“Jesus & Co”

“Jesus & Co” = Jesus and Community.

Why not say–Jesus and disciples?

Immediately in our year with Jesus, we are confronted with a fact that is implied by the Gospel accounts and is true-to-life. Jesus was part of a larger regional community.

Church conversations most commonly refer to “Jesus and his disciples.” This makes sense, because it is in this social context where most of Jesus’ teaching and healing activity was done.

Travel to a feast, however, would include the community from Capernaum and its surroundings. Regarding one Feast-travel-community during Jesus’ youth, Luke refers to it as a “caravan” and describes the people in the community as Joseph’s and Mary’s “relatives” and “friends/acquaintances” (Lk 2:44).

We also encounter relatives and friends surrounding Jesus during his last journey to Jerusalem such as the mother of James and John, (we would safely assume) their father Zebedee (Mt 20:20), Mary Magdelene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and others (Mt 27:56).

While these folks would also qualify as disciples, it is clear that larger family groups were traveling to the Feast. It is important to understand at the outset that the economy of Israel had its own schedules and activities in which Jesus participated rather than led.

Like the people in our lives, there was a web of relationships around Jesus. Certainly, there were loyal disciples as the Gospels relate, but Feast-travel was one context where Jesus was part of a larger community, thus, “Jesus & Co.”