A storm on the sabbath

[Journey with Jesus – Day 8]

Over a year had passed since I met with Jesus in the middle of the night. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about that encounter and wonder if I’d made a dreadful mistake. Should I have left my life behind, forgotten about my status and position on the council and followed him, embraced the new life in the Spirit that he invited me to? It was too late. I let him walk away. He went back up north to Galilee, where reports reached us of extraordinary healings and other miracles that he had performed – the chief priest had spies on the look out for him after his visit to Jerusalem that had caused such a stir, when he drove out the traders from the temple courts. They wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t cause too much trouble. While others were shaking their heads at the reports and outwardly I was doing the same, inwardly I longed to see him again – even from a distance. But I wondered whether he would return. Surely it would be too risky – he would know of the hostility with which he was viewed by some of the powerful people in the city. I hoped he would stay away.

Then, one sabbath I was in the temple courts, on my way from attending the morning sacrifice, when I heard a commotion – a number of the Sadduces were surrounding a man who was carrying a bedmat. He looked bemused and was shaking his head. Intrigued, I joined the crowd to overhear the conversation.

“I don’t know who it was who made me well,” the man was saying, “All I know was that he told me to pick up my mat and walk, and I did – I’ve not been able to do that for years.”

My ears pricked up at this. There was only one man I knew who could do such a thing. I kept quiet, though, because I didn’t want Jesus to get into any trouble. The other men were clearly not satisfied, but the man seemed to be telling the truth, so they let him go. They were muttering about how terrible it was that this healing had taken place on the sabbath and wondering who it was that could do such a thing, when the man approached them again. He came up and said breathlessly, “I know who it was,” and then he pointed to a man a few metres away – “It was him – that man over there. He was the one who made me well.”

I recognised him instantly, as did the others. “It’s the Nazarene,” they said, and en masse moved towards him, disregarding the man who had been healed. I followed at a distance.

“Jesus of Nazareth,” he looked up in acknowledgement, “Is it true?”

“Is what true?” he replied.

“That you made the man well?”

“Yes, you have said so.”

“Well, have you any idea what day it is – it’s the sabbath! It is forbidden to work on the sabbath.”

“But my Father works – he sustains this world and everyone on it. he never stops working – even on the Sabbath. Neither do I.”

Well, that really set them off. You could see the anger on their faces. Not only was Jesus breaking the sabbath rules, but he was calling God his own Father. We all knew that by saying this he was making himself equal with God. “How can you say such a thing,” one of the leaders shouted, “This is blasphemy!”

Jesus, for his part, remained perfectly calm. “Ok, I need you to listen to me. The Son doesn’t set his own agenda. The Son only does what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be amazed. For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. And you know what, there’s more. You judge me for this sabbath breach, and do so on God’s behalf, but the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that the Son will be honoured equally with the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father, because the Father chose to put the Son in that place of honour.”

A stony silence had fallen on the people who had confronted Jesus, so Jesus continued speaking. “It’s vital that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

“I’m telling you the truth: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment.”

At this there was a gasp of horror from those listening – you could tell they were working out how to respond, but Jesus didn’t give them that chance. “You look shocked at what I’m saying, but don’t be. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear the voice of God. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment.

“You think I’m striking out on my own course, but I can do nothing on my own. I listen to God’s voice, then I decide what to do. You can trust my decision because I’m not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. I seek to do the will of him who sent me. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you sent messengers out to John, didn’t you? He gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn’t he?

“But I’m not trying to win your approval or to appeal to mere human testimony. I’m speaking to you like this so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John’s witness. It’s the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.”

“You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the the point altogether, because these Scriptures are all about me! But you won’t come to me, in order to receive life, even though I’m standing right before you.

“I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

“But don’t think I’m going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won’t take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?”

By that time, the leaders had had enough – they shouted Jesus down and insisted that he stopped speaking, warning him of the consequences were he to carry on. I myself was reeling. To speak in such strong terms of our most powerful leaders was incredibly risky – I was willing Jesus to stop before the leaders got their act together and had him arrested – I knew that some of them wanted rid of Jesus altogether, and would stop at nothing to have him silenced for good. Jesus, for his part, had felt he had said enough. He gazed around at the people surrounding him – saw me on the edge of the crowd and acknowledged me with a half smile, and put his hands up in a gesture of conciliation. “Shalom, friends, may God’s blessings be on you.” and he left the scene, melted away in the crowd. Those left began to mutter, no doubt to plot how they could respond. I slipped away to find a quiet corner to process all he had said. In my heart I knew he spoke the truth. Despite the astonishing claim he made, I believed he spoke truth – he carried the authority of God himself. I believed in my heart that he was the source of eternal life, and I so desperately wanted to take the step to the world of the living. I just didn’t know how. How could I possibly follow this man? I saw no solution. Once more Jesus had left and I didn’t know how and where I would ever see him again. I just knew that my heart was restless and wouldn’t find its rest until I had found my peace with him.