Luke 6:20-26
Other than that Luke seems to be writing a Reader’s Digest version of Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount”, there is one stark difference with Luke’s “Sermon on the Level Place”: Luke’s version of Jesus’ blessings or Beatitudes comes as combination blessings and woes in parallel form. Jesus presents in direct contrast what it means to be both blessed and in grave danger.
There is the sense in Luke that there is no neutral stance with God, no gear between forward and reverse. There is no “blessed” state and everything else. There is only “blessed” and “in trouble.”
Whereas Jesus says in Matthew blessed are the “poor in spirit,” in Luke he says, “blessed are you who are poor.” What do we do with this? Does he mean poor “in spirit?” Could be. But then what do we do with “woe to you who are rich”? If the poor and rich are parallel, does rich now also mean “in spirit”? And if so, how can it be that it is wrong to be rich in spirit? Isn’t that the meaning of “blessed” – to be rich in spirit?
It all starts to break down. We find ourselves having to explain a lot when it comes to the meaning of Jesus’ words. And the more we explain the more we wonder what he really meant.
One thing the “woes” do for the blessings is to keep us from merely spiritualizing them. Spiritualizing can be a form of dismissal. “He means that in the spiritual sense” translates into “doesn’t relate to reality” and finally to “isn’t important.”
Go down the list with each of the blessings and woes and you start to get the feeling that you cannot so easily dismiss these blessings by spiritualizing them. So then try to take them materially and you still get messed up. If we believe that Jesus speaks with consistency throughout all of his teachings, then somehow each individual teaching, including this passage, has to fit with the rest of his teachings.
Like Karl Marx, Jesus embraces the poor. Unlike Marx, Jesus does not call for class struggle. For Jesus knows that class struggle only leads to victims and abusers switching places, not to eradicating abuse. So then do we dismiss the material application and revert to the spiritual?
If we are to do anything with what Jesus is saying in this complicated passage, we cannot take his words lightly or readily deposit them in some “easy” category. No, Jesus intends for his listeners (that is, his disciples) to wrestle and wrestle hard with what he is saying.
What he is laying out here for his disciples is a whole new world order, a totally new way of thinking and doing things. And as his listeners, we must be grapple with what he is saying even if it feels uncomfortable or offends our sensibilities. This one thing is sure: everything as we understood it is now inside out. The poor, the hungry, those in mourning, the misfits are blessed, and the rich, the well-fed, the laughing, and the well-thought-of are in trouble.
How easy it is to move on, to avoid chewing on these verses for an extended season. But we find little comfort in what comes after unless we have chewed the essential out of these blessings and woes. We cannot begin to understand what it means to love our enemies or be generous with the faults of others unless and until we learn what it means to be truly blessed of God.
So before we move on, let’s take some time to come to grips with what Jesus really means by “blessed are you who are poor” and “woe to you who are rich.”
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Sermon on the Level Place
Luke 6:17-20
In Matthew 5-7, Jesus gives a lengthy discourse which has come to be famously known as “The Sermon on the Mount.” Luke presents a parallel picture in Luke 6:20-49, with two glaring exceptions:
One, Matthew has Jesus going up on a mountainside (thus the title we all use) and sitting down, whereas Luke has Jesus going down to a level place (thus my title for this posting) and standing. Two and more significantly, Luke’s version is much shorter.
What is going on here? Is this a case of one or both of the gospel writers being inaccurate? A couple of options present themselves.
First, it could be a simple matter of interpretation. Matthew was there and he pictures for us how Jesus was up on a mountainside and he gives us all the details, including every last utterance that day. Luke, who probably got his information from Paul who got his from a mix of Peter, John Mark and others, notes that Jesus spends the night on the mountain, then connects with his disciples up there, and finally descends to a lower part of the mountain, finds a level place to accommodate a lot more people and starts talking, still on the mountain. At times he sits and at times he stands. Luke provides us a shortened version of what Jesus says.
Second, it could be that we have two different events and that Jesus says very similar things at both events. I don’t doubt that Jesus shared his ideas and stories over and over again. Either one of these options is highly plausible. Either way, there is no big deal.
So Jesus descends to a more level place on the mountain, which happens to be somewhere in Galilee. Luke notes that a large crowd of his disciples are there along with a great host of people from all over, including Jerusalem and Judea to the south and Tyre and Sidon to the north. Pick up on this. He has lots more disciples than the Twelve and even more than the crowd out of which he picked the Twelve that morning.
Word travels like a prairie fire in a drought that Jesus has chosen a handful of his disciples as special envoys. This is a significant move for Jesus who has led his following without any structure up till then. They get the sense (correctly) that Jesus is about to make some very significant statements.
Meanwhile, word is getting around about Jesus – how he heals the sick and drives out evil spirits. Other preachers do this too. But there’s something different about Jesus, especially the way he stands up to the religious authorities. All Jews felt oppressed by the Romans. But the masses of the poor among the Jews also felt oppressed by the religious leaders who lorded it over them with their Scriptural overtones much as American slave-masters had the Scriptures about obedience beat into their African slaves. So they flocked by the droves from everywhere to this man who was standing up to such oppressive leadership – and getting away with it.
They are deeply attracted to him, even trying to touch him for, Luke the doctor writes, “power was coming from him and healing them all.” It is an amazing day.
At first, Jesus ministers to everyone. Then he focuses his attention on his disciples, not necessarily just the Twelve, but certainly on those who self-identify as his followers, and he begins to teach them.
What he had to say to them has since been interpreted by Dispensationalists and others as for a future utopian age called the Millennium. Jesus’ words continue to be dismissed as irrelevant for today as they were by the religious leaders back then – not just by modern skeptics and unbelievers, but by Believers who, while taking the Bible’s apocalyptic writings literally, spiritualize the words of Jesus, afraid of what might happen if people were to truly take him seriously for the here and now. Jesus speaks words of truth, clearly intended for the present day, for those who heard back then and for those like us who hear now. As he concludes, “Blessed are those who hear and put these words into practice.”
In Matthew 5-7, Jesus gives a lengthy discourse which has come to be famously known as “The Sermon on the Mount.” Luke presents a parallel picture in Luke 6:20-49, with two glaring exceptions:
One, Matthew has Jesus going up on a mountainside (thus the title we all use) and sitting down, whereas Luke has Jesus going down to a level place (thus my title for this posting) and standing. Two and more significantly, Luke’s version is much shorter.
What is going on here? Is this a case of one or both of the gospel writers being inaccurate? A couple of options present themselves.
First, it could be a simple matter of interpretation. Matthew was there and he pictures for us how Jesus was up on a mountainside and he gives us all the details, including every last utterance that day. Luke, who probably got his information from Paul who got his from a mix of Peter, John Mark and others, notes that Jesus spends the night on the mountain, then connects with his disciples up there, and finally descends to a lower part of the mountain, finds a level place to accommodate a lot more people and starts talking, still on the mountain. At times he sits and at times he stands. Luke provides us a shortened version of what Jesus says.
Second, it could be that we have two different events and that Jesus says very similar things at both events. I don’t doubt that Jesus shared his ideas and stories over and over again. Either one of these options is highly plausible. Either way, there is no big deal.
So Jesus descends to a more level place on the mountain, which happens to be somewhere in Galilee. Luke notes that a large crowd of his disciples are there along with a great host of people from all over, including Jerusalem and Judea to the south and Tyre and Sidon to the north. Pick up on this. He has lots more disciples than the Twelve and even more than the crowd out of which he picked the Twelve that morning.
Word travels like a prairie fire in a drought that Jesus has chosen a handful of his disciples as special envoys. This is a significant move for Jesus who has led his following without any structure up till then. They get the sense (correctly) that Jesus is about to make some very significant statements.
Meanwhile, word is getting around about Jesus – how he heals the sick and drives out evil spirits. Other preachers do this too. But there’s something different about Jesus, especially the way he stands up to the religious authorities. All Jews felt oppressed by the Romans. But the masses of the poor among the Jews also felt oppressed by the religious leaders who lorded it over them with their Scriptural overtones much as American slave-masters had the Scriptures about obedience beat into their African slaves. So they flocked by the droves from everywhere to this man who was standing up to such oppressive leadership – and getting away with it.
They are deeply attracted to him, even trying to touch him for, Luke the doctor writes, “power was coming from him and healing them all.” It is an amazing day.
At first, Jesus ministers to everyone. Then he focuses his attention on his disciples, not necessarily just the Twelve, but certainly on those who self-identify as his followers, and he begins to teach them.
What he had to say to them has since been interpreted by Dispensationalists and others as for a future utopian age called the Millennium. Jesus’ words continue to be dismissed as irrelevant for today as they were by the religious leaders back then – not just by modern skeptics and unbelievers, but by Believers who, while taking the Bible’s apocalyptic writings literally, spiritualize the words of Jesus, afraid of what might happen if people were to truly take him seriously for the here and now. Jesus speaks words of truth, clearly intended for the present day, for those who heard back then and for those like us who hear now. As he concludes, “Blessed are those who hear and put these words into practice.”
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Significance of the Twelve
Luke 6:13-16
Morning dawns. Jesus has been out all night. Praying. He calls to his followers. It could have been a drawn out affair, hunting them down in nearby villages. More likely, they are hunkered down asleep in the surrounding open country, oblivious that Jesus has been up all night, aware only that they are following this rabbi wherever he chooses to wander. Word spreads quickly when Jesus returns to where they are sleeping and the disciples quickly rouse themselves, pushing away the groggy affects of the night’s slumber.
Jesus calls them, his disciples, these followers who have been drawn to him since his public ministry began. He calls them to come to him, to gather around. And gather they do. Not just the Twelve we usually think of as his disciples, but an unknown number of people. He calls them all, every one, to himself and from among this larger group chooses twelve, designating them as “Sent Ones” or envoys. Apostles.
It is a two-fold calling Jesus gives. One, to come be with him and, two, to be sent out by him. Not sequential, but simultaneous. Just as Jesus himself has done – sent out by the Father to earth while at the same time remaining in constant contact with the Father. All followers of Jesus have this two-fold calling. For each one the “sent out” looks different. For everyone, the “called to be with Jesus” is the same.
The Twelve have no idea on this particular day what their “sent out” will look like, other than perhaps that in some way they will represent Jesus. For that matter, they won’t fully know until it is all over and life has ended. At present all they know to do is take it one step at a time. Well, they also have a title, a title which eventually goes to their heads. Doesn’t it always. Jesus will tone them down a bit on that, help them understand that the only bragging rights, if you can call them that, are that they have been called to be with him.
It is an insignificant group, this Twelve that Jesus singles out. We know the rest of the story, so we read into this verse everything we know about Peter and John and … Judas. Iscariot, that is. There is another Judas in the Twelve, distinguished from the infamous traitor only as the son of a certain James. What is striking about this Judas is that he is not. Striking, that is. He is as much an unknown to us as James son of one Alpheus and Simon – not the superstar, Peter, but a zealot, meaning this Simon is a radical.
These and a couple of others, like Bartholomew, never show up in the Scriptures other than as the Twelve. In the canon, they have no speaking parts. Tradition tells us they eventually go on to the “uttermost parts” and become martyrs. But so do so many other people who never get the super-designation of “The Twelve.”
Jesus doesn’t call these twelve because they have already achieved a measure of earthly significance. The occupation best represented is “fisherman.” Otherwise there is a tax collector, a political agitator, and some shadows in the crowds of the day.
Nor does Jesus call them because they will achieve a higher degree of significance than all the rest of his disciples. We know some of Peter’s story. We certainly know Judas’. John and Matthew go on to write significant portions of our New Testament. James becomes the first martyr. All but John, tradition tells us, become martyrs. But that could be said of a host of other early disciples of Jesus.
These are “called outs,” not stand outs. The most important feature about these Twelve is that Jesus calls them. Any significance they have is wrapped up in their relationship with Jesus. And ten thousand years from now it won’t really matter what anyone other than Jesus thinks of them or what they did or did not accomplish on this earth. As the old hymn concludes, “I am his and he is mine.” That is the best that can be said of any follower of Jesus.
Morning dawns. Jesus has been out all night. Praying. He calls to his followers. It could have been a drawn out affair, hunting them down in nearby villages. More likely, they are hunkered down asleep in the surrounding open country, oblivious that Jesus has been up all night, aware only that they are following this rabbi wherever he chooses to wander. Word spreads quickly when Jesus returns to where they are sleeping and the disciples quickly rouse themselves, pushing away the groggy affects of the night’s slumber.
Jesus calls them, his disciples, these followers who have been drawn to him since his public ministry began. He calls them to come to him, to gather around. And gather they do. Not just the Twelve we usually think of as his disciples, but an unknown number of people. He calls them all, every one, to himself and from among this larger group chooses twelve, designating them as “Sent Ones” or envoys. Apostles.
It is a two-fold calling Jesus gives. One, to come be with him and, two, to be sent out by him. Not sequential, but simultaneous. Just as Jesus himself has done – sent out by the Father to earth while at the same time remaining in constant contact with the Father. All followers of Jesus have this two-fold calling. For each one the “sent out” looks different. For everyone, the “called to be with Jesus” is the same.
The Twelve have no idea on this particular day what their “sent out” will look like, other than perhaps that in some way they will represent Jesus. For that matter, they won’t fully know until it is all over and life has ended. At present all they know to do is take it one step at a time. Well, they also have a title, a title which eventually goes to their heads. Doesn’t it always. Jesus will tone them down a bit on that, help them understand that the only bragging rights, if you can call them that, are that they have been called to be with him.
It is an insignificant group, this Twelve that Jesus singles out. We know the rest of the story, so we read into this verse everything we know about Peter and John and … Judas. Iscariot, that is. There is another Judas in the Twelve, distinguished from the infamous traitor only as the son of a certain James. What is striking about this Judas is that he is not. Striking, that is. He is as much an unknown to us as James son of one Alpheus and Simon – not the superstar, Peter, but a zealot, meaning this Simon is a radical.
These and a couple of others, like Bartholomew, never show up in the Scriptures other than as the Twelve. In the canon, they have no speaking parts. Tradition tells us they eventually go on to the “uttermost parts” and become martyrs. But so do so many other people who never get the super-designation of “The Twelve.”
Jesus doesn’t call these twelve because they have already achieved a measure of earthly significance. The occupation best represented is “fisherman.” Otherwise there is a tax collector, a political agitator, and some shadows in the crowds of the day.
Nor does Jesus call them because they will achieve a higher degree of significance than all the rest of his disciples. We know some of Peter’s story. We certainly know Judas’. John and Matthew go on to write significant portions of our New Testament. James becomes the first martyr. All but John, tradition tells us, become martyrs. But that could be said of a host of other early disciples of Jesus.
These are “called outs,” not stand outs. The most important feature about these Twelve is that Jesus calls them. Any significance they have is wrapped up in their relationship with Jesus. And ten thousand years from now it won’t really matter what anyone other than Jesus thinks of them or what they did or did not accomplish on this earth. As the old hymn concludes, “I am his and he is mine.” That is the best that can be said of any follower of Jesus.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Twelve and the Three-in-One
Luke 6:12-13
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
It wasn’t a routine occurrence, these all night vigils, but on occasion, particularly at a time like this one, Jesus would do an all-nighter. Reading through the gospels, you get the impression that Jesus often stole away to be alone with God the Father. I have the feeling he talked with his Father in heaven all the time, stealing away being frequent but certainly not 24/7 as Jesus himself was not called to a monastic life.
On this occasion, Jesus seems to go off to pray, not so much for a designated period of time, but until the purpose of his going off to pray is fulfilled. Up to this point in Luke’s presentation Jesus has been calling various people to follow him. “Disciples of traveling rabbis” was a common notion in that day. Individuals would attach themselves to this or that religious teacher for a time or for a lifetime. John had his disciples, some of whom then became disciples of Jesus. Others did not. In fact, years later the Apostle Paul encountered some of John’s disciples in far off Ephesus.
By this point in the story, Jesus had been gathering quite a following. We know that after the resurrection there were at least 120 and perhaps as many as 500 still claiming to follow Jesus. The numbers tended to go up or down, depending on Jesus’ popularity. But among that larger number of followers, there were those who were committing themselves no matter what might come.
Among these faithful were twelve men, some of them prominent in the New Testament writings and some of them obscure even there. But for whatever reason, Jesus was about to choose these twelve to be a special category of followers Jesus would identify as apostles or “sent ones.” They who were not a cohesive group were soon to become such. Many of those not so designated would continue to follow Jesus, some even joining the ranks of the Seventy-Two. The Twelve, however, would remain intact as a special group until Judas’ self-imposed departure.
Up to this point in Luke’s story, Jesus is establishing his ministry on earth, calling people to follow him, developing a reputation as a teacher and healer, and solidifying his authority as separate from that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Now for the next several chapters, Jesus focuses on his followers, his disciples, and the first act is to set apart the Twelve, something he does only after this long night in prayer.
Does Jesus pray in order to know whom to choose? I think not. The Twelve were likely already quite fixed in his mind. But never was the Twelve a selection dictated by fate. Each of the Twelve always had a choice in the matter. Never was their future with Jesus beyond their own control. Once called they could agree or walk away. Jesus knows this. So he prays for them, perhaps very much along the lines of what we read of Jesus’ prayer for them in John 17.
Jesus also spends extensive time communing with God. It is a difficult thing to get the human mind around, this notion of Jesus and God the Father being one, of being two parts of a trinity with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God, the Scriptures clearly affirm, but however you want to phrase it, there is more to God than just Jesus. And for Jesus, his relationship with the rest of the Godhead is extremely vital.
At this critical juncture in his earthly work, Jesus knows that his highest priority is to spend some undefined time in communion, in conversation with God. Like some sci-fi character who cannot long be disconnected from the Mother Ship, Jesus knows that his earthly mission is entirely and completely dependent upon his connectedness with God in heaven. The more critical the action, the more vital the prayer that must go into it.
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
It wasn’t a routine occurrence, these all night vigils, but on occasion, particularly at a time like this one, Jesus would do an all-nighter. Reading through the gospels, you get the impression that Jesus often stole away to be alone with God the Father. I have the feeling he talked with his Father in heaven all the time, stealing away being frequent but certainly not 24/7 as Jesus himself was not called to a monastic life.
On this occasion, Jesus seems to go off to pray, not so much for a designated period of time, but until the purpose of his going off to pray is fulfilled. Up to this point in Luke’s presentation Jesus has been calling various people to follow him. “Disciples of traveling rabbis” was a common notion in that day. Individuals would attach themselves to this or that religious teacher for a time or for a lifetime. John had his disciples, some of whom then became disciples of Jesus. Others did not. In fact, years later the Apostle Paul encountered some of John’s disciples in far off Ephesus.
By this point in the story, Jesus had been gathering quite a following. We know that after the resurrection there were at least 120 and perhaps as many as 500 still claiming to follow Jesus. The numbers tended to go up or down, depending on Jesus’ popularity. But among that larger number of followers, there were those who were committing themselves no matter what might come.
Among these faithful were twelve men, some of them prominent in the New Testament writings and some of them obscure even there. But for whatever reason, Jesus was about to choose these twelve to be a special category of followers Jesus would identify as apostles or “sent ones.” They who were not a cohesive group were soon to become such. Many of those not so designated would continue to follow Jesus, some even joining the ranks of the Seventy-Two. The Twelve, however, would remain intact as a special group until Judas’ self-imposed departure.
Up to this point in Luke’s story, Jesus is establishing his ministry on earth, calling people to follow him, developing a reputation as a teacher and healer, and solidifying his authority as separate from that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Now for the next several chapters, Jesus focuses on his followers, his disciples, and the first act is to set apart the Twelve, something he does only after this long night in prayer.
Does Jesus pray in order to know whom to choose? I think not. The Twelve were likely already quite fixed in his mind. But never was the Twelve a selection dictated by fate. Each of the Twelve always had a choice in the matter. Never was their future with Jesus beyond their own control. Once called they could agree or walk away. Jesus knows this. So he prays for them, perhaps very much along the lines of what we read of Jesus’ prayer for them in John 17.
Jesus also spends extensive time communing with God. It is a difficult thing to get the human mind around, this notion of Jesus and God the Father being one, of being two parts of a trinity with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God, the Scriptures clearly affirm, but however you want to phrase it, there is more to God than just Jesus. And for Jesus, his relationship with the rest of the Godhead is extremely vital.
At this critical juncture in his earthly work, Jesus knows that his highest priority is to spend some undefined time in communion, in conversation with God. Like some sci-fi character who cannot long be disconnected from the Mother Ship, Jesus knows that his earthly mission is entirely and completely dependent upon his connectedness with God in heaven. The more critical the action, the more vital the prayer that must go into it.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sins of Inaction
Luke 6:6-11
Yet another Sabbath and Jesus is running afoul of the neighborhood watch society. I remember in one neighborhood in China where an elderly woman with the red armband of authority used to keep an eye on her particular area making sure all of us who came and went did not violate any local rule, including walking on the grass or stepping on a crack. I had a neighbor like that in Missouri. Drove me batty at times with the detailed concerns he harped on.
On this particular Sabbath and in this synagogue, the issue is whether Jesus will perform any healings or miracles. The Pharisees and teachers of the law are there to keep an eye on this wandering rabbi. They don’t like him, but they can’t pin him down. So they are just watching for a wrong move on his part. And he has a reputation for breaking Sabbath rules, including healing people.
The Pharisaic Sabbath law stipulated that only in the case of mortal illness was medical help permitted. Present in the meeting is a man with a withered hand, hardly in mortal danger, but a man in need, nonetheless.
Jesus transforms the argument from one of “Is it lawful to heal?” to one in which there is no choice but to act. Either Jesus is going to do good by healing the man or he is going to do evil by neglecting to heal the man.
Sins of negligence are some of the most sinister sins to be found. Reinhold Niebuhr, the author of the serenity prayer, has said that it is much easier to sin corporately than individually. Particularly with sins of negligence, this is true. We will much more likely avoid doing right if in a group than if freed of that peer pressure. Groups, even good ones, tend toward inertia in moral dilemmas.
Jesus is confronting his accusers here, saying there is no way NOT to act on the Sabbath in regards to this man with the withered hand. By not healing the man when he has the ability and authority to do so is to act evilly. So the question is not whether Jesus should do something on the Sabbath, the question is whether he should do good or he should do evil.
Jesus chooses the good. I wonder if the man was brought to the synagogue on purpose just to test Jesus. In any case, Jesus seizes the opportunity knowing what the Pharisees and teachers of the law are thinking. It doesn’t take rocket science to know that. It is written large on their faces and in their body language.
So Jesus tells the man to get up and stand in front of everyone. Let’s do this right out in the open where there are no questions. Jesus is not above doing good in secret, including healing people. But this is a case of challenging authority and Jesus is going to do it where everyone will know.
“Which is lawful to do on the Sabbath,” he asks them, “to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
We’ve already established that the man is not in danger of dying. But a disability like that was a fate worse than death in regards to getting humane treatment or finding a job.
Jesus looks at everyone present and then proceeds to heal the man’s hand. Every eye is glued to the scene, but Jesus also has an eye on everyone when he performs this healing. He is there for everyone present. He is there to win them over.
He certainly solidifies the thinking of his observers. Whatever the healed man or the disciples or the other people present think, the Pharisees and teachers of the law set themselves to doing Jesus in from that day on. They are out for blood.
But Jesus has done more than establish his authority. He has demonstrated that choices in life are between doing good and evil, for doing nothing in the face of evil is evil.
Yet another Sabbath and Jesus is running afoul of the neighborhood watch society. I remember in one neighborhood in China where an elderly woman with the red armband of authority used to keep an eye on her particular area making sure all of us who came and went did not violate any local rule, including walking on the grass or stepping on a crack. I had a neighbor like that in Missouri. Drove me batty at times with the detailed concerns he harped on.
On this particular Sabbath and in this synagogue, the issue is whether Jesus will perform any healings or miracles. The Pharisees and teachers of the law are there to keep an eye on this wandering rabbi. They don’t like him, but they can’t pin him down. So they are just watching for a wrong move on his part. And he has a reputation for breaking Sabbath rules, including healing people.
The Pharisaic Sabbath law stipulated that only in the case of mortal illness was medical help permitted. Present in the meeting is a man with a withered hand, hardly in mortal danger, but a man in need, nonetheless.
Jesus transforms the argument from one of “Is it lawful to heal?” to one in which there is no choice but to act. Either Jesus is going to do good by healing the man or he is going to do evil by neglecting to heal the man.
Sins of negligence are some of the most sinister sins to be found. Reinhold Niebuhr, the author of the serenity prayer, has said that it is much easier to sin corporately than individually. Particularly with sins of negligence, this is true. We will much more likely avoid doing right if in a group than if freed of that peer pressure. Groups, even good ones, tend toward inertia in moral dilemmas.
Jesus is confronting his accusers here, saying there is no way NOT to act on the Sabbath in regards to this man with the withered hand. By not healing the man when he has the ability and authority to do so is to act evilly. So the question is not whether Jesus should do something on the Sabbath, the question is whether he should do good or he should do evil.
Jesus chooses the good. I wonder if the man was brought to the synagogue on purpose just to test Jesus. In any case, Jesus seizes the opportunity knowing what the Pharisees and teachers of the law are thinking. It doesn’t take rocket science to know that. It is written large on their faces and in their body language.
So Jesus tells the man to get up and stand in front of everyone. Let’s do this right out in the open where there are no questions. Jesus is not above doing good in secret, including healing people. But this is a case of challenging authority and Jesus is going to do it where everyone will know.
“Which is lawful to do on the Sabbath,” he asks them, “to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
We’ve already established that the man is not in danger of dying. But a disability like that was a fate worse than death in regards to getting humane treatment or finding a job.
Jesus looks at everyone present and then proceeds to heal the man’s hand. Every eye is glued to the scene, but Jesus also has an eye on everyone when he performs this healing. He is there for everyone present. He is there to win them over.
He certainly solidifies the thinking of his observers. Whatever the healed man or the disciples or the other people present think, the Pharisees and teachers of the law set themselves to doing Jesus in from that day on. They are out for blood.
But Jesus has done more than establish his authority. He has demonstrated that choices in life are between doing good and evil, for doing nothing in the face of evil is evil.
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