Jesus Taught by Shocking Statements (Contd):
The Eunuchs: On the occasion of laying down God's law about the relationship between man and woman on marriage, Jesus taught that man cannot separate what G0od has joined together besides the fact that they were no longer two individuals but one flesh. If a person divorces his or her partner, except for the reason of adultery, and marries another, that person commits adultery. This is but a consequence of the original unbreakable bond created in marriage. The disciples were taken aback by the severity of the law of marriage that they thought it better not to marry and told Jesus so. Jesus told them that this kind of a decision not to marry cannot be taken by everyone but only by those to whom God has given the gift not to marry. In this context, 3 types of eunuchs are mentioned. Some are incapable to marry because they were born impotent, while others were made so by men like the eunuchs who guarded the harem of kings in olden times. The third category of people is those who are incapable to marry as they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Their incapability flows from the all-consuming zeal they have for the Kingdom of Heaven. It is given as a gift by God, a charism, and therefore is not brought about by the efforts of man. Similarly, to be united in marriage through an unbroken bond too is a charism that is the basis for a good family life (See Matthew, 19: 3-12). However, let us remember that our efforts are required to keep and sustain it by nurturing and developing the charisms, i. e., the gifts freely given by God to those whom He chooses. God does not revoke his gifts once bestowed, but our lack of co-operation may stunt them without producing fruits.
Larger Meaning of "Eunuchs": Incidentally, one may wonder whether there is a larger meaning to the charism of being a eunuch for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just remaining unmarried indulging in all sorts of unacceptable behavior emerging as side effects of the single state and conveniently attributed to human frailty does not seem to be worthwhile. Instead the larger meaning of this charism may be seen in all those who practice the eight beatitudes announced by Jesus in the sermon on the Mount (See Matthew, 5: 3-10), starting with the blessedness of the poor in spirit and ending with that of those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice. These are people who are, so to say, incapable of doing evil and are empowered by the Holy Spirit in their drive toward the Kingdom of Heaven. Are they not "eunuchs" for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Hypocrisy: The entire chapter 23 of Matthew's Gospel resounds with the oratorical skill of Jesus as prophet, king and priest - the true Messiah. Jesus addressed the people and his disciples advising them on how to go about when confronted by the hypocrisy of the Doctors of the Law and the Pharisees. Although it directly pertains to the hypocrisy of the officials of the Jewish religion, it is equally applicable to all officials wielding authority over the people whether they operate in the religious or secular realms. Since there is no authority but from God (See Romans: 13: 1-3), these admonitions and advises from Jesus are addressed to all those who hold authority over the people.
Avoid Honor and Glory: The people are advised by Jesus to do what the authorities tell them to do, paying attention to their words without following their practice as they say one thing and do another. The reason for this attitude is the genuineness of the authority, as for instance in the case of the Doctors of the Law and the Pharisees who sit in the chair of Moses, although they themselves do not practice what they preach. There are certain distinguishing characteristics of such people in authority. They are experts in making heavy packs and loading them onto the shoulders of the people without so much as raising a finger to lift them themselves. Their sole motive for doing anything is for show and they try to attract attention of the people to themselves by the kind of clothes they wear and their accessories. The officials of the Jewish religion liked to have places of honor at feasts and the chief seats in the Synagogues. They wanted to be greeted respectfully in the street and to be addressed as "rabbi". Jesus made a few revolutionary recommendations to his disciples underlying which are the great truths of equality of all human beings as well as the inalienable right to human dignity of one and all. As opposed to the practice of the officials of the Jewish religion, the disciples of Jesus should not be called "father" as the disciples have only one Father who is in heaven. Since the Messiah is the only Teacher, the disciples should not be called teachers. The acid test for all those who might tend to belittle the use of "names" and "titles" as of no consequence, Jesus adds an ultimatum. "The greatest among you must be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew, 23: 12). Unfortunately, many disciples of Jesus have tried to interpret his ultimatum about the need of being real servants of the people with the aid of the concept of "symbolic servants"! "Symbolic servants" can never really humble themselves nor can they be real servants of the people that should be the touchstone of being the real servants of the one true Master of us all.
Double Standards: Having perhaps noticed how unmoved the Lawyers and Pharisees were at the indirect insinuations of their double standards, Jesus proceeded to attack them directly with the dreaded epithet "hypocrite". They should be ashamed of themselves and change their ways in order to escape judgment for being hypocrites. They are hypocrites by shutting the door of the Kingdom of heaven not only by not entering it themselves, but also by preventing others who are entering it. Only some manuscripts of Matthew's Gospel add a devastating remark by Jesus reported both by Mark and Luke. "These are the men who eat up the property of widows, while they say long prayers for appearance's sake, and they will receive the severest sentence" (Mark, 12: 40; Luke, 20: 47). Jesus continues with the woes addressed to the Lawyers and Pharisees to do justice at least to a certain extent by detailing the many-faceted and well orchestrated system of their traditions steeped in hypocrisy. "You travel over sea and land to win one convert; and when you have won him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves" (Matthew, 23: 15). Even their system of swearing, although one should not swear at all according to the teaching of Jesus, was vitiated by ignorance of the true worth of things they swear by and thus they were blind guides (See Matthew, 23: 16-22).
Gulping Down camels: Ignorance results in blindness and malice of heart issues forth in hypocrisy. Both of them were combined in their practice of paying tithes even in the tiniest articles of daily life like mint, dill and cumin overlooking the weightier demands of the law like justice, mercy and faithfulness. The latter should have been practiced by all means without neglecting the former. "Blind guides! You strain of a midge, yet gulp down a camel!" (Matthew, 23: 24). The Lawyers and the Pharisees are both blind guides and hypocrites in cleaning the outside of cup and dish filling them inside by robbery and self-indulgence. "Blind pharisee! Clean the inside of the cup first; then the outside will be clean also" (Matthew, 23: 26). in case anybody were to mistake the real intent of Jesus about them, he drives home the point directly comparing them with tombs. "Alas for you, Lawyers and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like tombs covered with whitewash; they look well from outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. So it is with you: outside you look like honest men, but inside you are brim-full of hypocrisy and crime" (Matthew, 23: 27-28). Even their building the tombs of the prophets and embellishing the monuments of the saints trying to dissociate themselves from the crimes of their fathers were turned against them by Jesus as they were hypocrites. Seeing their hardheartedness and perversion, Jesus felt that terms like "blind guides" and 'hypocrites" were too mild for them. Hence he called them snakes and brood of vipers, also used by John the Baptist (See Matthew, 3: 7) hoping to touch a chord in their hearts. Although God Himself came down among them through Jesus, they were impervious to anything but the wicked desires of their own hearts. As a result, the guilt of all generations till then had to be borne by their generation that had the misfortune to reject the very Son of God Himself (See Matthew, 23: 29-39). [Next we shall proceed with the Fourth section of this Study].
The Eunuchs: On the occasion of laying down God's law about the relationship between man and woman on marriage, Jesus taught that man cannot separate what G0od has joined together besides the fact that they were no longer two individuals but one flesh. If a person divorces his or her partner, except for the reason of adultery, and marries another, that person commits adultery. This is but a consequence of the original unbreakable bond created in marriage. The disciples were taken aback by the severity of the law of marriage that they thought it better not to marry and told Jesus so. Jesus told them that this kind of a decision not to marry cannot be taken by everyone but only by those to whom God has given the gift not to marry. In this context, 3 types of eunuchs are mentioned. Some are incapable to marry because they were born impotent, while others were made so by men like the eunuchs who guarded the harem of kings in olden times. The third category of people is those who are incapable to marry as they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Their incapability flows from the all-consuming zeal they have for the Kingdom of Heaven. It is given as a gift by God, a charism, and therefore is not brought about by the efforts of man. Similarly, to be united in marriage through an unbroken bond too is a charism that is the basis for a good family life (See Matthew, 19: 3-12). However, let us remember that our efforts are required to keep and sustain it by nurturing and developing the charisms, i. e., the gifts freely given by God to those whom He chooses. God does not revoke his gifts once bestowed, but our lack of co-operation may stunt them without producing fruits.
Larger Meaning of "Eunuchs": Incidentally, one may wonder whether there is a larger meaning to the charism of being a eunuch for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just remaining unmarried indulging in all sorts of unacceptable behavior emerging as side effects of the single state and conveniently attributed to human frailty does not seem to be worthwhile. Instead the larger meaning of this charism may be seen in all those who practice the eight beatitudes announced by Jesus in the sermon on the Mount (See Matthew, 5: 3-10), starting with the blessedness of the poor in spirit and ending with that of those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice. These are people who are, so to say, incapable of doing evil and are empowered by the Holy Spirit in their drive toward the Kingdom of Heaven. Are they not "eunuchs" for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Hypocrisy: The entire chapter 23 of Matthew's Gospel resounds with the oratorical skill of Jesus as prophet, king and priest - the true Messiah. Jesus addressed the people and his disciples advising them on how to go about when confronted by the hypocrisy of the Doctors of the Law and the Pharisees. Although it directly pertains to the hypocrisy of the officials of the Jewish religion, it is equally applicable to all officials wielding authority over the people whether they operate in the religious or secular realms. Since there is no authority but from God (See Romans: 13: 1-3), these admonitions and advises from Jesus are addressed to all those who hold authority over the people.
Avoid Honor and Glory: The people are advised by Jesus to do what the authorities tell them to do, paying attention to their words without following their practice as they say one thing and do another. The reason for this attitude is the genuineness of the authority, as for instance in the case of the Doctors of the Law and the Pharisees who sit in the chair of Moses, although they themselves do not practice what they preach. There are certain distinguishing characteristics of such people in authority. They are experts in making heavy packs and loading them onto the shoulders of the people without so much as raising a finger to lift them themselves. Their sole motive for doing anything is for show and they try to attract attention of the people to themselves by the kind of clothes they wear and their accessories. The officials of the Jewish religion liked to have places of honor at feasts and the chief seats in the Synagogues. They wanted to be greeted respectfully in the street and to be addressed as "rabbi". Jesus made a few revolutionary recommendations to his disciples underlying which are the great truths of equality of all human beings as well as the inalienable right to human dignity of one and all. As opposed to the practice of the officials of the Jewish religion, the disciples of Jesus should not be called "father" as the disciples have only one Father who is in heaven. Since the Messiah is the only Teacher, the disciples should not be called teachers. The acid test for all those who might tend to belittle the use of "names" and "titles" as of no consequence, Jesus adds an ultimatum. "The greatest among you must be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew, 23: 12). Unfortunately, many disciples of Jesus have tried to interpret his ultimatum about the need of being real servants of the people with the aid of the concept of "symbolic servants"! "Symbolic servants" can never really humble themselves nor can they be real servants of the people that should be the touchstone of being the real servants of the one true Master of us all.
Double Standards: Having perhaps noticed how unmoved the Lawyers and Pharisees were at the indirect insinuations of their double standards, Jesus proceeded to attack them directly with the dreaded epithet "hypocrite". They should be ashamed of themselves and change their ways in order to escape judgment for being hypocrites. They are hypocrites by shutting the door of the Kingdom of heaven not only by not entering it themselves, but also by preventing others who are entering it. Only some manuscripts of Matthew's Gospel add a devastating remark by Jesus reported both by Mark and Luke. "These are the men who eat up the property of widows, while they say long prayers for appearance's sake, and they will receive the severest sentence" (Mark, 12: 40; Luke, 20: 47). Jesus continues with the woes addressed to the Lawyers and Pharisees to do justice at least to a certain extent by detailing the many-faceted and well orchestrated system of their traditions steeped in hypocrisy. "You travel over sea and land to win one convert; and when you have won him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves" (Matthew, 23: 15). Even their system of swearing, although one should not swear at all according to the teaching of Jesus, was vitiated by ignorance of the true worth of things they swear by and thus they were blind guides (See Matthew, 23: 16-22).
Gulping Down camels: Ignorance results in blindness and malice of heart issues forth in hypocrisy. Both of them were combined in their practice of paying tithes even in the tiniest articles of daily life like mint, dill and cumin overlooking the weightier demands of the law like justice, mercy and faithfulness. The latter should have been practiced by all means without neglecting the former. "Blind guides! You strain of a midge, yet gulp down a camel!" (Matthew, 23: 24). The Lawyers and the Pharisees are both blind guides and hypocrites in cleaning the outside of cup and dish filling them inside by robbery and self-indulgence. "Blind pharisee! Clean the inside of the cup first; then the outside will be clean also" (Matthew, 23: 26). in case anybody were to mistake the real intent of Jesus about them, he drives home the point directly comparing them with tombs. "Alas for you, Lawyers and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like tombs covered with whitewash; they look well from outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. So it is with you: outside you look like honest men, but inside you are brim-full of hypocrisy and crime" (Matthew, 23: 27-28). Even their building the tombs of the prophets and embellishing the monuments of the saints trying to dissociate themselves from the crimes of their fathers were turned against them by Jesus as they were hypocrites. Seeing their hardheartedness and perversion, Jesus felt that terms like "blind guides" and 'hypocrites" were too mild for them. Hence he called them snakes and brood of vipers, also used by John the Baptist (See Matthew, 3: 7) hoping to touch a chord in their hearts. Although God Himself came down among them through Jesus, they were impervious to anything but the wicked desires of their own hearts. As a result, the guilt of all generations till then had to be borne by their generation that had the misfortune to reject the very Son of God Himself (See Matthew, 23: 29-39). [Next we shall proceed with the Fourth section of this Study].
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