The reason why the Pharisees
conspire against Jesus, how to destroy him is because he healed a man with a
withered arm on the Sabbath, and though at first glance it might seem that this
is an overreaction on the part of the Pharisees, when looked at in the broader context
of the Kingdom of heaven which Jesus represents and the Kingdom of Satan which
is represented by the Jewish leaders and which continues to oppose the Kingdom
of heaven, then it is easier to understand the reaction of the Pharisees. The
response of Jesus to this conspiracy is to withdraw from that place. However,
it is to be noted that Jesus does not withdraw to run away or from fear, but to
continue the work of healing and making whole. In this withdrawal is strength
and not weakness and it explicates the response of God (Jesus) to human
violence and plotting of destruction. Even in his making people whole,
Jesus does not want to be known or acclaimed and so commands those whom he has
healed to remain silent about their healing and not to make him known. This
attitude of Jesus leads to the quotation from Isaiah 42,1-4 which is the
longest scriptural quotation in the Gospel of Matthew. It is about the
suffering servant of Yahweh whose primary mission is to accept those who have
been rejected by others as is shown in his not breaking the bruised reed or
quenching the smouldering wick. Also, he does this without much fanfare, and
yet his ultimate goal is to bring justice to those who place their hope in him.
He will ultimately triumph.
Our response to challenging
situations or to situations that threaten us is sometimes to run away from
fear, and sometimes to use defence mechanisms. Neither of these ways is
advocated by Jesus whose way would be to face the challenges head on.
"making people whole'-mentioned twice by you dear Father, increases our Hope and fills us with confidence in God's goodness.
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Howdy ! Do you have any blogging experience or it is a pure natural talent of yours? Many thanks in advance for your answer.
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