The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted (2006) by Obery Hendricks Jr.

In a similar vein to the seminal books Jesus and the Disinherited and God of the Oppressed, The Politics of Jesus places Jesus back into his proper social, political, and economic context so we can better and more accurately understand his message, ministry, and yes, his politics. Hendricks, a professor of religion and African American studies and an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, offers a book that is essential for understanding the roots of Jesus’ political consciousness as well as the political strategies Jesus employed throughout his short public ministry.

The book debunks the false notions that following Christ means being apolitical or that Jesus only cared about spiritual matters. Jesus of Nazareth was truly a political revolutionary, and Hendricks unpacks the profound social and political implications of following him. “To say that Jesus was a political revolutionary is to say that the message he proclaimed not only called for change in individual hearts but also demanded sweeping and comprehensive change in the political, social, and economic structures in his setting in life: colonized Israel,” writes Hendricks, who then applies Jesus’ revolutionary politics to our contemporary society.
— Adam Taylor, president

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