Hating Jesus – Matthew 12:9-14

Walid was raised a Muslim in Israel and had a hatred for Jews and Christians. His own mother had been secretly baptized a Christian and when she tried to dissuade him from his hatred of Jews and Christians he hated her and wished his father would divorce her and marry a good Muslim woman. He waged Jihad as best he could, fueled by his hatred, until one day he prayed the dangerous prayer that God would lead him to the truth. He became a Christian.

Walid now finds his hatred of Jews and Christians despicable, but recognizes that there are still so many who have this irrational hatred. Jesus faced this all before we did. The hatred began with him.

He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. (Matthew 12:9-14 ESV)

This portion of Matthew’s Gospel marks the ramping up of opposition to Jesus.  It is centered here around his understanding of Sabbath keeping, but the opposition has been building over many issues, not the least of which is Jesus’ claim to authority.  And though the Pharisees are in focus here as against him, there was equal hatred among the Sadducees, the Herodians, the Zealots, the scribes and priests.  Jesus was upsetting their world and at the moment had the approval of the populace.

When in this instance Jesus exposes the utter lack of compassion fostered by the Pharisaic interpretation of not working on the Sabbath, as well as exposing their utter inconsistency in applying it, it becomes the last straw and they now conspire to destroy him.  He is a big enough threat to them that utterly ruining him seems the only option.  And yet he can heal a man’s withered hand.  Can you imagine the joy this man had?  Why would you want to destroy someone who did this?  That is the utter folly of opposing Jesus.  It only highlights your own dysfunction and rebellion against God and the kingdom.

We must get over the idea that there is a reasonable explanation for persecution against us as followers of Christ. It is a visceral response by those hardened against God and perhaps fearful that He might be exposing them and their need for Him through our witness. It is a continuation of the enmity between the serpent and humankind that has characterized all of history (Genesis 3:15). It only means the final blow is yet to be wielded, the one that restores the kingdom to earth.