Flirting with the Forbidden: Finding Grace in a World of Temptation by Steven James

Author:Steven James [James, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: REL012120, Bible stories, Temptation
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2012-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

His miracles went on, and he began to sharpen his message, announcing not only the coming of the kingdom of God but claiming to have the power to forgive sins—not just the sins that others committed against him but the sins that people committed against others.

Obviously, this created quite a stir among the religious leaders. “Blasphemy,” they exclaimed. “Only God can forgive sins!”

And they were right. Jesus’s claims were staggering and a little unsettling.

But he backed up his words with his amazing authority over disease and disability and evil spirits. It’s easy to say that you can forgive sins, so he chose to do what’s more difficult in order to prove that he could do what was easy. After all, wasn’t it at least possible that a man who could heal bodies could also restore souls?

However, the upper echelon of the religious community felt threatened by his words and his miracles, and understandably so. They weren’t just shocked that he would make such outrageous claims, they were troubled by what he was able to do.

So despite his popularity, a stain began to spread across his reputation. And when he started going to parties with people who were known to be swindlers, when he began to show disdain for the sacredness of the Sabbath, when he began to compare the religion of his friends and family to cracked and dried wineskins that were about to burst under the weight of his new teachings, things only got worse.

The conflicts sharpened, and then one Sabbath day it all came to a head.

As was his habit, he was teaching in the synagogue, and some of the religious leaders were there—not just to hear him as he poured out some of this “new wine teaching” that he claimed to have, but also to try and find something in his message that contradicted the laws of Moses.

And the wineskins burst open.

A man whose hand had become shriveled by some kind of disease was there and Jesus invited him to stand up in front of everyone, then he said to the teachers in the crowd, “The Sabbath, this holy day that is so special to you. You make laws to protect it, but it was never meant to be protected. It’s there to serve you, not be served by you. What is the Sabbath for? Evil thoughts? Evil plans? Or the healing of souls crushed by the pain of this world?”

No one spoke.

He went on, his words becoming more and more pointed. “Is this a day to give birth to what is new or to cling to what is old? To take lives or to save them?”

Still, no reply. But you could feel the air in the room grow taut.

Then, he told the man with the withered hand to uncurl it, to straighten it out. And for a moment I wondered if Jesus was mocking him.

But as the man obeyed, his hand opened like a flower. He held it high.

Completely healed.

That was the day. Rather than rejoice with the crowd, the leaders took offense at Jesus’s tone and teaching.

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