In Matthew's Steps: A Disturbing Jesus!

The First Steps: Read: Matthew 12
Focus Verse: “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8

Meditation: Jesus... Pushing Our Buttons!

They say you should never talk about religion and politics in polite company and they may be right. But that’s not all. It’s not just religion or politics that get people upset. In my years of being a pastor I have found hundreds upon hundreds of things that, once mentioned, get people in a tizzy. Call these “hot button issues” and there are more of them than you may think.

Money, for instance, can make people nervous, especially when you speak about it at church. Though we know we need it to survive, people can get uncomfortable if more than one sermon focuses on this hot button topic. Once or twice might be fine, and around the stewardship season we expect it, but mention money too much and you’ll wind up having none of it!

Social justice issues can have a similar effect. No one can agree how to help the homeless down by the river or the transient that passes through town. Excuses for their behavior range from mental illness to laziness and all points in between. Even hunger issues have their dissenters. In fact, there are very few causes that everyone can get behind. There will always be conflict, even when it comes to loving your neighbor.

In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus begins by hitting on one of his people’s “hot button issues.” Although the Sabbath might not be an issue for us, at Jesus’ time it was! Hundreds upon hundreds of laws were written for people, detailing what they could and could not do on the Sabbath. And each and every one of these “sub-laws” were open to interpretation themselves. The purists would say you couldn’t even walk out your front door on the Sabbath or that you had to take only a few steps wherever you went. Sub-laws governed everything from how you prepared your food to how you cared for your fields to everything in between.

So when Jesus starts interpreting the Sabbath, people got uncomfortable. And when he ran around doing things on the day of rest, people got upset. And when he announced his own authority over the day’s activities, people wanted to kill him. This action becomes the catalyst for the rest of the chapter which focuses, not so much on what Jesus does, but on others’ reaction to what Jesus does and Jesus’ own reaction to those reactions.

See for yourself...
Jesus talks of the Sabbath and...
“...the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.”
Jesus heals a demon-possessed man and...
“...[the Pharisees] said, ‘It is only bv Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Here we have the reactions of others. And what of Jesus reaction to that reaction?

The Pharisees say: “Teacher we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
And Jesus says: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!”
Someone says: “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, waiting to speak to you...”
And Jesus points to his disciples and says: “Here are my mother and my brothers.”

All because of this hot-button issue Jesus was willing to push. All because he dared go and speak about what others were unwilling to. All because Jesus was willing to have people hate and despise him for speaking the truth.

Ironically Jesus goes there even today. Jesus pushes our buttons more than anyone ever can to the point that either you have to deal with what he says or ignore him entirely. Scared of speaking about money? Jesus says: “...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mat. 6:21), “You cannot serve both God and Money.”(Mat. 6:24), and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”:(Mat. 19:24). Pretty clear where his loyalties lie. Are you uncomfortable about speaking about the poor and the hungry? Jesus will say: “Whatever you did not do to the least of these you did not do to me.”(Mat. 25:45).

At times, Jesus does nothing but offend us! He is constantly pushing our buttons and challenging us to live a new and different life in him. He wants to be first in our lives. More than the money we have in our pockets. More than our own comfort and security. More than even our own parents and siblings, spouses and children. Jesus wants to be first! “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”(Matt. 12:30).

Are you willing to be uncomfortable in Christ? Are you willing to have Jesus push your hot-button issues and challenge you to live in ways that you haven’t thought about before? Or are you going to side against him, choosing to scatter instead of gathering with him? Are you willing to have your life and everything you know and believe turned completely on its head?


Questions to Ponder...
1) What are your “hot button issues”? What issues get you uncomfortable in polite conversation?

2) What does Jesus’ reaction to this criticism do to the situation? Should we follow a similar path in speaking with those who disagree with us? What is Jesus pushing them toward?

3) How has God challenged YOU in YOUR life? What preconceptions have you had to discard because of your understanding of Christ’s teaching?

A Prayer to Pray...
Almighty God, your Son comes into the world and pushes all of our buttons, challenging us to live a new life in him. Give us the courage and strength to follow wherever he may take us. Forgive us for when we stumble and support us in your grace, in your most holy name we pray. Amen.