Have You Not Read

“Most Christians go on professing that God is beautiful while trying to ignore the biblical depictions of God that are ugly. Whether we do it consciously or not, we subject the Old Testament to a ‘textual cleansing’ in order to create ‘an acceptable Bible lite’ for ourselves.”

- Greg Boyd

Jesus critics said he did not follow the Law of Moses, he was a Sabbath breaker and broke with the sacred traditions of Holy Scripture. If one does not recognize who Jesus is or where he came from, these conclusions from the religious leaders were understandable. Jesus was continually pushing the limits of healing on holy non-work days and pushing the boundaries of orthodoxy by his actions of casting out demons and healing people in strange ways never before witnessed within the scriptures.

          Jesus did all kinds of miracles and deliverances that had not biblical precedent in the Hebrew Bible. When God is doing a new thing, it’s new. Progressive revelation not only begins a new start but even contradicts at times old precedents that are no longer to be followed. Can’t you hear the critics of Jesus, he turned water into wine. My Bible says, ‘Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler, whoever is led astray by them is not wise (Proverbs 20:1)

          Jesus says all kinds of counter-intuitive things like to be his follower, you had to hate your parents. Are you kidding? My Bible and Moses says honor them. And nothing could be more offensive than telling kosher Jews to eat Jesus body and drink his blood (John 6:56). No wonder many people and even some of Jesus own disciples walked away from him at times. It is easy to use the Bible as a weapon against even Jesus if one is not careful. We need to be gently reminded at times that when some things are not found in the Bible, they are extra-biblical rather than necessarily unbiblical.

          I can not tell how many times conventional wisdom often trumps either what Jesus said or is read into the Bible like a foreign invader that is not actually following faithfully the teachings of God’s Word. I have heard things like if it is strange or weird or bizarre, it can’t be from God. Where in the Bible does it list this principle as a truth of Scripture? There are all kinds of things in the Bible that do not pass this test. What about Isaiah walking naked barefoot for three years in the desert as a sign against Egypt and Cush? (Isaiah 20:3). Or who wants to follow the prophet Hosea example and marry a prostitute? (Hos.1:2). What about Elisha’s dead bones actually raising somebody from the dead? (2 Kings 13:21). Our problem today is some of us would rather be biblically right than following Christ. We would rather be biblical than Christ-like.  

          But it was common for Jesus to challenge his listeners when their practices did not reflect the heart of God by the repeated phrase, “Have you not read?” Matthew 12:1-8 is another confrontation between Jesus healing on the Sabbath where the religious leaders are rightfully telling Jesus he is doing work which is nullifying God’s word. Jesus selectively chooses an obscure situation when David was on the run from King Saul where he ate some consecrated bread that was reserved for only the priests (1 Sam.21:1-6). David not only went against the Mosaic Law in this dire situation but Jesus basically overturns Moses here by saying “God desires mercy and not sacrifice” and Jesus himself was actually Lord over the Sabbath. People are more important to God than rules. Jesus authority is not only over the Sabbath, it’s over the Bible.