In Jesus, the incapatible exist in harmony. He is a rebel, who also follows the Father's will perfectly. He is a King whose name is above every name, and who welcomes little children. In our existence, you are either stately and regal OR you make little children feel welcome. We are either rebels or we serve God with impeccable honor. But not both.
I agree Yeshua was a Sabbath breaker and therefore broke one of the laws found in Torah for a Jew, but he did not break Torah when he did so and I think this is one of the conclusions we are to reach. He did not break Torah as he kept a higher priority law found in Torah when keeping both of them were in conflict. So I think it is true that Yeshua deliberately did this in order to teach the Pharisees (and us) how to better interpret Scripture. In this particular case, I think his process endorses use of medicinal aids in healing (and not just "faith healing").
"I don't know how you can read this text without coming to the conclusion that Jesus intentionally picks this fight."
I see this over and over in the Gospels. Not so much that Jesus sets out to pick a fight, or that he forgives and restores people just so he can have an occasion to pick a fight. But whenever he sees the religious authorities or their lay followers raise doctrinaire objections to his real-life blessing of people, he turns this into a "teachable moment." He deliberately calls attention to the fact that he is putting the sacredness of human well-being above the "words on the page" version of the Law.
This reminds me tangentially of something that just came up in my Quaker Meeting's Bible study group as we began reading Acts. At table in 1: 4-8 , the post-crucifixion Jesus is telling his disciples to await the immanent baptism of the Holy Spirit. As is so often the case, the disciples change the subject to their literalistic messianic expectations: that Jesus is the foretold one who will restore the worldly kingdom of Israel (thereby completing what the Maccabees and others had tried and failed to accomplish).
But Jesus stops them. (I can almost see him slapping his own forehead in frustration.) "No, no. Listen to me. Forget about that. I'm telling you that YOU yourselves are going to be given the Spirit's power to restore human beings to the sacred kingdom of God which has already existed since beginning. But you will have to do it step by step, person by person, from here to the ends of the earth and the end of time."
Most of us don't want to hear this sort of message from Jesus. We'd rather HE fix everything for us himself. And we'd rather he do it "in accordance with the scripture"--by which we mean according what we've been taught is "right doctrine" and "right practice." Please, Jesus, don't tell us that it's all on US to bring about the kingdom--even if the so-called Spirit is enabling us each to do our tiny part of that work.
Jesus’s nature, which is the Father’s nature, is the nature He planted in us. To challenge rigid practices with the question of “Why?” is a sign of the nature of God in us & it’s apparent since we start asking that question from the moment we can speak. Form should never overshadow function. Jesus always brought the function, or the why, to the forefront. The law was for the people not the people for the law. The law of His love for us is fixed in place but is completely relational & personal, just like certain household rules get applied to one child more than another yet they are underpinned by our love for our kids.
I’m a big fan of regular church attendance except when that becomes the centerpiece of my walk. We are to love God & love others. Many times people are hurting & hungry for the love of God…even on Sunday’s or Wednesday nights. Jesus went out of His way, to Samaria, to meet the woman at the well. He probably missed the banquet that was being organized in His name so that He could save her.
I highly recommend John Eldredge’s book “Beautiful Outlaw” to understand more about the Outlaw nature of Jesus.
In Jesus, the incapatible exist in harmony. He is a rebel, who also follows the Father's will perfectly. He is a King whose name is above every name, and who welcomes little children. In our existence, you are either stately and regal OR you make little children feel welcome. We are either rebels or we serve God with impeccable honor. But not both.
I agree Yeshua was a Sabbath breaker and therefore broke one of the laws found in Torah for a Jew, but he did not break Torah when he did so and I think this is one of the conclusions we are to reach. He did not break Torah as he kept a higher priority law found in Torah when keeping both of them were in conflict. So I think it is true that Yeshua deliberately did this in order to teach the Pharisees (and us) how to better interpret Scripture. In this particular case, I think his process endorses use of medicinal aids in healing (and not just "faith healing").
"I don't know how you can read this text without coming to the conclusion that Jesus intentionally picks this fight."
I see this over and over in the Gospels. Not so much that Jesus sets out to pick a fight, or that he forgives and restores people just so he can have an occasion to pick a fight. But whenever he sees the religious authorities or their lay followers raise doctrinaire objections to his real-life blessing of people, he turns this into a "teachable moment." He deliberately calls attention to the fact that he is putting the sacredness of human well-being above the "words on the page" version of the Law.
This reminds me tangentially of something that just came up in my Quaker Meeting's Bible study group as we began reading Acts. At table in 1: 4-8 , the post-crucifixion Jesus is telling his disciples to await the immanent baptism of the Holy Spirit. As is so often the case, the disciples change the subject to their literalistic messianic expectations: that Jesus is the foretold one who will restore the worldly kingdom of Israel (thereby completing what the Maccabees and others had tried and failed to accomplish).
But Jesus stops them. (I can almost see him slapping his own forehead in frustration.) "No, no. Listen to me. Forget about that. I'm telling you that YOU yourselves are going to be given the Spirit's power to restore human beings to the sacred kingdom of God which has already existed since beginning. But you will have to do it step by step, person by person, from here to the ends of the earth and the end of time."
Most of us don't want to hear this sort of message from Jesus. We'd rather HE fix everything for us himself. And we'd rather he do it "in accordance with the scripture"--by which we mean according what we've been taught is "right doctrine" and "right practice." Please, Jesus, don't tell us that it's all on US to bring about the kingdom--even if the so-called Spirit is enabling us each to do our tiny part of that work.
Jesus’s nature, which is the Father’s nature, is the nature He planted in us. To challenge rigid practices with the question of “Why?” is a sign of the nature of God in us & it’s apparent since we start asking that question from the moment we can speak. Form should never overshadow function. Jesus always brought the function, or the why, to the forefront. The law was for the people not the people for the law. The law of His love for us is fixed in place but is completely relational & personal, just like certain household rules get applied to one child more than another yet they are underpinned by our love for our kids.
I’m a big fan of regular church attendance except when that becomes the centerpiece of my walk. We are to love God & love others. Many times people are hurting & hungry for the love of God…even on Sunday’s or Wednesday nights. Jesus went out of His way, to Samaria, to meet the woman at the well. He probably missed the banquet that was being organized in His name so that He could save her.
I highly recommend John Eldredge’s book “Beautiful Outlaw” to understand more about the Outlaw nature of Jesus.