In his book, Who is Jesus Christ for us today?, James Cone Ph.D., answers this question by considering the dynamic interplay between social context, Scripture, and tradition from a black perspective.
By “social context,” Cone refers to the encounter of Jesus Christ in our ordinary everyday existence. It is the experience of Christ in the social world of injustice and oppression: a world of top-dog and underdog. It is the experience of Jesus in the midst of the absurdities of life that motivates one to explore the Christological question, “Who is Jesus Christ for us today?
Cone cautions against assuming, however, that the meaning of Christ derives from or depends on our social context. He insists that the Scriptures must also be incorporated into our total understanding of the truth of Jesus Christ. He feels this is vital because it provides us with reliable data about the Jesus Christ that we encounter in our social existence.
Tradition, Cone declares, is “the bridge that connects the Scriptures with our contemporary situation.” He views the black religious tradition as representative of the Black Church’s affirmation of humanity, as well as the affirmation of its faith at various points in history. He believes this provides the Black Church today with a deeper understanding of the truth of Jesus Christ.
So, according to Cone, the social context, Scripture, and tradition form the theological presuppositions upon which an inquiry into the meaning of Christ must begin.
Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Cone poignantly points out that “Jesus is who he was.” The historical Jesus was the truly human Jesus who was also Jewish. Your humanity and your identity as a Jew are relevant and important to the affirmation of the faith. Cone emphasizes that Jesus was not so much a “universal” man, but a “particular” man; one particular Jew who came to fulfill God’s will to liberate the oppressed. Blacks could relate to the historical human Jesus because he stood as a symbol of human suffering and rejection. Jesus was also unaccepted and rejected by men; Jesus was also beaten and condemned, mistreated and misunderstood; Jesus also suffered from an unjust social system where the “little ones” were oppressed. Blacks identified with the historical Christ because they believed that he shared their misery and struggles. Without the humanity of the historical Jesus, Cone argues that “we have no basis to claim that his coming gives us the courage and wisdom to fight injustice and oppression.”
Second, Cone suggests that “Jesus is who he is.” What he seems to be saying is that who Jesus is today is intrinsically related to who he was yesterday. His past existence affirms His present reality that is experienced with ordinary life. Thus, blacks believed, not only because of the validity and authenticity of the historical Christ, but also because of their actual experience of the Christ in their everyday social existence. Christ in the present helped and strengthened them in their struggle for liberation in an oppressive society. The experience of Christ in the present enabled them to continue fighting for justice even when the odds were against them. His vision of a just social order was inseparable from his faith in the liberating presence of God in Jesus Christ.
Third, the meaning of Christ deepens when Cone suggests that “Jesus is who he will be.” He is “not only the crucified and risen Lord, but also the Lord of the future who comes again to fully consummate the deliverance that is already happening in our present.” The black hope, which arose from an encounter with Christ in the fight for freedom, is the hope that Jesus will return and establish divine justice. The eschatological hope found in the black faith was not an opiate, but was born out of the struggle in your current reality.
Finally, Cone states that “Jesus is black.” It does not refer to a color, but to a state or experience of unity. It draws an analogy between the historical Judaism of Christ and the present blackness. Cone seems to at least hint that just as Jews were chosen for divine deliverance in history, blacks are also chosen for deliverance through Jesus in the present to be fully realized in the future.
The blackness of Jesus to the Cone is literal and symbolic. In the literal sense, Christ becomes one with oppressed Negroes. He assumes his suffering and pain. Symbolically, it represents the black experience.
This book is enlightening and educational because it sheds a bright light on the subjectivity of black theology.