Luke 6:6-10 To save or destroy.
Before we talk about this text in detail, let’s make sure that we haven’t lost sight of the forest for the trees. Since the encounter at his hometown, we can see that Jesus is in a growing controversy with the leaders of the day. He still draws a crowd but there are now definitely two growing camps: Jesus enemies and his disciples. These two sabbath stories highlight the reality that his enemies are not passive in their distaste. They are apparently stalking him. He is being followed and already evidence is being gather for their assault on Jesus and his ministry.
In some sense these Sabbath controversies are trivial but they serve two important functions. First we must remember that Sabbath-breaking was one of the important accusations made against Jesus at his trial. Secondly, these Sabbath controversies symbolize everything that the Pharisees missed about what God intended for them as God’s people. This trajectory of God’s message being different than what anyone expected has been a consistent theme in Luke and it is very evident here.
In this text in particular I find myself fascinated by the choice that Jesus presents. “Which is lawful to seek to save a life or destroy one.” This is not an idle choice. There Pharisees were actually there seeking to destroy Jesus. Jesus was there to save. The irony is that they were not breaking the law and Jesus was. Technically it was okay to act to save a life in immediate danger even on the Sabbath. But this man was not in immediate danger. He could have been saved the next day. So by healing, Jesus was breaking the Pharisaical sabbath rules. But the Pharisees who were there stalking him looking for a way to destroy him were not.
I don’t know if we have any traditions like that. But it is worth asking, Do we have any practices in the church that put us in a position where it is okay to do evil but not good. I’ll take your comments. If i think of any I will post mine later.
-Ethan
2 Responses to 'Luke 6:6-10 To save or destroy.'
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on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
“Do we have any practices in the church that put us in a position where it is okay to do evil but not good.” – thought of any yet?
on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Come On. Are you saying that I have to start.
I have one that looms large but I am not ready to blog about it yet.
One smaller one that is hard to articulate. I think that the current climate of focusing on gifts as we think about ministry is really just a falsely theological cover for wanting talented people. There is nothing wrong with wanting talented people but when we put a false theological cover on it, we find ourselves participating in the same devaluing practices of the world that call some people less worthwhile as humans because they bring less to the table. This is most obvious in the field of worship. The untalented but godly worshiper brings a gift that is largely ignored by our churches. We (and I don’t mean Mountain per se, but rather church culture in general) will tolerate a soloist who is musically excellent but struggles with pride a lot longer than one who is humble but struggles with pitch.
This practice isn’t just true in the realm of worship although it is most obvious there, I have done the same thing when recruiting teachers or event organizers. I don’t mean to imply that we don’t want talented people, but let us not pretend that good pitch is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
I’ve got more but I refuse to be alone in this thought experiment so I will shut up for now. If you want to know about my most serious one, anyone is free to ask me offline.
-Ethan