Whose presence could he not tolerate?
2007-06-27 15:50:16 · 19 answers · asked by NHBaritone 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
At one point a Gentile woman in Phoenicia comes and asks Jesus for help. He initially refuses to speak to her, then when he does speak to her he says that he only came to help the Israelites, and he refers to her as a dog.
Finally, after she keeps pleading with him and basically agrees with him that she is a dog, he relents and helps her. Its kind of an odd exchange. Not the type of thing you usually think of with Jesus.
The bit about Jesus only coming to help the Jews is especially interesting, considering that, eventually, the vast majority of Christians came from a Gentile background.
But, at any rate, he does eventually help her. So, it wasn't as if he was completely unable to tolerate her presence.
Matthew 15:22-26
22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed."
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us."
24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
26 And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
2007-06-27 16:12:36 · answer #1 · answered by OccamsBattleaxe 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In the first place, can we all just agree that the stories of Jesus are hero legends, nothing more? They are no more historically accurate than the Arabian Nights. Important stories, many of them, but only in the way that they help us understand ourselves better.
In one of these stories Satan took Jesus to a high place and showed him 'the world' and offered it to him. I don't remember it saying that Jesus shrank from Satan. He went up there with him, looked at 'the world' and declined the offer. This whole Satan vs Jesus thing is 100% a creation of the middle ages. Satan is only as real as you make him. It is far better to be honest and admit that we all have nasty, evil tendencies, ones that we can overcome with a bit of strength and good planning.
But I digress.
According to the stories, Jesus shunned the Pharisees. The religious leaders of the day. He did not shun the tax collectors (reviled in his time) or the lepers (people with hiv/aids?) or prostitutes. His stories reflected this as well. When we hear the word 'Samaritan' today what we think of is 'good, helpful person.' But in that day and age the Samaritans were absolutely reviled by the Jews. The Samaritans had defiled the altar at the temple in Jerusalem: an offense not only to the Jews, but to God Himself. To use a Samaritan as the hero in the story would be the same as using Osama bin Laden as a hero in a similar story today.
Food for thought ...
2007-06-27 23:06:15 · answer #2 · answered by pasdeberet 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I wouldn't say he shunned them but he clearly didn't hold the Pharisees with any degree of tenderness. He didn't go out of his way to help them out. They were the ones who "knew" the Scriptures thoroughly. They could quote it for any purpose that they wanted to use them for. He considered them to be learned fools. They KNEW all the words but had NO idea about the Spirit of those words.
Wait a minute, that sounds like a lot of Bible spouting Christians that I have seen answering questions in here..
Raji the Green Witch
2007-06-27 23:03:50 · answer #3 · answered by Raji the Green Witch 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The short answer, the proud.
Longer answer: Pride is the most dangerous sin, because it causes you to think you are fine. Your self-sufficiency closes you off to the Holy Spirit. Other sinners flocked to Jesus because they were already broken, but Jesus cannot help the unwilling.
2007-06-27 22:55:37 · answer #4 · answered by The GMC 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Leaders of his Religion. Its odd that Paul formerly known as Saul, grew up in the Temple leaders enclave. Jesus did not shun Satan, he beat him every chance he could.
2007-06-27 22:56:39 · answer #5 · answered by Marcus R. 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
A LADY Mouse (Driving around in a Convertible with the TOP DOWN) screaming and yelling at him.
Then HE made the the MISTAKE of stepping on the LADY'S CADILLAC
2007-06-27 23:18:19 · answer #6 · answered by . 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Skeptics
2007-06-28 08:58:03 · answer #7 · answered by skeptic 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus actually hated the Dutch.... not really he was tolerant to everyone and his tolerance towards others is something modern Christians should try and emulate.
2007-06-27 23:09:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Pharisees and the Lawyers.
2007-06-27 23:15:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
PUBLIC.
If you read the bible you will notice that more than a few times, Jesus withdrew from the CROWD.
The question you should ask is WHY ?
2007-06-27 23:34:14 · answer #10 · answered by Muhammadlustprophet 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋