Articles
Jesus' Counterintuitive Teaching - 3
We continue to examine various statements of Jesus that are “counterintuitive”; i.e., they don’t seem to make sense according to the general observations of life. These articles should remind us that assumptions about God can be dangerous because God’s nature/standards differ from our own. Our responsibility is to become acquainted with God through what He has revealed of Himself and then pattern our thinking after His.
5. “And it was told Him … ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.’ But He answered … ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Lk 8:20-21). How would we expect Jesus to respond according to our sensibilities? It would be entirely normal if Jesus, having been informed of His family’s desire to speak with Him, said to the crowds: “Hold on, everyone; my family has come to see me. Let’s take a ten-minute break and we’ll resume our discussion after I visit with my mother.” But this is not His response. What is He getting at?
First, it may be that Jesus is emphasizing the priority of spiritual relationships over physical family. He does this in other places (cf. Mt 10:34-37; Lk 14:25-26).
But there seems to be more going on than this. Mark gives another disturbing account preceding this which may bear upon it: “When His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind’” (Mk 3:21). After this, Mark relates the further account of His family standing outside wishing to speak with Him (3:31-35). This dovetails with the observations of Jesus’ opponents that He “has Beelzebub” and “by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons” (Mk 3:22; cf. Mt 12:24). It seems that Jesus’ own family have bought into, or at least are contributing to, the narrative that Jesus is insane or possessed by demons.
Echoing the very subject of these articles – “counterintuitive teaching” – Hendriksen makes the following observation on why some had concluded that Jesus was unstable: “They may have thought: ‘At times the Master acts so strangely; for example, at an earlier occasion, when everybody in Capernaum wanted him to return to that town, he said, “Let us go elsewhere, to the next towns.” Also, he is constantly opposing “the establishment,” consisting of scribes and Pharisees. That is not what is generally done by those who aspire to leadership. He pronounces pardon as if he were God himself! Yet, on the other hand, he is on close terms with … of all people, sinners and tax collectors. Horrors! Moreover, his teaching, too, is unusual’ … Because of such teaching – and this by a carpenter! – were not the people of Nazareth going to take offense at him?” (Commentary on Mark 133).
We have become so accustomed to Jesus’ teaching that we might gloss over the highly controversial and seemingly disconnected things that He said. Jesus’ teaching upheld the Law of Moses, was often at odds with Jewish oral tradition, was out of step with contemporary morals, was counter to human nature, was iconoclastic and revolutionary. He was not crazy, but it is not so difficult to see how a spiritually dulled culture might think He was.
Therefore, when Jesus responds to His family’s request to speak with Him, His rebuff makes more sense. What role Mary played in this is not expressly stated; perhaps she accompanied her other sons to ensure that they would not be unduly harsh toward Jesus. We should not conclude, however, that she was in any doubt as to His divine nature.
The bottom line is that Jesus commends those who “hear the word of God and do it”; they are the ones that Jesus considers His true family. While genetic family ties are important, we cannot give them precedence above our spiritual relationship with and obligations toward Jesus.
6. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:41-42). Continuing with the theme of family, Jesus makes the observation above in reference to a dispute between Martha and her sister, Mary. These sisters, along with their brother Lazarus, are described as dear friends of Jesus (Jn 11:5). On this occasion Jesus is a guest in their home, and a meal is being prepared for Him (Lk 10:38-39). Mary takes advantage of this opportunity: she “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.”
Martha thus complains to Jesus: “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me” (10:40). Remember, this is the time before gas ranges and Kitchen Aid mixers. It seems perfectly reasonable that Martha would appeal to Jesus, the one who had Mary’s attention and the one she respected, to intercede on her behalf. We might expect Jesus to say to Mary, “You need to be in the kitchen helping your sister; she is bearing the whole load of preparing this meal for Me. We’ll talk afterward.” We will dovetail further comments on this with the next sibling rivalry …
7. “‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses’” (Lk 12:13-15). The details of this dispute are not given. All we know is that the man appealing to Jesus feels wronged. We might expect Jesus, as one concerned with justice and harmony, to step in and offer a decision on the matter, but this does not happen. Instead, Jesus, who knows the innermost thoughts of all, turns the appeal into a warning against greed.
It seems that both Martha and the complaining brother are unaware of their misguided priorities: Martha is too focused on social protocol, and the plaintiff is consumed with his brother’s mistreatment. No doubt Martha could have used a little help in the kitchen, and maybe the brother has been defrauded, but in both cases the opportunity to learn from Jesus has been overlooked. Thus, at the end of the parable God says to the rich landowner, “‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (12:20-21). Sometimes the road to hell is paved with subtle distractions.
