The Upside-Down Kingdom: Anniversary Edition

If you are looking to enroll, or already are a student, in the school of Jesus, then The Upside-Down Kingdom is a must-read. Donald B. Kraybill has renovated his classic text with clarity, conviction, and creativity, reorienting us once again to the call of discipleship and life in the kingdom.—Drew G. I. Hart, author of Trouble I’ve Seen and assistant professor of theology at Messiah College

Few books have shaped my understanding of God’s good news as powerfully as Donald B. Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom, and I couldn’t be more grateful for this new edition. By clearing away the clutter that commonly interferes with our embrace of kingdom living, Kraybill has created space for the twenty-first-century Christian to powerfully encounter Jesus as Lord.—Bruxy Cavey, author of Reunion and teaching pastor at The Meeting House

Donald B. Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom is the classic on kingdom thinking and living. I know of no book that better captures the heart of the kingdom that Jesus inaugurated and that exposes the radical contrast between this kingdom and the modern church. I dare you to read this book. It could very well turn your world upside down!—Gregory A. Boyd, author of Myth of a Christian Nation and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church

For forty years The Upside-Down Kingdom has opened the eyes of students, activists, and pastors to the truth of the kingdom. The reasons for its longevity are obvious: there is simply no other book that so brilliantly combines a biblical scholar’s grasp of the Scriptures, a sociologist’s understanding of culture, and a master teacher’s gift for clarity.—Peter Dula, associate professor of religion and culture at Eastern Mennonite University

Donald B. Kraybill’s paradigm-shifting and paradigm-shaping look at Jesus and his mission is just as relevant today as it was four decades ago. Kraybill helps readers conceptualize God’s kingdom in a way that lights up our moral and religious imagination. What a gift to another generation of Jesus’ followers!—Malinda Elizabeth Berry, assistant professor of theology and ethics at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

I first read The Upside-Down Kingdom as an older student completing my undergraduate degree. Donald B. Kraybill’s book gave me great courage in my vocation of peacebuilding, as well as relational ethics rooted in Jesus’ life and a sense of God’s reconciling presence. I hope ‘upside-down-ness’ will touch generations of leaders to come.—John Paul Lederach, author of Reconcile, professor emeritus at University of Notre Dame, and senior fellow at Humanity United

Here, my friends, is a gospel manifesto—the revolutionary good news of Jesus Christ revealed with astonishing, down-to-earth, transformational beauty. If you only read one book about Jesus and God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, this should be it.

—Sara Wenger Shenk, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

This book fully deserves its attribution as a classic on radical Christian discipleship. The anniversary edition draws on contemporary scholarship but remains readable, challenging, inspirational, and eminently practical.—Stuart Murray, author of The Naked Anabaptist

Since the publication of the 1978 edition of this book, we have learned much more about Jesus’ cultural context in Palestine of the ancient Middle East. Donald B. Kraybill uses these insights to further highlight Jesus’ actions as radially countercultural. He challenges us to translate this upside-down kingdom into our lives today.—Reta Halteman Finger, coauthor of Creating a Scene in Corinth and former editor of Daughters of Sarah

Donald B. Kraybill understands that Anabaptism forces you to have your world turned upside down. A remarkable achievement.

—Stanley Hauerwas, professor emeritus at Duke Divinity School

This profound and accessible book transformed my understanding of the world as a young college student. Trends toward bigness, shininess, and power have only accelerated in the twenty-first century, making The Upside-Down Kingdom more relevant than ever.

—David R. Swartz, author of Moral Minority and associate professor of history at Asbury University

Herald Press

PO Box 866, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22803

www.HeraldPress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kraybill, Donald B., author.

Title: The upside-down kingdom / Donald B. Kraybill.

Description: Anniversary Edition. | Harrisonburg: Herald Press, 2018. |

    Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017039636| ISBN 9781513802497 (pbk.: alk. paper) |

    ISBN 9781513802503 (hardcover: alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Kingdom of God—Biblical teaching. | Jesus Christ—Teachings.

    | Christian life—Mennonite authors.

Classification: LCC BS2417.K5 K73 2018 | DDC 231.7/2—dc23 LC record

available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017039636

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright owners.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture text is quoted, with permission, from the New Revised Standard Version, © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

THE UPSIDE-DOWN KINGDOM: ANNIVERSARY EDITION

© 2018 by Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22803. 800-245-7894.

All rights reserved.

Published 1978. Revised editions 1990, 2003, 2011. Anniversary edition 2018.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017039636

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-5138-0249-7 (paperback);

978-1-5138-0250-3 (hardcover); 978-1-5138-0251-0 (ebook)

Printed in United States of America

Cover and interior design by Merrill Miller

22  21  20  19  18         10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

For those

"who have been turning the world upside down. . .

acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor,

saying that there is

another king, named

Jesus."

—Acts 17:6-7

And for

Helen Brubaker Kraybill,

whose generosity—in the midst

of adversity—was boundless.

Contents

Foreword by Lisa Sharon Harper

Author’s Preface to the Anniversary Edition

1. Down Is Up

2. Mountain Politics

3. Temple Piety

4. Wilderness Bread

5. Free Slaves

6. The Poverty of Riches

7. Right-Side-Up Detours

8. Impious Piety

9. Lovable Enemies

10. Inside Outsiders

11. Low Is High

12. Successful Failures

Discussion Questions

Notes

References

Scripture Index

General Index

The Author

Foreword

We sat around the conference table in our college classroom, brows furrowed, staring at the text and trying to understand.

So Jesus called them and said to them, You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. (Mark 10:42-44)

Our study leader, Brad, drew a triangle with the tip at the top. Brad asked us where leaders usually place themselves. At the top of the triangle, we said; leaders are served by everyone else.

Then Brad inverted the triangle. According to Jesus, Brad explained, in the kingdom of God, leaders are positioned at the bottom. They serve everyone else. If you want to be first, you must be at the very bottom—the slave of all. Brad labeled this inverted triangle The Upside-Down Kingdom.

I don’t know if Brad had read the 1978 edition of The Upside-Down Kingdom. I imagine so. . . or that someone who influenced him had. In any case, that day I caught a glimpse of the upside-down kingdom. I still didn’t understand how oppression worked. I knew there was such a thing as slavery, and I knew my ancestors had been enslaved. But I didn’t yet know how it happened, how it ended, what came next, or how systems and structures impact people groups.

Two decades later I sat in my writing chair, researching Genesis 1 as I prepared to write (Genesis 1:26).

I was stunned. Never before in the history of civilization had a people placed the image of God inside all humanity. The image of God had always been borne by the king or queen alone. Here the writer or writers of Genesis democratized dignity and power.

This is what God’s kind of governance looks like! It recognizes, protects, and cultivates the inherent dignity and call and capacity of all humanity to shape the world!

I wept.

This is on the first page of the entire Bible. . . and I hadn’t seen it before.

Consider the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. Earthly kingdoms craft economic constructs like nobles and surfs, masters and slaves, makers and takers. They craft political constructs like race. The legal racial categories white and black were created by the founding fathers of the United States for one purpose: to define who is called by God and created with the capacity to exercise dominion. This policy denied, erased, and crushed the image of God in millions of human beings. This is what empires do: they wage war on the kingdom of God by destroying God’s image on earth.

The reign of God calls forth the capacity in all people to exercise dominion. The reign of God recognizes, protects, serves, and cultivates through economic policy (gleaning laws, the year of Jubilee, the sabbatical year), through legal policy (the command to govern immigrants as we govern ourselves), through the cultivation of equity and justice (Matthew 25), and through ecclesiastic policy (Galatians 3:27-29).

This anniversary edition of Donald B. Kraybill’s profound vision of the kingdom of God could not have come at a more timely moment. Our world and the church are being ripped apart by human kingdoms. Images of God across the globe are being threatened by empires that focus power and dignity in the bodies of the privileged while leaving the masses to fend for themselves. Every day we must choose the ways of earthly kingdoms or the upside-down kingdom of God.

Let us read again... and choose well.

—Lisa Sharon Harper, author of The Very Good Gospel and founder and president of Freedom Road LLC

Author’s Preface to the

Anniversary Edition

The seed for this book sprouted one summer when I was teaching a weeklong Bible study. On short notice, I was asked to pinch-hit for another teacher and select a topic within two days. Since I had been reading the gospel of Luke at the time, I decided to use that for the five-session class. Midway through Luke’s story, an exasperated student exclaimed, Everything here is so upside down! It was an unshakeable image of God’s kingdom. I am still fascinated by that striking picture, which gave birth to the first edition of this book.

I find myself drawn to Jesus and his upside-down kingdom again and again. His provocative stories keep pointing me to the reign of God. Rereading them for this new edition stirred my spirit once again, in ways only Jesus can. I write as a confessing Christian. A close encounter with the life of Jesus takes us to the heart of Christian faith and the very nature of God. For me, Jesus provides the clearest and the fullest disclosure of God’s will.

It is quite a challenge to shrink a big story into a short book. Earlier editions form the core of this one. I updated some sections on the basis of recent scholarship on Jesus, his social world, and the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). And while I lean heavily on the work of scholars, this remains a book for lay readers. To tell the story in a lively style, I dispense with theological jargon whenever possible or translate it into everyday language.

Amid the changes and updates, my original arguments remain intact: The kingdom of God announced by Jesus appeared odd and utterly upside down in first-century Palestinian culture. And the upside-down surprises of God’s kingdom continue to startle people as it breaks into diverse cultures today.

There are many books on Jesus, each with a different spin on his story. In The Upside-Down Kingdom, I have accented the provocative and perplexing upside-downness of the life and teaching of Jesus. My slant reflects my interests as a sociologist and an Anabaptist Christian.

Consider these questions as you read. First, is this a fair interpretation of the Jesus story? If it is, then what do we do with Jesus and his upside-down kingdom? What does it mean to follow Jesus in daily life in our world? That question of discipleship faces all of us as we ponder his message and example.

Sometimes it’s hard to see Jesus clearly because he comes to us through the dusty filters of twenty-one centuries of church history. Our images of him are also shaped by storybooks, songs, bumper stickers, and theological words we hardly understand. In many ways, we have domesticated Jesus, taming him to fit our culture and time. In retelling the story, I sought to remove some of the filters so we can see him more clearly in his own cultural setting. As we remove the filters, we discover a very different Jesus than the one who came to us in storybooks and songs.

The Jesus we find may startle us. He’s somewhat irreverent, certainly not a sweet shepherd walking beside still waters. He rarely carries any sheep. But he does stir the political waters—he stirs them so much that he dies on the Roman equivalent of the electric chair. Yet this is the Jesus who, according to the Gospels, discloses God’s will and nature for all time.

I write as a white man who has had professional jobs and as a citizen of a superpower nation. In the global context, I am wealthy simply because I live in the United States. The Jesus story will sound quite different to someone who searches for food in dumpsters or without access to health care. It will carry a different meaning for those who are in prison, or being deported, or fleeing the ravages of war, or feeling the pangs of torture for their faith. The Jesus story speaks to all of us regardless of our social location or the burdens we bear—whether wealth or poverty, health or illness, privilege or stigma. Thanks be to God that the gospel story is big enough and packed with ample grace for all of us regardless of our culture or condition.

I have resisted the temptation to offer suggestions for how to live an upside-down life for several reasons. First, issues and events quickly become dated. Second, under the guidance of God’s Spirit, we need to discern what it means to follow an upside-down Jesus in our own context. I have tried to tell the story clearly, and as Jesus did with the parables, to let listeners apply it to their local situation. Third, the kingdom of God will look quite different in diverse cultural settings. The issues for readers in nations that protect religious freedom do not match those who suffer religious persecution under tyrants. Fourth, as a relatively powerful person writing about the upside-down kingdom, I realize that how we follow the way of Jesus and practice its upside-down vision will vary a lot depending on our circumstances.

For all of these reasons I have resisted the lure to spell out simple formulas or specific guidelines applicable to everyone every­where. We hold the responsibility to sort those implications out in our own personal, social, and national context.

Throughout the text I refer to the Old Testament rather than to the Hebrew Bible, even though the latter is more commonly used by some scholars. The books of Moses, the Prophets, and so on, are considered scripture by both Jewish and Christian communities. The two faith traditions, however, interpret and use these same sacred writings quite differently. As a Christian within this two-testament heritage, I use the Old Testament label, but I do it with genuine respect for its central role in both Jewish and Christian faith.

My debts are heavy to many colleagues who have helped to propel this project for some forty years. A wide circle of gracious friends and readers has offered suggestions and generous affirmation over the life of this book. I’m especially indebted to Willard M. Swartley, who first introduced me to synoptic studies, and to Wayne Meeks, who opened the scholarly door for me into the social world of the Gospels. I also owe much to Michael A. King, whose editorial fingerprints from an earlier edition remain on this one. I was enriched by a vigorous discussion one evening with one of the spiritual shelter groups of the Nueva Vida congregation in Norristown, Pennsylvania. A big thank-you as well to Karen Crozier, Dennis R. Edwards, and João M. Monteiro, who offered helpful feedback on one of the chapters.

Finally, I’m ever grateful to Amy Gingerich and Valerie Weaver-Zercher for envisioning this edition and polishing it with editorial grace. I have enjoyed unwavering support and enthusiasm from these editors and others at Herald Press since the birth of this project in the mid-1970s.

Over the years this book has touched the lives of thousands of readers in different languages and countries. Many people from all walks of life have written kind words of appreciation for the transformative power of this book in their lives. I am thankful that the earlier editions have helped to clarify the Jesus story and energize many Christians worldwide. And with God’s grace, I hope this edition does likewise.

—Donald B. Kraybill            

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

1

Down Is Up

John the Baptist uses words from the prophet Isaiah to announce the advent of Jesus. The pictures portray a revolutionary kingdom.

The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

"Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

    and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

(Luke 3:4-6)

Paving the way for Jesus, the Baptist describes four surprises of the coming kingdom: full valleys, flat mountains, straight curves, and level bumps. He expects a radical shake-up. Old ways will crumble beyond recognition. John warns us that the new order, the upside-down kingdom, will transform social patterns, but amid the ferment, everyone will see the salvation of God.

In Mary’s song of exaltation, the Magnificat, she sings her hopes for the new kingdom. Along with the Baptist, she expects the Messiah will inaugurate an upside-down kingdom filled with surprises.

For the Mighty One has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has put down the powerful from their thrones,

    and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and sent the rich away empty.

(Luke 1:49-53, emphasis added. Any italics that appear in Scripture citations throughout this book have been added by the author.)

Five types of people are startled and surprised in Mary’s vision. Those at the top of the social pyramid—the proud, the rich, and the mighty—topple. Stripped of their thrones, they are scattered and sent away empty-handed. Meanwhile, the poor and hungry, at the bottom of the pyramid, take a surprising ride to the top. Mary sings words of hope and judgment: hope for the lowly like her and judgment for those who trample the helpless.

A poor Galilean peasant girl, Mary expected the messianic kingdom to flip her social world upside down. The rich, mighty, and proud in Jerusalem would be banished. Poor farmers and shepherds in rural Galilee would be exalted and honored. For several centuries the Jewish people had been ruled by outsiders—pagan outsiders. Mary’s longing reflected the age-old Jewish yearning for a messiah who would usher in a new kingdom. She spoke for the masses who prayed for the day when the Messiah would expel the pagan invaders and establish the long-awaited kingdom.

An inverted kingdom

The central theme in the ministry and teaching of Jesus is the kingdom of God, or as Matthew calls it, the kingdom of heaven. This key idea ties Jesus’ entire message together. The kingdom of God permeates his ministry, giving it coherence and clarity. It is the undisputed core, the very essence, of his life and teaching.¹

What did Jesus mean when he announced the advent of the kingdom of God? His fellow Jews expected a political kingdom that would protect and preserve the Jewish faith. Over the centuries, scholars, theologians, and churches have developed different views of the kingdom. Debates on what Jesus meant have swirled down through the ages.

In the pages that follow, we’ll explore how the kingdom of God points to an inverted, upside-down way of life that challenges

the prevailing social order. The way of Jesus certainly countered the cultural patterns in Palestinian society, and it still counters the patterns in our world today. We can capture the idea of inversion by thinking of two ladders side by side—one representing the kingdom of God, the other the kingdoms of this world.² An inverted relationship between the ladders means that something highly valued on one ladder ranks near the bottom of the other.

Jesus doesn’t plead for social avoidance or withdrawal from society. Nor does he assume that the kingdom and the world split neatly into separate realms. Kingdom action takes place in the world, in the middle of the societal ballpark. But it’s a different game, with special rules and a new coach. Kingdom values challenge the taken-for-granted social ruts of the dominant society. Rooted in the deep love and abiding grace of God, kingdom people seed new ways of thinking and living.

Besides being upside down, the kingdom speaks with authority today. Not just a dusty idea in an old trash bin, it offers a vision for how we ought to conduct our lives.³ The Gospels don’t provide cookbook solutions for every ethical dilemma. But they do raise the right questions, focus important issues, and show how the Spirit of God can transform our lives.

A relational kingdom

What exactly is the kingdom of God? The term defies definition, because it’s pregnant with a multitude of meanings. This, in fact, is its genius—this power to stimulate our imagination again and again.

In broad strokes, most biblical scholars agree that the kingdom of God refers to the dynamic rule or reign of God. This involves God’s intentions, authority, and ruling power. It doesn’t refer to a territory or a particular place. Nor is it static. It’s in flux—always becoming, spreading, and growing.⁴ The kingdom points us not to the place of God but to God’s ruling activities. It is not a kingdom in heaven, but from heaven—one that thrives here and now. The kingdom appears whenever people submit their lives to God’s will.

The kingdom of God means more than God’s rule in the hearts of people—more than a mystical feeling. The very word kingdom implies a collective order beyond the experience of any one person. A kingdom, in a literal sense, refers to a king’s authority over a group of people. Social policies shape the collective life of a kingdom. Agreements spell out the obligations citizens have to each other as well as to their king. The king’s ruling activity transforms the lives and relationships of his subjects. In the words of one scholar, The kingdom is something people enter, not something that enters them. It is a state of affairs, not a state of mind.⁵

Kingdom living is fundamentally social. It involves membership, citizenship, loyalties, and identity. Citizenship entails relationships, policies, obligations, boundaries, and expectations. These dimensions of kingdom life supersede the whims of individual experience. Kingdom membership clarifies a citizen’s relationship to the king, to other citizens, and to other kingdoms. Living in a kingdom means sharing in its history and helping to shape its future.

A kingdom’s subjects have a collective interdependence based on the policies of their king. The kingdom of God is a network of persons who have yielded their hearts and relationships to the reign of God. It flourishes as God rules in our hearts and our social relations. Kingdom life is more than a series of individualized links between the King and each subject. The reign of God infuses the web of relationships, binding King and citizens together.

Although a kingdom transcends any particular person, individuals do make choices about kingdoms. We embrace or reject them. We serve or mock them. We enter kingdoms and leave them. We pledge our allegiance to them and turn our backs on them.

What does God’s reign look like? What is the shape of the royal policies? How can we translate the lofty idea of God’s reign into daily living? The answers lie in the incarnation. Jesus of Nazareth unveiled the secrets of God—the very nature of God’s kingdom. We begin to grasp the meaning of the kingdom as we study Jesus’ life and teachings, because he was God’s final and definitive Word. God spoke via Jesus in a universal language that everyone—regardless of culture, nation, or race—could understand. God’s intentions were not hidden in vague religious doctrines. With undeniable eloquence and clarity, God spoke through the concrete acts of a person—Jesus of Nazareth.

The kingdom of God threads throughout the fabric of Jesus’ teaching. He announces the arrival of the kingdom at the outset of his ministry. He frequently introduces parables as examples of the kingdom. His famous Sermon on the Mount describes kingdom life. The Lord’s Prayer welcomes the advent of the kingdom. The vocabulary of the kingdom frequents Jesus’ lips. Indeed, the centrality of the kingdom in Jesus’ teaching is one of the things on which scholars agree.

In addition to his words, Jesus’ acts teach us about the kingdom. The Galilean Jew provides the most concrete example—the most visible expression of God’s rule. His words and behavior offer the best clues to solving the riddle of the kingdom. Over the centuries, Christians have used the words of Jesus to shape doctrine, often to the neglect of his actions and ministry. Who he spoke with, what he did, where he walked, and how he handled critics offer clues to the nature of the kingdom. But in the final analysis it isn’t his kingdom, nor is it ours. Always and foremost, Jesus points us to God’s kingdom.

Why upside down?

If Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God, perhaps we should dub it the right-side-up kingdom. If the kingdom portrays God’s blueprint for our lives, then surely it merits a right-side-up tag. Even so, I prefer the upside-down image for several reasons.

1. Social life has vertical dimensions. Society is not flat; it has a rugged topography. In social geography there are mountains, valleys, ruts, and plains. Some people stand on high social peaks, while others mourn in the valleys. The social clout of individuals and groups varies greatly. The chairperson of a committee musters more power than the average committee member. Lawyers swing more prestige and influence than retail clerks. A central and persistent fact of social life is hierarchy—the ranking of people on vertical social ladders. The upside-down image reminds us of this vertical dimension of social life.

2. We forget to ask why things are the way they are. The upside-

down label encourages us to question the way things are. Children quickly learn common cultural values and take them for granted. They learn that cereal is the right breakfast food in North America. Socialization—learning the ways of our culture—shapes the assumptions by which we live. We assume the way things are is the way they ought to be. Eating cereal for breakfast, day after day, makes it seem unquestionably right. We internalize the values and norms paraded on screen and billboard as simply the way life is. If our economic system sets a minimum wage, we accept it as fair and just without a second thought. If someone trespasses on our property, we happily prosecute. After all, that’s what the law provides for. We charge an 8 percent commission on a sales transaction because that’s just the way it is.

The values and norms of our society become so deeply ingrained in our mind that it’s difficult to imagine alternatives. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus presents the kingdom as a new order breaking in upon, and overturning, old ways, old values, old assumptions. If it does anything, the kingdom of God shatters some of our assumptions. As kingdom citizens, we can’t assume that things are right just because "that’s the way