Poor Jesus, he walked a very thin line.
Say “too little” and they “hound you” indefinitely.
Say “too much” and they stone you to death for sure.
It all goes back to that “honor/shame society” thing actually.
If you say “too much” about yourself, you are puffed up, bragging, a show off and a blow hard. Being proud, boastful, conceited, arrogant, pompous and all self important was looked down upon.
You simply do not talk about yourself.
You allow (or let) others speak about you. They can say what you cannot. They can honor you or shame you with their words…but you can never honor yourself.
It just was not done!
And when it was, there were always people like Jesus, to point it out.
Take for example the Pharisee who prayed thusly…O God, I thank you that I am not like other men.”
That’s right.
Stand there, beat your breast. Sound the horn. Have the balloons drop. No one really cares.
Make a show of it. Get all show boat. Crow about yourself…grandstand a little, and you dishonor yourself and your people. You dishonor your village and your kin. There is no honor in talking about yourself, ever!
It was a very thin line I tell you. A line that was not to be crossed…
Jesus really loved his “metaphors.”
He loved to use “figurative language” to try and describe himself. That way, it was nothing direct. It was not in your face. He was not banging a drum or hitting a cymbal.
The people just did not get it. They did not understand. They were kind of clueless, although I doubt we would be much better.
Even if he were to speak very slowly…they would still miss his point.
That’s how he got into that whole shepherd monologue. You know, the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep, right? He will fight a wolf if he has to…he will get mauled or killed if need be, just to protect the sheep from harm.
This good shepherd is “hardcore” I tell you!
But the people failed to get the connection. They did not understand. The neurons were firing together, they just – were not connecting!
The people were not really sure what to make of Jesus. He spoke oddly and mysteriously and often.
We are given great detail. It is winter time in Jerusalem. People are celebrating Hanukkah.
And one more time, he is about to be “cornered”…almost ganged up on. It is more of the same old…same old…it is the Jerusalem elite, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, court officials…the big shots again…
They tell him to stop “toying with them,” “stop playing with them,” …tell them plainly just “who are you”…and “what are you doing?”
It’s a fine line, I tell you.
Are you the Messiah, the Christ of God? Yes or No?
Obviously, no one has been listening.
Jesus has been over this before…many, many, many times…they keep asking the same questions over and over again. It is becoming “old stuff.” He’s told these guys “who he is before” and they would not believe him. It is probably because they do not belong to his flock…
So he tells them to check out “his works,” the things that “he has been doing”…let “those things” speak for themselves…feeding the hungry, restoring sight to the blind, healing the sick, and there was a little miracle here and there…nothing splashy…just noteworthy…you know like calming the seas, walking on water, the usual stuff…
And almost out of desperation, he seemingly says, “I and the Father are one.”
No big deal. We have heard that before. We know the scripture. But did you know that – that one line is pure blasphemy. I know blasphemy is a big word…
It simply means…the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or about “sacred things.” It is to be irreverent, disrespectful, impious, insulting, showing contempt or a lack of reverence toward God. It was punishable by immediate stoning and death.
And Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” There. They had what they wanted. Amen.