Discerning What the Quest of the Historical Jesus Could Not See

In Jesus and the Disinherited Thurman recognized that the all-important historical context of Jesus was among a people subjugated, similar to that of segregated and colonized peoples. He discerned the cost in human degradation for people subjected by overwhelming power as they struggled with fear, deception, and hate. In the Gospels he discerned Jesus’ uniquely creative response: His assurance that people are ‘children of God’ establishes a ground of personal dignity that leads to a new courage in the face of violence. Key was Jesus’ command to ‘love your enemies’, which Thurman understood broadly, as enabling the disinherited to forgive people who subjugated them. He finds in Jesus a transformative teaching and embodiment of non-violent direct action, which decisively influenced leaders of the civil rights movement. This essay will compare established scholarly interpretations of Jesus’ sayings with Thurman’s insights and explore how subsequent studies can build on them.