Everywhere Jesus goes there are crowds.  That word, ochlos, is used by Luke to describe the multitudes of common people who followed after Jesus – especially for healing. They are not criminals or the dregs of society. They are not homeless or unemployed. They are average citizens. Roman writers of the time referred to everyone not in the elite as the nameless and faceless crowd. This was what we would today call his base. They are common people looking for something they have not found anywhere else. In the beginning they are small groups in the synagogue or simply gathered around him listening but soon they are pressing against him and then so tightly packed that others in desperate need cannot get to him. Everyone is clamoring for his attention even at the expense of others. In time, those crowds turn into large numbers of disciples and that is when the leaders are rightfully fearful of the influence Jesus has on the people. For the very same word for crowd is the word for mob and we all know what can happen when a crowd of common people turns into a mob with a charismatic leader. It’s unpredictable but there is always a tipping point when a crowd becomes a destructive mob and it never ends well.

Each of these stories is in one way or another an illustration of how Jesus sticks it to the man and ridicules the elite.  He not only is a norm breaker but he does it openly and the crowds love it. They know their leaders are only interested in keeping their own positions. They are shepherds who despise the sheep. Not only do they despise them but they are afraid of them. Remember their reluctance to answer the question, Jesus asked them about the source of his authority?

One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

They are afraid of what the sheep might do if they turned on them. So far, the sheep have just ignored them or cynically written them off but with a leader like Jesus it might become a serious rebellion and that would upset the delicate balance with the Romans. Everyone loses if Jesus decides to take advantage of his popularity with the people. So far, they have only praised God for what they have seen but that could quickly turn into a cult. With just a little encouragement from Jesus it could become a cult instead. That’s how things go normally. Religious leaders are always seduced by the adoration of the people and the access to power.

The conflict in the first story, of course, is Jesus claiming for himself what can only be claimed by God – the power to forgive sins. That was not just stretching the limit but clearly and intentionally stepping over the line from teacher to claiming powers reserved for God alone. Healing was one thing. Speaking with authority was another. But suddenly using a title that was reserved for the Messiah was more than  a poke in the eyes of the leaders. It was setting himself above them. They were no longer special compared to the Son of Man. Of course, we would likely feel the same way were an upstart religious personality gathering a crowd of followers on social media suddenly take things to the next level and claim to be not only a leader but THE leader – a supernatural leader specially anointed by God. We would likely be surprised by how quickly the gullible crowds would follow him without asking any questions. After all, as the Grand Inquisitor said so well, all people really want is bread and circuses.  They want miracles and entertainment to distract them and bread to feed them. Give them those and they will follow anyone. All the orthodox Bible teaching in the world is no match for that. The leaders were right to be fearful. Jesus could turn the people from a crowd into a mob with only a gesture. They were ready.

In the second of the three stories Jesus finds a tax collector named Levi sitting at his booth and calls him to be one of the twelve. Of course, tax collectors were despised for being not only traitors who fed off the misery of their own people but grifters of the worst kind who lined their own pockets. They were the first targets of every revolt as they were symbols of the shame and oppression of the people. To be seen with them was the quickest way to destroy your reputation – even for one followed by the crowds because the crowds also hated the tax collectors.. So going to a home and eating with traitors was not only breaking the norms of the leaders but the people as well. No one would understand Jesus basically saying, “I’m not interested in your opinion of my choices.  I am the Son of Man after all.”

Of course, no one but Jesus had any interest in these filthy and corrupt people repenting. Just the opposite. Everyone was quite happy thinking they would one day get what they deserved – death or being run out of town on a rail. I have my own list of people I would like to see stay unrepentant. In my heart of hearts I would love to see Steve Bannon, Roger Stone and David Duke live miserable lives with no hope of redemption. I would like to see them made examples. I am like the older brother and the prodigal son. I will be upset if they repent and return home and are forgiven. I would be just like Jonah. I would refuse to pray for Nineveh and it would take a whale to turn me around. Even then, like Jonah, I would sulk and not rejoice.

But I think Jesus had other things in mind for them. He said, “Send me to the hardest cases. The ones everyone has given up on. The ones who deserve nothing but punishment when the Messiah comes.” Maybe it was because he could see the impact one life of a tax collector who was turned around could have. Maybe what he saw was a room full of nothing but wee little men like Zaccheus. What might happen if just one of them repented?  I cannot see that. I cannot see what Jesus saw and how little he cared about what I think about his choice to reach out for the very ones I despise the most. I love it when Jesus breaks the norms of others but not when he attacks mine. I’m with the Pharisees on this one.

Before the third story there is this wonderful little interlude where Jesus responds to those who wonder why he is not requiring his disciples to follow the same rules and restrictions they have come to expect from religious leaders. His response is the parable of the wineskins. But I don’t think it is an indictment of the Pharisees and John as it is simply stating a fact. Not everyone likes the new. We get comfortable with the tried and true. Even though our traditions become tired and worn around the edges we still like them.  How many people miss hymnals? How many people would rather have a printed program again? How many people would rather the preacher be in a suit than skinny jeans, sneakers, and shaved haircut? We may miss out on the latest innovations but we miss the comfort of the old ways. New ways should be put into new skins and not forced on the old. But the old skins should not resent or subvert the new. We should encourage and support them. Even though the new wine is not to our taste and it is the old wine that tastes best to us we should recognize that the Church of old wine alone is a dying Church. John’s ways are not bad – just old wine.

Finally, not only does Jesus stick it to the man but he is actually encouraging his followers to do the same. We have talked about this before but the strict observance of the Sabbath was not just a tradition or a rule. It was along with circumcision the sign of the very identity of a Jew. If a person does not observe the Sabbath they have no right to call themselves a Jew.  To encourage others was not only heresy but treason.  What are the things that define us as Americans? What happens when someone disrespects the flag and takes a knee instead of saluting? What would it be to intentionally offend the few things that define us as a people and make us special? Remember when Jane Fonda visited North Vietnam and expressed her support for them? What was the reaction? She was a traitor who should give up her citizenship for doing that. What is the reaction when judges and leaders intentionally abandon the Constitution in their rulings and encourage others to do the same? They have undercut the foundations of our democracy and should be punished.

That is how the leaders saw Jesus when he not only allowed his disciples to ignore one of the fundamental principles of Judaism but went on to say “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” In other words, he would decide what mattered and what did not. It would be up to him, and only him, to have the final say on the things that had defined them for centuries. He would speak for God – even correct God – and all the non-negotiable were now up for grabs. There were no givens or immutable laws. There were no first principles upon which all could agree and would obey. There was only the will and whims of Jesus. He was above the Law and claiming equality with God. The people were too stupid or deluded to see the danger but someone had to do something. This was their duty to Almighty God. God wanted Jesus dead.

We can see why the leaders were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. This was not some bumpkin miracle worker who had for a moment captured the interest of the people. This was someone not only capable of leading the people into heresy and worse but someone who fully intended to do exactly that. Jesus had made it clear what his intentions were. His blasphemy, his cultivation of the worst but wealthiest elements of society and now his offending the deepest values of Judaism could only mean one thing. He was going to organize the growing mob and use his powers for his own destructive purposes. And so far they had been helpless to do anything about it. That had to change. Anyone could see what was in the mind of Jesus. The young boy who had delighted them in the Temple at 12 had become a serious threat to everything that Temple represents. How far might he go?