Jesus is heading to Jerusalem in these chapters. The Passover is coming shortly and the Pharisees and the experts in the law are becoming more anxious to trap this threat to their position and power. "One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched." (14:1)
"I would have . . ." "You should have . . ." Or "You could have . . ." can be good suggestions for improvement or can be symptoms of being second-guessed. The coaches of the teams that didn't make the playoffs or advance far enough have listened to the experts tell the world what and how they could have done better. The expert however has a huge advantage. They already know one thing that didn't work.
Living under a microscope is an expression we use today to describe these situations. If you've ever felt like every move you make is criticized, Jesus has been there too. Perhaps we can find some encouragement in His example.
Notice first his host, a prominent Pharisee. Jesus didn't stop associating with his critics. He went to his house, reclined at his table and ate his food. He continued to interact with the Pharisees and experts in the law. He didn't act with pride or concern for his social standing. Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee.
"There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy." (14:2) Jesus was consistent in his actions. Because the Jews were watching him carefully, I suspect the man was planted in front of Jesus. I think, because Jesus acted with compassion for the people consistently, that the Pharisees placed the man with dropsy in front of him as a test.
Lord, grant us the grace to continue working with the relationships that discourage or criticize us. Help us to see people in the ways that you do. Amen.
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Jesus always acted with the utmost wisdom, even under the microscope. His answers and responses to questions designed to trip him up are amazing.
ReplyDeleteYour observation that Jesus still ate with the Pharisees is significant, too. My tendency would be not go anywhere these extreme fault-finders. Not Jesus. Aside from the cross, perhaps one of the greatest evidences of his love is the fact that he regularly accepted the invitations of the Pharisees to dine.