Jesus Went out to the People and Preached (Contd):
Tolerance: We have two instances recorded in the Gospels indicating how we should be tolerant to those who hold a different viewpoint or even those who do not accept us. In the first instance, John the Evangelist could not digest the fact that a man driving out devils in the name of Jesus refused to be in his company. He tried to stop the man from doing it and reported the matter to Jesus. "Jesus said to him, 'Do not stop him, for he who is not against you is on your side' " (Luke, 9: 50). Here is a beautiful ecumenical principle in our relations not only with all Christians, but also with all those who believe in God whatever religion they follow. Mark reports a reason Jesus gave why the man should not be stopped from working a miracle. "Jesus said, 'Do not stop him; no one who does a work of divine power in my name will be able the next moment to speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side' " (Mark, 9: 39-40). This ecumenical principle of interaction is tempered and balanced by the injunction: "He who is not with me is against me, and who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew, 12: 30). Therefore, tolerance does not mean indifference or the mentality of "Laissez-faire" in matters of religion in as far as they involve our relationship to God. The injunction of Jesus, therefore, implies that our dealings and relationships should be imbued with divine values and the same may be verified objectively. Checks and balances are inbuilt into our genuine relationship to God as well as to our fellow human beings. This point has been discussed in one of our previous Posts under the caption "Love of God and Love of Our Neighbor".
In the second instance of tolerance strongly advocated by Jesus, both John and his brother James were involved. Incensed by the refusal of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Jesus who was set to go to Jerusalem in his final journey, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn them up. "But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village" (Luke, 9: 55-56). Some manuscripts add the following:"You do not know"' he said, to what spirit you belong; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them" Here we see how Jesus grapples with the raw human nature, exemplified in the reactions of James and John, and how people are prone to look for power and prestige under the garb of service to God.
Mission of Disciples: Although Jesus knew very well what would happen if power was conferred on the disciples, he wanted to teach its consequences to them by a live demonstration. As an experiment Jesus chose a further 72 disciples, apart from the 12 Apostles, and sent them in pairs to every town and place he was going to visit himself. Their first duty was to pray for more laborers in the field and to go about their duty of announcing the Kingdom like lambs among the wolves. They should not themselves have any provisions. That would be taken care of by the house where they stayed. They were authorized to denounce anyone who does not accept them for which such a person will have to answer on the day of Judgment. "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me" (Luke. 10: 16).
The thirst for power over others inherent in every human heart was to be tamed and trained by Jesus, especially in the case of his 12 Apostles, although the 72 were allowed to express their feelings. They were jubilant that in the name of Jesus even the devils submitted to them. Jesus endorsed their feelings and sounded a note of satisfaction that Satan fell like lightning out of the sky. However, he added two reminders to mellow down their over-enthusiasm by saying: "And now you see that I have given you the power to tread underfoot snakes and scorpions and all the forces of the enemy and nothing will ever harm you. Nevertheless, what you should rejoice over is not that the spirits submit to you, but that your names are enrolled in heaven" (Luke, 19: 20). Therefore, the two things to remember were that the power was given to them by Jesus and that the real reason of joy should not be the power itself but their reward in heaven.
Permanent Power: Jesus was particular that his Apostles should learn lessons from all these experiments. He was gradually training them to conquer themselves in order to have real power in themselves. That would be the real permanent source of power , especially when they received the Holy Spirit, and they did not have to look for temporary manifestations of power occasionally granted. In order to teach them the ways and means to achieve real power Jesus gave them his own body and blood in the Last Supper in view of his death and resurrection. The poor disciples were slow in understanding and therefore to jolt them out of their stupor, Jesus announced that one of them would be his betrayer. Just like any human reaction in a similar situation, the disciples were more eager to know who it was that would betray him than to ponder over the implications of the same. As an indication of how far they wee from the concerns of Jesus, we read that a jealous dispute broke out among them about who would rank highest among them! Then Jesus taught them that the meaning of authority was service and the chief among them should bear himself like the servant of all. Jesus saw how Satan was ready to sift all of them like wheat and he prayed for Simon Peter who had to strengthen his brethren once he comes to himself. Peter protested to Jesus about his allegiance with a strong dose of presumption in his own strength. Jesus had to warn Peter of his denial three times that very night before the cock crowed (See Like, 22: 14-34).
Having directed his disciples through these experiences the night before he died, Jesus wanted to put things in perspective. Thus he asks them about their favorable experiences when they were sent out without any provisions. "It is different now", he said, "whoever has a purse had better take it with him, and his pack too; and if he has no sword, let him sell his cloak to buy one" (Luke, 22: 36). This is a much misunderstood verse that should be seen in the proper perspective. Here Jesus contrasts his saying to the 72 disciples earlier who were to totally depend on the power from Jesus. Therefore they did not have to make any provision for themselves because the power temporarily given to them would help them meet their needs. However, that being a purely temporary arrangement, Jesus now instructs his disciples to aspire for permanent power within themselves. It has nothing to do with money power or material weapons like swords. Instead, they should be spiritually empowered in order to accomplish their mission. When the disciples are severely tested because of their faith, they put on the armor of prayer like a sword and keep on watching.
Jesus knew that the Apostles would not be able to grasp the real import of what he was saying. In order to help their understanding, Jesus quoted Scripture about his being counted among the outlaws and warned that it would be fulfilled as Scripture had to be fulfilled. Their response was so out of context that Jesus could only exclaim in exasperation. "Look, Lord", they said, "we have two swords here". 'Enough, enough!', he replied" (Luke, 22: 38). (To be Contd).
Tolerance: We have two instances recorded in the Gospels indicating how we should be tolerant to those who hold a different viewpoint or even those who do not accept us. In the first instance, John the Evangelist could not digest the fact that a man driving out devils in the name of Jesus refused to be in his company. He tried to stop the man from doing it and reported the matter to Jesus. "Jesus said to him, 'Do not stop him, for he who is not against you is on your side' " (Luke, 9: 50). Here is a beautiful ecumenical principle in our relations not only with all Christians, but also with all those who believe in God whatever religion they follow. Mark reports a reason Jesus gave why the man should not be stopped from working a miracle. "Jesus said, 'Do not stop him; no one who does a work of divine power in my name will be able the next moment to speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side' " (Mark, 9: 39-40). This ecumenical principle of interaction is tempered and balanced by the injunction: "He who is not with me is against me, and who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew, 12: 30). Therefore, tolerance does not mean indifference or the mentality of "Laissez-faire" in matters of religion in as far as they involve our relationship to God. The injunction of Jesus, therefore, implies that our dealings and relationships should be imbued with divine values and the same may be verified objectively. Checks and balances are inbuilt into our genuine relationship to God as well as to our fellow human beings. This point has been discussed in one of our previous Posts under the caption "Love of God and Love of Our Neighbor".
In the second instance of tolerance strongly advocated by Jesus, both John and his brother James were involved. Incensed by the refusal of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Jesus who was set to go to Jerusalem in his final journey, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn them up. "But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village" (Luke, 9: 55-56). Some manuscripts add the following:"You do not know"' he said, to what spirit you belong; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them" Here we see how Jesus grapples with the raw human nature, exemplified in the reactions of James and John, and how people are prone to look for power and prestige under the garb of service to God.
Mission of Disciples: Although Jesus knew very well what would happen if power was conferred on the disciples, he wanted to teach its consequences to them by a live demonstration. As an experiment Jesus chose a further 72 disciples, apart from the 12 Apostles, and sent them in pairs to every town and place he was going to visit himself. Their first duty was to pray for more laborers in the field and to go about their duty of announcing the Kingdom like lambs among the wolves. They should not themselves have any provisions. That would be taken care of by the house where they stayed. They were authorized to denounce anyone who does not accept them for which such a person will have to answer on the day of Judgment. "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me" (Luke. 10: 16).
The thirst for power over others inherent in every human heart was to be tamed and trained by Jesus, especially in the case of his 12 Apostles, although the 72 were allowed to express their feelings. They were jubilant that in the name of Jesus even the devils submitted to them. Jesus endorsed their feelings and sounded a note of satisfaction that Satan fell like lightning out of the sky. However, he added two reminders to mellow down their over-enthusiasm by saying: "And now you see that I have given you the power to tread underfoot snakes and scorpions and all the forces of the enemy and nothing will ever harm you. Nevertheless, what you should rejoice over is not that the spirits submit to you, but that your names are enrolled in heaven" (Luke, 19: 20). Therefore, the two things to remember were that the power was given to them by Jesus and that the real reason of joy should not be the power itself but their reward in heaven.
Permanent Power: Jesus was particular that his Apostles should learn lessons from all these experiments. He was gradually training them to conquer themselves in order to have real power in themselves. That would be the real permanent source of power , especially when they received the Holy Spirit, and they did not have to look for temporary manifestations of power occasionally granted. In order to teach them the ways and means to achieve real power Jesus gave them his own body and blood in the Last Supper in view of his death and resurrection. The poor disciples were slow in understanding and therefore to jolt them out of their stupor, Jesus announced that one of them would be his betrayer. Just like any human reaction in a similar situation, the disciples were more eager to know who it was that would betray him than to ponder over the implications of the same. As an indication of how far they wee from the concerns of Jesus, we read that a jealous dispute broke out among them about who would rank highest among them! Then Jesus taught them that the meaning of authority was service and the chief among them should bear himself like the servant of all. Jesus saw how Satan was ready to sift all of them like wheat and he prayed for Simon Peter who had to strengthen his brethren once he comes to himself. Peter protested to Jesus about his allegiance with a strong dose of presumption in his own strength. Jesus had to warn Peter of his denial three times that very night before the cock crowed (See Like, 22: 14-34).
Having directed his disciples through these experiences the night before he died, Jesus wanted to put things in perspective. Thus he asks them about their favorable experiences when they were sent out without any provisions. "It is different now", he said, "whoever has a purse had better take it with him, and his pack too; and if he has no sword, let him sell his cloak to buy one" (Luke, 22: 36). This is a much misunderstood verse that should be seen in the proper perspective. Here Jesus contrasts his saying to the 72 disciples earlier who were to totally depend on the power from Jesus. Therefore they did not have to make any provision for themselves because the power temporarily given to them would help them meet their needs. However, that being a purely temporary arrangement, Jesus now instructs his disciples to aspire for permanent power within themselves. It has nothing to do with money power or material weapons like swords. Instead, they should be spiritually empowered in order to accomplish their mission. When the disciples are severely tested because of their faith, they put on the armor of prayer like a sword and keep on watching.
Jesus knew that the Apostles would not be able to grasp the real import of what he was saying. In order to help their understanding, Jesus quoted Scripture about his being counted among the outlaws and warned that it would be fulfilled as Scripture had to be fulfilled. Their response was so out of context that Jesus could only exclaim in exasperation. "Look, Lord", they said, "we have two swords here". 'Enough, enough!', he replied" (Luke, 22: 38). (To be Contd).
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