Confrontation
Notes
Transcript
ME
Why did Jesus have to die?
If you are a Christian, you probably think I am crazy or something. And even if you aren’t and you are just watching for the first or fifth time, you may have heard of the answer.
Jesus had to die so that we would be saved.
And you would be right. But have you thought about it not so much from a theological perspective? Ask it from another perspective. Yes, we know Jesus dying is part of God’s plan for our rescue and redemption. And from a macro standpoint, it is God’s plan for him to be slain. That’s the heavenly perspective. But from an earthly perspective, Jesus’ death isn’t a one moment thing. So what led to his enemies needing to put him to death?
WE
Confrontation is inevitable in life. We all grew up with different upbringings, different values, different expectations. I can see that when I do premarital counseling with couples. On the surface, if you get to the point of wanting to get married, usually you have already worked out some clinks. But as most of us know, there’s still quite a bit you have to work on. Communication, problem solving. What does he mean when he does that? What is she REALLY saying? Why did she not notice this? Why does he think that? And the only way to work that out is confrontation. To bring it out in the open. To hear one another, truly hear one another with empathy. Same thing if you have teenagers. Besides issues of right and wrong, confrontation happens because of different upbringing. We grew up with the rods, now you can be sued if you lay a hand on your kid.
So what led to the confrontation Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees? Was it inevitable they were heading for a collision course with one another?
GOD
We are on our fifth talk in our Jesus in Galilee series as we hover over the first eight chapters in the Gospel of Mark. We have explored the themes of Gospel Announced, Calling Disciples, Forgiveness and Healing in the past four weeks. Today we are talking about confrontation. We often have a picture of Jesus meek and mild, and that is one aspect of him in some of our readings in the gospel. But for there to be confrontation, there must be points of contention which lead to a fall out with the mainstream dominant thinking. Jesus, dare we say, is at times rebellious against the social norms set up by those elites, but never rebellious to the will of his Father. As we will see, his reasons ultimately would create the setting in which all will cross a point of no return. Here’s the main point:
Jesus confronts the world as the son of Man in order to usher in the kingdom of God.
Jesus confronts the world as the son of Man in order to usher in the kingdom of God.
I. Jesus confronts us with His Authority as Lord of Sabbath
I. Jesus confronts us with His Authority as Lord of Sabbath
Mark 2:23–24 (ESV)
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Sabbath, it’s always the sabbath.
Jesus seems to be always up to something on the sabbath. He keeps picking the wrong time to do things. Or is it intentional? Jesus and his opponents have six such sabbath encounters throughout all of the gospel, five of which have to do with healing, and one with this grainfield incident. And the sabbath, for those who don’t know, was instituted by God as a day of rest. It was set on the seventh day, after six days of God’s work of creation. Its roots goes all the way back to Genesis.
Genesis 2:2–3 (ESV)
2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
By making it holy, God had separated this day for all of creation to rest, as He rested. Moses picked up this theme in Exodus when the sabbath was instituted for the Israelites to remember God who brought them out of slavery from Egypt.
15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Lastly, it reflects the unique relationship between Israel and their God:
12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”
In verses 14 and 15, It is the interpretation of what “work” is that is in contention. It is particularly important because working on the Sabbath carries the penalty of death. By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes had created an elaborate system as to what constitutes work, in order not to violate the command. Here’s just a sample of what is known as the forty minus one in the Mishnah, I am not going to read it, except to highlight right at the top under 7:2 B (3):
The generative categories of acts of labor [prohibited on the Sabbath] are forty less one: (1) he who sews, (2) ploughs, (3) reaps
The generative categories of acts of labor [prohibited on the Sabbath] are forty less one: (1) he who sews, (2) ploughs, (3) reaps
We now come back to the story, where the Pharisees took exception to Jesus’ disciples picking grains to eat. For although the law permits gleaning of the field to be left for those who are poor and sojourning in Leviticus 23:22, it nevertheless forbids Sabbath reaping. According to verses such as Exodus 34:21 whe you are in plowing and harvesting time, you are to rest on the Sabbath.
As far as the Pharisees are concerned, Jesus, as the rabbi, has condoned the actions of his disciples by not saying anything. It’s interesting that the Pharisees themselves could have risked also violating the sabbath by walking well into the fields. According to the Pharisees, one way to work is too take too many steps beyond your house. The Pharisees are going out of their way (so to speak) to accuse Jesus. Jesus retorts:
25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
Jesus goes into a story of King David’s escape to site a precedence found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. The story goes that David had lied to the priest about his urgent departure as a secret mission from King Saul (who is actually wanting him dead), and leaving in such haste he did not have any food. The only food available at the temple was the bread of the presence, which is holy bread. This bread can only be eaten by the priest and yet when there was need Ahimelech violated the law in order to provide for David and his men.
Jesus’ point?
27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
In other words, when the sabbath has been turned into a rigid set of rules which no one is able to follow, people can no longer enjoy it but fear it instead. The rules are prohibiting the greater good. But the greater reason still is again Jesus’ unique authority as Lord over the sabbath. This is HIS sabbath. I like how N.T. Wright summarizes this incidence as a sign of the King and his kingdom:
That’s a pretty heavy claim: the implication is that Jesus is the true king, marked out by God (presumably in his baptism) but not yet recognized and enthroned. He therefore has the right, when he and his people are hungry, to by-pass the normal regulations. In other words, this kind of sabbath-breaking, so far from being an act of casual or wanton civil disobedience, is a deliberate sign, like the refusal to fast: a sign that the King is here, that the kingdom is breaking in, that instead of waiting for the old creation to come to its point of rest the new creation is already bursting upon the old world.
So the Pharisees were soundly defeated by the Lord of Sabbath, but it is the next incident which will lead to the path of no return.
II. Jesus confronts the hardness of heart with the choice of restoration
II. Jesus confronts the hardness of heart with the choice of restoration
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
Jesus returns to the synagogue at Capernaum, and a man whose hand is smaller than normal because of nerve damage sits in waiting. Did he come to worship? Were there stares as he came in, as if to say “how dare you, a handicapped person, come into this sacred place?” But they, that is the Pharisees, were watching, and this word watch in Greek means more than watching, but watching for some fault to be made. Clearly, the Pharisees were not pleased with Jesus claiming himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath. How can a common rabbi get away with bailing out his disciples’ law breaking behaviour? Their plan is to accuse him. That’s all in their mind, remember that.
3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
The ESV translation is a bit weak. Jesus doesn’t just say come here, but come here into our midst, as is for everyone to be a witness for the choices that are about to be made. Then, instead of addressing the man, he questions the Pharisees on, you guessed it, the sabbath!
Jesus is now in the questioning seat with the lawfulness of healing, only he ups the ante many fold:
Good or harm.
Save life or kill.
Some of us may wonder: isn’t it a bit of an exaggeration to attribute being crippled to being killed? Harmed, yes, but killed? Aren’t you going a bit too far Jesus? But the point IS the hyperbole, how far does it take for the sabbath to do what it’s supposed to do, to provide healing and restoration, in order to trump the legalism that has taken hold of God’s people, spearheaded by the religious elites? Silence. The pharisees can’t even admit any exceptions. And in one of very few incidence in the gospel Jesus was angry.
5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Not only was he angry because of righteousness, he was grieved at their hardness of heart. That should ring alarm bells everywhere. Hardness or callousness of heart, as in the callouses on your fingers you are supposed to get when you play the guitar long enough so you no longer feel anything. That’s what the Pharisees have trained themselves to become, not to feel a thing. But hardness of heart is also the descriptor for Pharaoh’s disdain for God who through Moses told him to let my people go in Exodus, the same Exodus where God brought his people out of Egypt in Deuteronomy 5:15! In their bent on perfect obedience to the law they have become the oppressor even though they were once oppressed. This also rings alarm bells everywhere if you read the prophets, that the Israelites ulimately went into exile because of their idolatry, neglect for the poor, and exploiting the vulnerable. Has not the interpretation of law became idolatrous, the plight of the poor become secondary to lawfulness, and the system of what is lawful push those who are in need to fend for themselves?
But what is more terrifying is the response of the Phraisees. They did not announce it, but went to the political elites whom they previously viewed as traitors for being pro-Roman occupation. The Herodians were named after King Herod, who himself was not a Jew. This same Herod who killed babies in order to hunt and kill Jesus. Now the Pharisees are conspiring with them to once again try to kill Jesus. Now I don’t know about you, but I am pretty sure that even if the Pharisees believe the sabbath is not for healing or gleaning, it is DEFINITELY not for KILLING, or plotting to kill! The confrontation has come to a boiling point, very early on in the gospel of Mark. A confrontation which would ultimately lead to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of the Son of Man!
YOU
Let’s apply this now to today. This will be a bit harsh so bear with me. Where do you see the church or Christians confronting today? They confront those outside of the faith. But if you read the gospels, Jesus rarely if ever confronts those outside of the faith. He may make passing comments on the political situation like calling Herod “that fox.” Yet, church today is much more well known for confronting the world. Do we call out what’s happening inside the body as much as what’s outside? How can we gain a balance so that we are not known for what we hate, but known more for who we love? We do confront world systems that are oppressive, demonic, unspiritual, such as human trafficking, racism and apartheid, homelessness, authoritarian government, climate change. But not with wagging fingers or likes on facebook but with tangible actions.
Then we are to confront those inside the faith? Well, hold on for a second. That has also gone off the rails. Recently during membership class we looked at our church’s statement of faith, and I explained these are what we all agree on. And even within it, there’s room for interpretation. The statement of faith tells us what we see as the core and non-negotiable. We as a baptist church have distinctives and by our association have a common view on things like ordination and leadership for woman. But we still fellowship with one another if you don’t hold to that view. If you practice speaking in tongues, you are welcomed, because there’s no prohibition. I muse that the only place we would have a problem is if you believe the trinity is Father, Son, and you. But like the Pharisees, who added unneccesary rules to God’s law, there is the temptation to put too much emphasis on the secondary issues as if they are as important as the basic Statement of Faith. The whole point is some of us have gotten into a lot of the American debates on faith that are seeping into our Canadian context, because our churches are so much influenced by some of their star-powererd pastors and theologians. But it is important to remember that what they say isn’t infallible. The debates create division on peripheral issues rather than unity on core issues. If you read some of the twitter and facebook banter, it can get downright nasty and dare I say pharasaic. Don’t play that game! The world will not benefit from our witness of how much we hate one another. We can disagree lovingly, but never in a condescending and hateful manner. Perhaps this is one thing we shouldn’t import from our neighbours down south!
So the confrontation we should allow is the one that penetrates our own heart, to ask two simple questions:
Does this do good?
Does this give life?
If it doesn’t, no matter how justified we think it is, how biblical it sounds, it is the sabbath legalism all over again. Something Jesus willingly confronted with his authority as the son on Man, and died for as the Messianic King for humankind.
WE
Why did Jesus have to die?
Because the holy son of God confronts us of the sin that is within all of us and the systems and societies they create. It demands the choice of submitting in allegiance to his kingdom.