesus says to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house.' This word is a concept that was introduced in the narrative of Jesus' birth (1.69,71,77), and it is not found anywhere else in the Gospel of Luke.

In the end, the story of Zacchaeus is presenting the way to salvation for both the rich and the poor. That way is concern for the poor and unconditional sharing with them. It is the way of concrete practice here and now. For those who are determined to follow Jesus, it is also the demanded way. Distribution of wealth is only possible through the repentance of the rich. The story of Zacchaeus shows that the active practice of one who wants to lead a new life through repentance is the life of sharing.

Discipleship demanding abandonment of possessions

Jesus, according to Luke, radically commands his disciples to resign all property. Compared to other Gospels, Luke puts a different emphasis when writing about Jesus' calling of disciples. Other Gospels report that the disciples simply left behind fishing nets (Mk 1.18, Mt 4.20) and boats and parents (Mk 1.20, Mt 4.22) to follow Jesus. Luke says that the disciples abandoned everything and left (5.1-11,27-28). Jesus counts voluntarily giving up all possessions as a prerequisite to discipleship (14.33).

In the dialogue between Jesus and a rich ruler (18.18-23), Jesus points out again that the voluntary abandonment of possessions is essential. Matthew (Mt 19.16-22) and Mark (Mk 10.17-22) simply say that a man came to Jesus; Luke specifically describes him as a rich ruler, revealing again his socio- economic interests. By using the phrase 'all that he owns' (18.22), not 'what he owns' (Mk 10.21) or 'his possessions' (Mt 19.21), Luke emphasizes again the radical and absolute resignation of property as the condition of discipleship. The rich ruler could not be a disciple, for he had too much and could not meet Jesus' demand. This is in contrast with Peter who left his home to follow Jesus (18.28). Jesus, therefore, says, 'how hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God; indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.' (18.24-25) This emphasis on property abandonment contains a criticism and warning for the rich people of the time. It may also have been an indirect criticism against rich Christians.

Conclusion

The Brazilian government is trying to exploit the rain forest in the Amazon and build industrial complexes and highways in its place for industrialization. As a result, the Amazonian rain forest is being seriously destroyed. The consequences affect, not only Brazil, but the whole world. But the problem is that Brazil does not have the technology and the capital needed to utilize the natural resources effectively and to minimize the destruction. If the Amazon development is left solely in Brazil's hands, resources will be wasted and the natural environment will be sacrificed. In order to solve this and similar dilemmas, the western first-world nations, which have already enjoyed material luxury at the expense of natural resources and the environment, must offer their technology and capital to many developing countries around the world, instead of blaming Brazilians and others for their 'carelessness' or 'shortsightedness'. The whole of humanity will prosper in proportion to the quantity of technology and capital offered. However, a question remains: will the western world really strive for the prosperity of the whole humanity at the expense of its own competitive edge and prosperity?

It is true that until now the church has failed to bring economic issues into the essence of faith. But Christians are those who are saved and liberated by Jesus Christ's proclamation and embodiment of the jubilee. They must live under the jubilee law. The jubilee is not proclaimed simply in a specific area, such as Korea where people long for the reunification of the two Koreas, North and South. As can be seen in the example of Brazil, the twenty-first century will be a world of bold economic competition, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and the church must newly develop the jubilee movement. This will not be an easy task as the rich people of today with enough to share are already deeply imbued with econo-centrism. Now the church must seriously consider economic issues as the core of Christian life. Through social analysis and revolutionary repentance, the church must seek and suggest ways of redemption for both the rich and the poor.

Luke understood the gospel as the good news of the jubilee, Jesus' ministry as the jubilee movement. All who follow Jesus are required to take part in this jubilee. The jubilee proclaims consolation and salvation to the poor, and the proclamation makes a new start possible. To rich people, it is at the same time criticism and eschatological warning. Repentance is required of them, and the fruit of repentance is sharing. Without this sharing one will face eschatological judgment, while eschatological reward will await those who lead the life of sharing. 'Wealth' is not for possession and accumulation, but for sharing and distribution. Through this sharing and distribution, Luke tried to settle socio-economic conflicts within the community, solve concrete problems, and achieve the balance of possessions. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus declares and embodies the jubilee movement. He requires us to continue the movement in his footsteps.

Prof. Dr Sang Chang of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea is the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and teaches New Testament in Ewha Women's University, Seoul, and is moderator of the Department of Cooperation and Witness in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Notes