Loving the Unlovable—The Power of Chesed

(Yochanan 5:1-13)

 

After these things, there was a chag for the Yehudim, and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. In Yerushalayim there was a pool near [the Sheep Gate] which is called in the Hebrew language Beit-Chasda. It had five entrance chambers. There lay many sick, blind, lame, and weak people (who were waiting for the water to move. For an angel descended at its appointed time to the pool and agitated the water in it. The first one to go down into it after the water churned would be healed from every ailment that clung to him.)

There was a certain man with a disease for thirty-eight years. Yeshua saw him lying there and knew that the days of his disease were very long. He said to him, “Do you desire to be healed?” The sick man answered, “My master, there is no one with me to cast me into the pool when the water is agitated, and before I come, someone else goes down before me.” Yeshua said to him, “Arise, carry your bed and walk.” Instantly, the man regained his strength, picked up his bed, and walked. That day was the day of Shabbat.

The Yehudim said to the man who was healed, “It is Shabbat today. It is forbidden to carry your bed.” He answered them, saying, “The man who restored me to health said to me, “Carry your bed and walk.” They asked him, “Who is this man that said to you, ‘Carry your bed and walk?’” The man who was healed did not know who he was. For Yeshua had departed and went away because there was a large crowd in that place.

 

Review

 

Last week we spent a long time looking at this passage. We noticed that this passage contains apparent halachic issues, namely, the Master healing on Shabbat and the Master telling the lame man to carry his bedroll on Shabbat. We spent a lot of time trying to better understand this apparent contradiction. The reason for our efforts here is that, according to rabbinic law, which was most likely present by the time of Yeshua, “he who transports an object from one domain to another” is guilty of violating the prohibitions of work on Shabbat. Also, as we noted, many Pharisees considered the healing of a non-life-threatening condition on Shabbat to also be a violation.

 

Many will probably ask, “So what? Who cares if Yeshua violated Shabbat?” The traditional Christian interpretation of this event tries to assert that Yeshua here was making a statement that He had done away with the Sabbath regulations. In discussing which prophets would be considered true prophets versus false prophets, we are told in Deuteronomy 13:5-6:

 

 Follow none but the LORD your God, and revere none but Him; observe His commandments alone, and heed only His orders; worship none but Him, and hold fast to Him. As for that prophet or dream-diviner, he shall be put to death; for he urged disloyalty to the LORD your God … to make you stray from the path that the LORD your God commanded you to follow.

 

We see here that the LORD warns the children of Israel about miracle-working prophets, who turn people away from Torah. Such a prophet is to be considered a false prophet, and is to be put to death. If we simply consider Yeshua to have violated the Shabbat regulations, we have made Him a false prophet, One that is to be rejected and killed!

 

Usually, the traditional Christian interpretation dismisses the Sabbath regulations as “rabbinic fiction,” not being considered biblical. However, this is incorrect since the regulation is based on biblical texts, as we saw last week.

 

Another suggestion we looked at was that since the private domain of a father also belongs to his son, the entire universe is the private domain of the Son of God. Therefore, the Son of God, the Master, can carry an object anywhere He wants on the Sabbath. However, this also had to be rejected, since we read in Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Torah.” Hence, although Yeshua is the Son of God, He was born under the Torah.

 

Another possibility that has been proposed is that a recognized prophet is allowed to override a prohibition in the Torah in order to meet an urgent need at the moment. This combines the command that to the coming prophet like Mosheh, “To him you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15) with the incident of Elijah on Mount Carmel. The known and recognized prophet, Elijah, broke Torah commands by setting an altar and burnt sacrifices outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, as per the reasoning, Yeshua, a prophet greater than Elijah has the right to break the Torah commands. However, since the Master was not a publically recognized prophet, nor did the lame man even know who He was, this suggestion must also be rejected.

 

Another proposed solution has been to see this as a disagreement between Yeshua and the religious leaders as to the extent of the previously-defined domain, called an eruv. As such, it has been argued that, as a walled city, all of Jerusalem was incorporated into an eruv, making it permissible to carry objects within the walls of Jerusalem. However, a major problem here is that the pool of Bethesda was actually outside of the Sheep Gate, therefore, outside of the walls of the city during the time of the Master. Hence, once again, this suggested solution was rejected.

 

After all of this, we were at a cross-road. We had not been able to understand how these actions of the Master did not lead to Him setting aside the Shabbat commands. Recall, if He had set aside the commands, He would have to be deemed a false prophet, one to be rejected by His people. This leads us to today’s study.

 

Chesed, Not Sacrifice

 

There is a teaching regarding the proper study of Scripture that says, “Scripture interprets Scripture.” In other words, whenever we are having a problem properly understanding a passage, we need to do the hard work of finding other passages that are similar and may be clearer. This is part of the life of discipleship—journeying on the “long-shorter road.”

 

Although we are not told specifically by John as to why the Master did what He did here, there are plenty of other accounts of Yeshua and Shabbat. In most of these other passages, we are explicitly told the Master’s point regarding observing the weightier provisions of Torah.

 

In a passage in Mattai chapter 12, we read about Yeshua and His talmidim traveling through the fields on Shabbat. On this particular occasion, His disciples got hungry and began to pick the grain, rub it in their hands, and eat it. Recall that reaping, grinding, threshing of grain, etc., are all prohibited on Shabbat. When accused by the Pharisees as to why His disciples broke the Shabbat commands, Yeshua responded to them, “If only you knew what is said, ‘I have desired chesed [kindness] and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent” (Mattai 12:7). In this case, according to the Master’s reasoning, the hunger of His disciples alone justified the transgression. Notice that He did not try and say that His disciples had not violated the Shabbat commands; He simply stated that the alleviation of their hunger was reason enough to violate the command. Since their hunger superseded the Shabbat commands, although they had violated the commands, His disciples were “guiltless” as to their Torah-observance.

 

On many occasions the Master taught compassion for human beings, particularly the alleviation of human suffering, takes precedence over ritual and ceremonial commands. On many of these occasions, Yeshua quoted from Hosea 6:6, “For I desire chesed, not sacrifice; Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.”

 

Hosea was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had originally formed under the leadership of King Jeroboam, who had led a revolt of the ten northern tribes against Solomon’s son Rehoboam, king of Judah. Jeroboam was a wicked king: he created high places in Dan and Bethel and erected golden calves at the sites; he changed the priesthood; and he changed the calendar, celebrating the Feasts at the wrong time.

 

Almost a century later, King Ahab and his Phoenician wife, Jezebel, introduced pagan worship of Baal into Israel. At the same time, she tried to destroy the worship of the LORD by silencing the prophets. As punishment, Jehu launched a bloody coup, killing Ahaz’ descendants and he took the throne in Israel.

 

Another century later, Jehu’s descendant Jeroboam II ruled in a time of prosperity in Israel. However, by this time, Israel had strayed quite a ways from the LORD. Syncretism and idolatry had been incorporated into their worship of the LORD. It was into this era of financial prosperity, yet religious apostasy, that Hosea was sent by the LORD to the people of Israel as His prophet. We read in Hosea 4:1, 6:

 

Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land … My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

 

As the Messianic Jewish pioneer Paul Philip Levertoff stated, “It is possible “to keep all the commandments, and yet be far from God.” One can simply observe all the mitzvot, observe all of the outward rituals and ceremonies, and yet be very distant from God.

 

It was to this people, at this time in history that the LORD spoke to the apostate children of Israel through Hosea, saying, “For I desire chesed, not sacrifice; Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings” (6:6). The Hebrew word chesed can be translated in many ways: loving-kindness, compassion, mercy, covenant-loyalty, and covenant-love, to mention just a few.

 

In discussing this covenant-love, Paul Philip Levertoff stated:

 

Love is not the same as kindliness … love means something more … loving even him who is unlovable, having mercy upon those who seem to us to be unworthy, bringing down the grace of God to sinners … condescending to the lowest, the most degraded, because of the goodness that is hidden in them, because of the “divine spark” which is dormant even in the greatest sinner.

 

Getting back to the Master, when the same Pharisees criticized Him for eating and drinking with sinners and tax-collectors, He quoted Hosea 6:6 to justify His table-fellowship with the “undesirables.” He explained that He chose to associate with sinners (the spiritually ill), just as a physician cares for the physically sick (Mattai 9:12-13).

 

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the person that obeyed the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself was fulfilled by the Samaritan, who showed the wounded man chesed, while the priest and the Levite failed to do so because they placed ceremonial purity regulations above chased.

 

Our Master says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). As the Master’s brother, James, said, “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (5:20).

 

As written in the Jewish work, Tomer Devorah:

 

One should accustom himself to love his fellow men in his heart—even the wicked, as if they were his brothers. Moreover, [he should pursue this quality] until love for all people is fixed in his heart. He should even love the wicked in his heart, saying, “I only wish they were righteous, returning in repentance …” And how should he love them? By recalling in his thoughts the good qualities that are present in them and concealing their flaws, and refusing to see their defects; rather [he should look only for] the good qualities … “Why should I hate he whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, loves?”

 

Levertoff, again, states that, “love for man is more [significant] to God than the outward keeping of the whole [Torah].” As stated by James, “If you really fulfill the royal [Torah] according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well” (2:8).

 

In speaking about the Master’s prioritization of chesed above ritual and ceremonial commandments, Messianic Jewish pioneer Rabbi Lichtenstein clarifies:

 

It is not his intention (heaven forbid!) to permit desecration of Shabbat … rather, the meaning is that [chesed] is more important to the Holy One, Blessed be he, and so one takes precedence over the other. Likewise, the prophet Hoshea in this verse (Hoshea 6:6) did not intend to nullify the sacrifices, but instead to teach that the internal service of the heart is more important, as he says there, ‘And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.’”

 

In an account in Mark chapter 12, Yeshua also quotes Hosea 6:6:

 

One of the scholars heard them arguing and drew near to them. He saw that he had answered them well, and he asked him, “What is the first of all the mitzvot?” Yeshua answered him, “The first of all the mitzvot is: ‘Hear, O Yisra'el! HaShem is our God; HaShem is one. Love HaShem with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your knowledge, and with all of your strength.’ This is the first mitzvah. Now the second is similar to it:  ‘Love your fellow as yourself.’ There is no mitzvah greater than these.”

The scholar replied, “Truly, rabbi, you have spoken well. For God is one, and there is none besides him. And to love him with all of one’s heart and with all of one’s knowledge and with all of one’s soul and with all of one’s strength, and to love a fellow like your own life—that is greater than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Yeshua … said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God!” (Mark 12:28-34)

 

Unfortunately, taken out of their Jewish context, the traditional church understanding of this passage is that all of Torah-observance has been “down-graded” to simply “loving God and loving one’s neighbor,” as if they were the only commandments that are applicable today. However, this is a grave misunderstanding of this passage.

 

Contrary to the church’s teaching, the commands to love God and neighbor do not replace the rest of the commandments of the Torah. Rather, these two commands represent the essence of all the commandments of the Torah. From the parallel passage, Yeshua said, “The Torah and the Prophets hang on these two mitzvot” (Mattai 22:40). In this passage in Mark, the Master used Hosea 6:6 to teach a principle of placing compassion (chesed) for human beings and the alleviation of human suffering ahead of ceremonial concerns.

 

Chesed towards “the Worms”

 

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)

 

Now, in traditional Christian understanding, this passage in Isaiah chapter 41 is the proof-text for what has been called “Worm Theology.” Now, although many of you have probably never heard this term, I believe you will recognize its message. By combining this passage with Isaiah 64:5, “We have all become like an unclean thing, And all our virtues like a filthy rag. We are all withering like leaves, And our iniquities, like a wind, carry us off;” Psalm 51:7, “Indeed I was born with iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me,” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” the substance of the so-called Good News in the traditional church is:

 

We are all bound for hell unless we are intercepted by God in some manner. Everything we do is wrong. Our best efforts are as filthy garments. Heck, the Jews tried to earn their salvation, and we all know how that ended up. Since the soul that sins will die, and all we do is sin, we will all face an eternity of suffering the punishments of hell for eternity unless we “believe in Jesus.” There is absolutely nothing we can do to get out of hell and into heaven, so God gave us an easier way. If we just believe in Jesus or perform these sacraments, we are promised to not go to hell. Instead, we will go to heaven when we die. Therefore, admit that you are a sinner and that you can’t do anything right. Stop trying to live a holy life. You can’t do it, anyways!

 

Well, where do I begin to destroy this interpretation? For starters, if we are all “worms,” that is, worthless sinners, then we have no reason to obey God’s commands. After all, there is absolutely no motivation for me to improve myself and obey God’s Torah commandments if I am told and believe that I am as worthless as a worm! Maybe that is why the church is in such a heap of trouble with so many so-called Christians living their lives like the devil but expecting to get out of hell simply because they at some moment in their past prayed some prayer or partook in some sacrament.

 

However, this traditional church “worm theology” that just kicks us when we are down is not the Good News of the Gospel! No, we need to look and see why God called Jacob a worm. He did not use the word as a term of contempt and ridicule. In the Scriptures, a worm symbolizes lowliness and helplessness. After all, the worm has no defenses and is one of the lowliest of all life forms.

 

The LORD compares Israel to a worm because, just like a worm, Israel in exile is small, defenseless, and helpless. Contrary to the false understanding by the church, God calls Israel a worm to express His concern, love, and care for His downtrodden people. God is revealing His compassion, His chesed, by describing Israel as a worm.

 

A twentieth-century philanthropist, Herr Muller, was a disciple of one of the pioneers of the Messianic Jewish movement. One of Muller’s students observed that as he walked, he was always concerned with earthworms that were on the sidewalk and street. He would pick each one up, give a few reassuring words to it, and then place it safely on the grass. When asked about his rather odd behavior, he replied, “Because they are the least of the least, the least powerful, the helpless … Jesus told us that in the least of the least we would find Him.” The student asked, “Jesus is a worm?” Muller gracefully corrected him, “No, Jesus is compassion.”

 

The Spirit of the Messiah describes His crucifixion in Psalm 22 when He declares:

 

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” (22:6-8)

 

Therefore, Messiah and Israel, both referred to in Isaiah as “The Servant of the LORD,” are also both called a worm. Just as the Messiah at His crucifixion is called a worm in Psalm 22:7, so Israel in exile is called a worm in Isaiah 41:14. Hence, rather than the extremely incorrect “worm theology” of the church that kicks us when we are down and beats us into submission, God links lowly and helpless Israel with the Messiah. God cares for the downtrodden in our world. He cares for the defenseless and the helpless. To the “little ones” the LORD says, Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14) May God look upon me as worthy to be called a worm, and so help me with His chesed!

 

Righteous before HaShem

 

Getting back to our passage that we started last week, we may safely assume that after thirty-eight years of paralysis, the man at Bethesda had very few, if any, other possessions to his name than the bedroll upon which he slept. We find a similar situation in the Torah.

 

When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort … if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God. (Deut. 24:10-13)

 

In this hypothetical situation, a poor man must secure his loan with his cloak, which also functions as his bedroll. The Torah warns the creditor not to keep the collateral overnight. The creditor must return the cloak to the poor man every day before sunset so that he will be able to sleep in it. If the creditor will do so, the LORD will reckon his acts of chesed on the poor man as righteousness.

 

In helping us answer our dilemma, in John 5, the sick man’s bedroll is the equivalent of the poor man’s cloak. Here we see that the Master prioritized chesed above ceremonial and ritual commands and told the man to get up, take his bedroll, and go. In so doing, Yeshua did not abrogate the prohibition against carrying on Shabbat, nor did He declare that particular prohibition to be invalid. Also, He did not criticize the tradition.

 

Instead, the Master acted according to a higher ethical standard of showing chesed, compassion, mercy, to another human being, created in the likeness of God, may occasionally override the ceremonial prohibitions. Even according to strict rabbinic halachah, human dignity should take priority.

 

Exception to the Rule, based on Chesed

 

Therefore, as we finish, Yeshua showed compassion, chesed, to the sick man with the bedroll as a legitimate exception to the prohibition against carrying on Shabbat. The Master did not intend to set a new, lower standard by which His followers could set aside Shabbat regulations.

 

How do we know that the Master and His disciples never carried objects on Shabbat? How do we know that He did not lower the standards or do away with them completely? When Yeshua was telling His disciples about the coming tribulations and persecutions, He told them, “Pray that you flight will not be … on a Shabbat” (Mattai 24:20). In the midst of persecutions and having to flee for one’s life, what is the importance of it not occurring on Shabbat?

 

After all, Shabbat regulations allow one to break the Sabbath to save one’s life. Taking flight from one’s enemies to save one’s life is permissible on Shabbat; however, the immediate threat to life does not justify carrying one’s belongings on Shabbat. A person’s life is not at stake if he leaves his possessions and money behind on Shabbat. Therefore, Yeshua is telling his followers that they should pray that their future flight from their enemies does not occur on Shabbat; otherwise, they will have to leave their possessions behind!

 

Hence, after all of this, what we can say is that through a “loop-hole” within the Torah, not by setting Torah commandments aside, the Master made the exception for this poor man that since his possessions most likely consisted solely in this bedroll, that as an act of chesed, the man could carry his only possession with him on Shabbat, rather than ending up losing his bedroll. In this way, Yeshua revealed God’s love for humanity by justifying His actions on the basis that showing compassion to a lowly, defenseless, human being took precedence over observing the ritual regulations of Shabbat. This was simply an exception to the Shabbat commands, and Yeshua did not in any way overturn or obliterate the Shabbat regulations.