Excuse XXIII
Jesus Dined Out
Question:
Didn’t Jesus dine out where His Sabbath meal was actually prepared by paid Sabbath breakers?
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In a lengthy letter defending the practice of dining out on the Sabbath, a long standing church member presents what just might be the most innovative argument in this debate. According to this man, Jesus actually engaged in a dining experience that was nearly identical to that of going out to a restaurant on the Sabbath today. He does so by manufacturing a Sabbath experience involving the Messiah in which every manner of evil is taking place.
Although this member claims to base his position on strong Biblical evidence, he totally fails to do so. There isn’t a hint in the scriptures or the historical record that even remotely suggests that such a thing took place. On the contrary, the opposite is true. Virtually every drop of Biblical scholarship declares that what this man represents as a “Biblical fact” never could have occurred.
This long time member begins his fantasy by citing the fourteenth chapter of Luke’s gospel. Here, Jesus is dining at the home of a prominent religious figure (”a Chief Pharisees”).
He then offers a theory of what this particular meal would have required. Suffice it to say, the labor was considerable, and according to him, was probably provided by paid non-believers. Once again, there is absolutely NO proof for this conclusion whatsoever; he simply claims it to be the case. The point he is obviously trying to sell in this argument is that Jesus was attending a Sabbath banquet complete with everything but the USC marching band. Furthermore, he draws only one possible conclusion with respect to the labor involved in serving the guests. To him it clearly profaned the Sabbath.
This member then suggests that the Pharisee hosting the meal must have been a ruthless man driven by a huge ego as well as a bitter hatred of the Messiah. Additionally, his home was nothing short of a first century culinary labor camp. It was also a spiritual den of iniquity. One commandment after another was being trampled on by the host and his friends—including the Sabbath—and there in the middle of it all was none other than Jesus of Nazareth. He then argues that if the Messiah could spend an occasional Sabbath surrounded by people who brazenly trampled all over God's day, then God’s people today should be able to do the same thing in a restaurant. Here is how he advances his argument.
According to Harmonies of the Gospels, there are more than 25 episodes, which reveal an established, continuing conflict between Christ and the Jewish leaders well prior to this Sabbath feast in Luke 14. Not only had Christ and the leaders exchanged harsh labels about one another, but there had already been attempts and plots on Jesus’ life (Luke 4:16-31; Jn. 7:11-52; Jn. 8:21-59)!
Invitations from them to eat (Lk. 7:36-50; Lk. 11:37-54; Lk. 14:) were blatant traps, not warm hospitality. The leaders were violating numerous of God's commandments attempting to trap Jesus. They coveted the respect the public was giving him (#10, and the spirit of #8); they bore false witness to Him and about Him through inviting him to eat under false pretenses (#9); they were acting in a hateful spirit of murder (#6); they were rejecting the lead of the true God and serving Satan (#1); and they claimed to bear the name of the true God as "God's people," but dishonored both Father and Son (#3). Such misbehaviors likewise dishonor one's parents (#5). These sins are unmistakable; and -- even though all sin carries a death penalty -- as a direct assault on the Most High and His Son, they are extremely serious Sabbath violations (#4) done on the Sabbath day.
So, this Bible account shows Jesus Christ participated in a meal provided by Sabbath-breakers, and which very likely cost money or required servant work on the Sabbath. Yet Jesus and his disciples partaking of it did not violate the Sabbath. He ate with His evil opponents ... without sin, without dishonoring God's Sabbath. Though the Pharisee should've hosted the meal on another day, Christ demonstrated it wasn't wrong for Him and his party to partake of it.
Christ's example in the circumstances this passage describes virtually match the question of eating out on the Sabbath exactly. He ate out; he let Sabbath-breakers feed Him. He could have declined the invitation, but He did not do so. Frankly, I would not do what the Chief Pharisee did. The Chief Pharisee unwisely chose his date; yet Christ, the perfect Sabbath-keeper, innocently consumed a Sabbath meal provided by Sabbath-breakers! How much more relevant and clear could an example be?
A Distorted View
This COG member has painted a very bleak picture of Jesus’ hosts and the Sabbath they kept. He then argues that the Messiah saw nothing wrong with dining in such an environment, which in many ways was far worse than that provided in most restaurants today. Therefore, he concludes that God’s people may now dine out in a facility where the Sabbath is being violated because Jesus set that very example.
However, if this gentleman insists on clinging to his “theory,” we have a question for him. Would Jesus ever require the Sabbath to be violated as a condition of Him accepting the invitation to dine at the home of His host? In other words, would Jesus ever tell this religious leader, “The only way I will attend this meal is if it requires exhausting labor be performed by paid Sabbath breakers”? We ask this question because when it comes to going to a restaurant on the holy time that is EXACTLY what MUST take place. Breaking the Sabbath is the ONLY way this man eats.
A Real Irony
At this point it is interesting to note that in this member’s portrayal of Luke 14 it is the Pharisee who hires and pays for the labor of unbelievers—NOT JESUS! The irony here is that when it comes to dining out in restaurants on the Sabbath that is EXACTLY what this member is doing. In essence this man is emulating the behavior of those he holds in contempt as opposed to emulating the behavior of the One he claims to worship. Furthermore, although he claims the invitation to the Messiah was a “blatant trap” motivated by unspeakable evil, there is nothing in Luke’s account that supports this conclusion.
The Real Truth
The dining experience recorded by Luke, that this COG member audaciously claims to be a "perfect match" to eating out on the Sabbath doesn't come close. In truth, the scriptures strongly suggest that the host and his guests may actually have been sympathetic to the Messiah. Certainly such men did exist. Nicodemus, a Pharisee himself and a ruler of the Jews, clearly had pro-Messiah leanings and acknowledged there were others like him (Jn. 3:2).
Furthermore, everything in Luke’s account of this experience suggests a high level of decorum. It is true that Jesus offers a critique of both His host and the guests, but His words as well as their reaction were not rancorous and no one became offended. The Messiah’s comments appear more like the wisdom of a man for whom all in attendance had considerable respect.
Additionally, the historical record clearly states that Sabbath life in Jesus’ day was vastly different than what this member describes in the home of Jesus’ host. Remember, this man was a spiritual leader with a reputation to uphold. If he had held the banquet this member describes, his days as a rabbi would have been over.
In truth, what took place on a Sabbath in Jesus’ day is described in the words of credible scholars who have no ax to grind in the Sabbath dining debate. Consider what Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan writes about commerce on the Sabbath during the time of Christ.
The Sanhedrin legislated a prohibition against all forms of buying, selling, trading and other commerce for a variety of reasons. The Sabbath must be a day when all business stops. Kaplan, Rabbi Aryeh, Sabbath—Day of Eternity (Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America: New York, New York) 2002.
The Sanhedrin was the governing judicial body among the Jews during Jesus’ life. There isn’t a chance in a trillion that what this COG member describes would have been tolerated by them in the home of a “Chief Pharisee” (Lk. 14:1). If this Jewish leader had hosted a meal requiring the paid labor of Sabbath-breakers he would have been drummed out of the synagogue.
Now consider the words of Dr. Alfred Edersheim, an internationally recognized 19th century scholar who has written prolifically on Jewish practices. Dr. Edersheim is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on the temple and its service during the time of Christ. Here is what he says about the Sabbath during Jesus’ day.
The approach of the Sabbath, and then its actual commencement, were announced by threefold blasts from the priests' trumpets. When the priests for the first time sounded their trumpets, all business was to cease, and every kind of work to be stopped. The second time the priests drew a threefold blast, to indicate that the Sabbath had actually begun.
The “Chief Pharisee” who hosted the meal Jesus and His disciples attended would have been acutely aware of the rules governing Sabbath observance. Furthermore, he would have been extremely disciplined in their observance. The point here, is that the portrayal of intense work and an atmosphere of chaos in his home offered by this member, doesn’t come close to what actually took place. He simply offers it because he needs it to be that way in order to justify his own Sabbath-breaking appetite.
Setting the Record Straight
Although this man argues that the Sabbath feast described in Luke 14 clearly violated the fourth commandment and should have been held on another day, the scriptures suggest otherwise. Notice that Jesus Himself addressed the host and exhorted him concerning what was taking place there. However, His issue was not with massive labor or treacherous plots that would have caused the profaning of the day. Why?—because these things didn’t happen. The Messiah simply suggested that if the master of the house hosts a Sabbath meal in the future he should change the guest list. Here are His exact words.
“When thou make a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou salt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” (Lk. 14:12-14)
Can you imagine Jesus expressing these words to a man who was profaning the Sabbath with impunity, not to mention one who harbored such unbridled contempt for God Almighty and His Son? Remember, the Messiah is speaking to him about being recompensed at the resurrection of the JUST. If he was the despicable monster this member portrays, Jesus’ words would make no sense at all. For this reason it seems clear that the meal Jesus shared with these Jewish leaders was not some contentious ambush, but rather one that was in total keeping with appropriate Sabbath observance.
A Final Thought
Finally, if this had been the great labor intensive feast this COG member suggests, Jesus' reaction would have been considerably different and the host would have been thoroughly disgraced. The real Biblical evidence suggests that at the end of the day, the Messiah graciously thanked the master of the home for his hospitality, after which He left. Nothing more, nothing less. However, even if it was another way, it still makes no difference. Jesus had a reasonable expectation that these religious leaders would keep the Sabbath. At a restaurant the expectation is just the opposite. When this member dines out, he expects and even requires the Sabbath to be broken.
