Let us examine how Jesus must have appeared to the Jewish people. Jesus was an uneducated young man who grew up in the poor and lowly home of a carpenter.
This unknown young man suddenly appeared and called himself the “Lord of the Sabbath” while apparently defiling the Sabbath, which pious Jews kept with utmost reverence (Matt. 12:1-8). Jesus thus gained the reputation of one who wanted to abolish the Law, which for the Jews was the basis of salvation (Matt. 5:17).
Therefore, the leaders of the Jewish community persecuted Jesus. Jesus was compelled to gather disciples from among simple fishermen and to befriend tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, with whom he would eat and drink (Matt. 11:19).
Even worse from the standpoint of the Jewish leaders, Jesus asserted that the tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of them (Matt. 21:31). On one occasion, a prostitute came to Jesus, weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears, wipe them with her hair, kiss them, and anoint them with a flask of precious ointment (Luke 7:37-38).
To accept such ministrations from a prostitute would be unseemly even in modern society; it was surely scandalous in Jewish society, with its austere ethical code wherein an adulterous woman would have been stoned to death.
Yet Jesus not only approved of her lavish attendance; he even praised her and chastised his disciples when they rebuked the woman (Luke 7:44-50). Moreover, Jesus seemed to place himself on an equal footing with God (John 14:9) and asserted that no one could enter God’s Kingdom except through him (John 14:6). He insisted that people should love him more than they love their own parents, brothers and sisters, spouses or children (Matt. 10:37), (Luke 14:26).
Thus, to many, Jesus’ words and deeds appeared blasphemous. Hence, it is not surprising that the Jewish leadership rebuked and mocked him, accusing him of being one possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Matt. 12:24). |