Jesus messes with the Pharisees and their Sabbath
Second Judea visit of Jesus' Ministry (AD 28).
After the Spring of AD 27, Jesus' ministry was primarily done in Capernaum or during a tour of Galilee. Summer, Autumn, and Winter passed before Jesus returned to Judea for a brief visit to Jerusalem for the Passover in April. Three and possibly four incidents occurred during this visit to Judea:
1. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was apparently travelling in company with several Pharisees. Along the way, one or more of Jesus' disciples plucked some grain from a farmer's field, rubbed it between their hands to shed off the chaff, and ate it.
The Pharisees noticed this, and later in the day they challenged Jesus about it, accusing his disciples of working on the Sabbath. Rather than responding directly to their technical definition of working on the Sabbath, Jesus instead messed with them. He cited an historical incident, when David's men (before he was king) ate food that was reserved for priests.
Jesus' implication was that his men deserved the same break that David's men got, because Jesus was a successor in the royal line of David. This would hint that the Pharisees were standing in the presence of the rightful king of Israel. That may have gone over their heads, as the Pharisees are not shown as responding to this royal claim (Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5).
2. In Jerusalem, Jesus found a man just outside the temple (at the Bethesda pools) who had been crippled for 38 years. Even though it was the Sabbath, he healed the man, causing quite a commotion to be stirred up (John 5:1-17). John's Gospel refers to this time as a "feast of the Jews," which most Bible scholars believe to be the spring Passover in April of AD 28. This incensed the Pharisees, who spent some time and energy trying to ferret our who had done this foul deed (John 5:1-15).
3. Rather than admit his guilt (in the Pharisees' view), Jesus defended his authority to heal on the Sabbath, and referred to God as his own Father. These things enraged the Pharisees, and led the Jewish authorities to secretly begin plotting to kill him, although they denied it. (John 5:16-47). Then right after Jesus left Jerusalem he defiantly healed a man with a withered hand, on the Sabbath, and in the synagogue. That didn't enhance his popularity with the Pharisees one single bit (Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11).
4. The incident of the woman caught in adultery is a story strongly attributed to John the Apostle, but John did not include it in his Gospel. Later, another scribe preserved the story by including it in a master copy of John's Gospel. This scribe inserted it as taking place during Jesus' visit to Jerusalem in October of AD 29. But by that date Jesus' freedom of movement was curtailed by threats to arrest him. Also, it seems unlikely that the Pharisees would have asked his advice in this matter while they were actively seeking to kill him (John 7:53-8:11).
It seems more likely that this event occurred during the visit of AD 28, when collegiality between Jesus and the Pharisees was much more possible--a collegiality which is witnessed by Pharisees who invited Jesus to eat at their own house. That their request for Jesus' advice about adultery was a genuine plea for discernment is attested by history, which tells us that Jewish authorities banned the death penalty for adultery in--of all years--AD 30. Coincidence? I think not.
Tune in next week to find out what Jesus did the next year, when he was a wanted criminal.
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