It usually takes more than one date to get a hug!
Many people were "offended" by Jesus (Mat. 11:2-19).
Some were offended, some were threatened, some were bored, others were captivated. Then, as now.
Mat 10:14 - "And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."
This ritual act might go back to the Hebrew notion that heathen dust was polluting, therefore making Judeans ritually unclean. If so, the idea is far removed from Jesus, who rejected the concept that ritual impurity could result from contact with lepers, the dead or from gentiles.
Mat 15:12,14 - "Then His disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? . . . 'Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.'"
The fact that Thomas records this saying, and the one about plants rooted out, in different contexts demonstrates that both sayings were once passed orally from person to person. As common wisdom, it would be appropriate on the lips of almost any sage. Jesus was more unique than that, I believe.
Luke 13:31,32 - "The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying to Him, Go out and depart from here, for Herod will kill you. And He said to them, You go and tell that fox, Behold, today and tomorrow, I cast out demons and I complete cures, and the third day I will be finished.
This reflects the plan of Luke's gospel. The second saying form has been repeated before (Greek dei, "it is necessary." This can also be seen in other Luke verses (9:22; 24:44; Acts 1:16, 9:6, 16, 23:11 and 27:24). These saying do not appear in any other written gospel--including Q.
Mat. 23:15 - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you compass sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."
These condemnations came after the destruction of the temple and are unique to Matthew. Rabbinic traditions took written forms in the Mishna only by the third century. The geographical base of the Pharisees was far to the south in Judea, while Galilee was to the north. Scholars think the sayings reflect the later historical context, not the public life of Jesus. If Jesus interacted with any Pharisees it was personal contact and quite limited.
John 8:44 - "Ye are of your father the devil. . ."
This controversy represents a period of early Christianity, when the mostly gentile community was trying to establish its claims over and against the Jewish community. We need to remember that if a gospel of Jesus were written today, he would be talking literally about prayer in schools, abortion and gender issues. Each gospel reflects a living Jesus which is meaningful for a particular community of believers at a particular time. Most scholars see John's account as the last to be written--nearly 100 years after the crucifixion.
Mark 11:15 - "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;"
That Jesus engaged in some anti-temple act and/or made some statement against the temple, or against its practices, is mentioned in all four canonical gospels.
Mat. 7:6 - "Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine,"
I hope I haven't done this! One good thing that came out of this post was that I really had to work and study over this one! So thanks for THAT!
