Jesus: The Rebel Against the Status Quo

Jesus:                                                                                      Return to Main Menu

The Rebel Against 

the Status Quo

Note:  This can easily be read in two parts.
Part 2 is annotated below.

A touching story found on the internet involves several soldiers, their badly wounded comrade, and a priest in World War II France.  After carrying the wounded comrade out of the fighting area, they found a Roman Catholic Church and its priest as a peaceful place to rest, console, and try to save their wounded friend.  But, after a few days, late one afternoon, the suffering soldier died.  The priest had tried to make arrangements to allow the man to be buried in the church cemetery, but his authorities refused because the man was not Roman Catholic.  So, the priest allowed the men to bury their friend on church grounds just outside the back fence. 

 Afterwards, they rested during the gloomy night and in the next morning after finishing the breakfast the priest had prepared for them, they were ready to leave.  They told the priest they would visit the grave one last time and then move on to find their unit.  As they walked in the gloomy rain along the back fence they could not find the grave.   Turning to the priest who had accompanied them, they asked, "Where is grave of our friend, we know we buried him along here."

The priest smiled in reply, "You did, right there".  In the rain they had not noticed the grave, but, "we buried him outside the fence and now he is inside the fence!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.   "Yes, I know,  in the night, I moved the fence."  The priest went on to say, "My superiors would not allow me to have your man buried inside the fence, but they never said I could not move the fence after he was buried."

As God's agent for change, Jesus was not only a mover of fences, he took them down, knocked them down, and destroyed barriers to God.  Fundamentally and so very importantly, He was The Agent for changing how we relate to God, how we are to treat each other, and eradicated barriers that separate us from God.

Part 2
Jesus Changed Things
    He Still Does

He Changed the process, basis, and purpose of the forgiveness of sins thereby changing how we relate to and create a personal relationship with God.  He brought to us the Holy Spirit and He changed the basis of how we we are to love other people regardless of their circumstances in life, even our enemies.  This is vividly illustrated when Jesus healed the paralytic. 

But first, a bit of history.

In the Old Testament NIV there is but one reference to the word and the work of a 'physician'.  And, for good reason as there was no need for doctors in the Old Testament!  Throughout the Old Testament and into the times of Jesus, most Jews people believed that sickness was equated with sinfulness.  Even with someone who was sick, blind, mute, or whatever from birth, their illness was due to their sin or their parent's sin (*1).  In addition, in Jesus' day, it was believed that only God could cure sickness by the forgiveness of the sick person's sin.  Jesus being all-knowing knew that some one's sin was not directly linked to illness; but, and this is most important to understand: He worked in the ways and beliefs of the day that people of His time could understand.

As you read the following, take special note of the highlighted verse 2.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9:2-8pp -- Mk 2:3-12; Lk 5:18-26

1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."7And the man got up and went home.
In this passage we see Jesus doing several activities that are contrary to the "normal" and status quo of His day.  I speak only to three.

First,  Rabbi's, teachers of the law, and other spiritual leaders of the day avoided having anything to do with the sick and the lame because of their sinful uncleanliness.  In coming in contact with these kinds of people and becoming unclean, they may have been required to have had certain rights of purification before they could continue their duties as a church leader.

Second, we see Jesus forgiving the man's sins.  From the reaction of the 'teachers of the law' we see this was blaspheming according to the law of the Jews as only God could forgive sins.   In effect, Jesus was very clearly purposely expressing, showing, and indicating He was God.  But, for the audience, the astonishing then happened.  Jesus did not argue with his detractors, he simple healed the man and told him to "Get up, take your mat, and go home!"  This was something these people had never seen before and no doubt, made Jesus quite popular with the "common" people but unpopular with the "teachers of the law".  He had broken the 'status quo' and taken away their argument of "blaspheming"!  The Pharisees, the scribes, and the teachers of the law were more interested in their position, their status, and their piousness then they were in being astonished with what Jesus had done.  They were the blind, lame, and mute to the Truth of Jesus.

Finally, and most important, was the faith of the people who brought the sick man to Jesus.  Notice here, it is not the faith of the paralytic that prompted Jesus to forgive him but rather the faith of paralytic friends!  As we read the Gospels, in many if not most of the healings and other miracles, we find faith at the center of the activity to which Jesus responds.  So to it is with us, He/God truly will respond to our faith.  

The big change in Status Quo here, and now in our time, is what faith can do.  Faith-Our Relationship with God, it changes people, people of Jesus' day, just as Faith of people in our day!  Forgiveness, but not redemption, in the Old Testament came with sacrifice at the Temple, the sacrifice in our forgiveness was Jesus on the cross, the perfect Lamb of God sacrificing Himself that we may live in forgiveness and, most importantly, in redemption!  With Jesus' death, the new Status Quo is Forgiveness, God's Forgiveness comes through Faith!  Jesus' Resurrection was the Theological Earthquake that verified God's fullness of forgiveness of our sin through the Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross!  Through the Grace of God,  we are not only forgiven but redeemed-The debt for our sin has been Paid!  Oh, How I love Jesus and the barrier He removed that I can be secure in my loving redeemed relationship with God.

Thanks Be To God

© Lonnie Coggins        
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Publication  0120

*1 Bible History, Sickness and Sin:  http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=39&sub=409&cat_name=Manners+%26+Customs&subcat_name=Sickness



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In Jesus' ministry we see His contempt for a rigid society that benefited only those in power.  We can be thankful he sat the standard for non-violent resistance and rebellion against misuse of tradition and power in society.  For more on this, click the link below...