Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” 20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” (NIV)
The Jewish leaders had been plotting to kill Jesus for a year, ever since he healed the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath Day in chapter 5. Now they thought they could easily discredit him by questioning his credentials, “without having studied” (7:15). But Jesus has two accusation to make of the Jewish leaders.
First, he asks the leading question, “Hasn’t Moses given you the law?” The Jews were proud of sitting in “Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2). But Jesus unmasks their plot, which violates the heart of the Ten Commandments: “Why are you trying to kill me?” This was a public accusation of the highest religious authority of the Jews, and the people were aghast. “Who is trying to kill you?” they ask, and some are incredulous enough to add, “You’re possessed!” which here is a light rebuke, like our “You’re crazy!”
But Jesus recalls the miracle at Bethesda, the one that got the Jewish leaders riled up: “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished.” That miracle, done on the Sabbath, drew an accusation that Jesus was “working” on the Sabbath and that the man, who picked up his mat, was also “working” on the Sabbath. And yet, Jesus accuses, “You circumcise a child on the Sabbath.” Their motive in circumcision was to keep the law to its letter, but Jesus’ motivation in healing the man was grace and compassion. It was mercy, in the fullest spirit of mercy.
Jesus has been merciful to us, and he did everything to rescue us. He even put an end to Moses, closing the cover of the law so that we would no longer be slaves to it. Our sins have been covered by Jesus’ blood, but our obedience to the law, to every part of it, was accomplished by Jesus’ life. He lived and died and rose again so that we will live forever.
Something Extra:
Philemon 12
12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you.
As we began to see in the previous verse, Paul did not order Philemon to set his slave Onesimus free. Having befriended and converted the runaway slave, Paul is now lovingly sending him back. Onesimus would now be able to receive the one thing he could never get by staying on the run. He could receive forgiveness.
This is a picture of repentance. Having run into the prison walls of the law, mankind has nowhere to go; nowhere at all. We are convicted, even though we think we are free and running from God. We aren’t free at all. We are trapped. When we become convinced of that, the law has done its work, and the work of the law ends there. It ends with us crushed in our sinfulness and helpless. But then God speaks to us through the gospel, just as spoke to Onesimus through Paul. The gospel changes our hearts, turns us around, and draws us back to God. The gospel puts us on the path that begs God for his mercy, and in the same wonderful moment it offers us that same forgiveness, which is the Good News of the gospel itself.
Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon for forgiveness and to make peace, and the gospel has sent us back to God for forgiveness and to make peace. And even if our life situation doesn’t change, having that forgiveness means the peace of God will be ours forever.
And that’s a hurdle that the very rich and the very powerful in the world seldom overcome: the hurdle to rely completely on God; on someone other than themselves. But that is what God would have us do. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. And I will give you rest.”
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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