When Jesus Taught a Form of Situation Ethics: Matthew 12

I am currently reading the classic 1966 work Situation Ethics: The New Morality by Joseph Fletcher. For most of my young adult years and following, I was taught to steer clear of the philosophy espoused by Fletcher. While the author does seem to have some problematic ideas, I was surprised to learn that his basic ideas have Christian roots. 

I fact, I would argue, Jesus Himself taught a form of situation ethics in Matthew 12. The following is an attempt to show how the passage about "doing good on the Sabbath" is indeed situational. 

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." Verses 1-2 NIV

It must be pointed out at the first that the Pharisees were not accusing Jesus and His disciples of doing something inherently unlawful. Gleaning was perfectly legal, as it was the provision in the Law for the poor. You could say it was a poor tax. [For those who correctly use the Bible looking for principles that apply to today, how about applying that to your politics?]

The Pharisees complaint was that they were working on the Sabbath. There is actually no commandment in the Old Testament prohibiting gleaning on the Sabbath. That was a rule they had added to the Law. It was their interpretation of a particular command: not to work on the Sabbath. Legalists want to have everything delineated, so they make as many rules as they can think of to cover every possible scenario. 

As we will see, Jesus will say that even the commandments of scripture are not hard and fast. What is most important is the needs of people.

He answered, "Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests." Verses 3-4 NIV

Some would argue that what David did was wrong, even though there was a good outcome. But that is not how Jesus argues. He is not saying the He and His disciples are wrong, but they were hungry, so they should just be forgiven. He is saying that sometimes laws themselves do not apply to certain situations if the need of people is more important than the reason the law was given. Jesus is teaching a form of situation ethics!

Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? Verse 5 NIV

Laws are not meant to cover each and every situation. Some commandments supersede others. 

"I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Verses 6-8 NIV

Some other translations translate the word "something" as "someone" or "Someone." The Greek is unclear. Considering verse 8's "Lord of the Sabbath," it is understandable that translators would assume Jesus was talking about Himself. But He could be referring to a greater principle than service to the Temple. Jesus certainly has the right to say what is right or wrong to do on the Sabbath. But certainly Jesus based His decisions of right and wrong upon principle. And, given what He taught in the rest of the Gospels, certainly that principle was Love--what meets the needs of people. 

Notice Jesus says that He and His disciples should not just be forgiven, but that they have nothing to be forgiven for; they are innocent. The mercy Jesus is talking about is not just forgiving those who are wrong. It is recognizing that sometimes Love does not condemn because it recognizes the people who the supposed spiritual leaders think are sinners, are actually innocent! 

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Verses 9-14 NIV

God values people. Too often we value things over people. We value protecting property over protecting people; it doesn't matter who gets hurt in the crossfire. 

It's easier to just say, "The Bible says," then to actually treat people the way God does. To bless those who curse us as He does, giving rain and sun to both just and unjust. Our perceived ideas of another's sin is no excuse to treat them with harm, or to prevent others from helping them. 

God wants us to act mercifully instead of going around like the Pharisees did trying to find lawbreakers. He wants us to bless those we see as unjust, and often realize those we think of as sinners are really innocent. 

Forging a Sacred Weapon: The 1946 Bible Translation Behind Anti-Gay Theology

This book has been a very long time coming. A decade ago, Kathy Baldock never dreamed she would become involved in the battle over Gay Theology. It sort of fell into her lap. Some will, I am sure, claim it was placed there by Satan. I am convinced that God, rather than the Devil, is behind the details. 

Whatever you may think of Baldock and her conclusions, it is obvious that details are important to her. Her new book is not some slipshod, hastily put together treatise. She has done her homework, and honest scholars will wrestle with what she has revealed for years to come.

The book revolves around the original Revised Standard Version's translation of 1 Corimthians 6:9-10, first published in 1946. This was the first translation in any language to use the word "homosexual"--a term coined in 1869 by Karl Maria Kertbeny. In 1971, the RSV corrected the wording to "sexual perverts," reflecting the original Greek better. However, Baldock contends that the damage was already done, as the word "homosexual" or "homosexuality" was incorporated into various versions following, including the very popular paraphrase, The Living Epistles, which continued the use in The Living Bible. 

Ironically, the concept of homosexuality even made its way into the German Bible (Hoffnung für Alle) financed by the publishers of the NIV. This ignored the tradition of following the translation by Martin Luther, which used the word Knabenschänder, which means "a male adult who sexually assaults boys." This is far from the mutual consent we see in loving same sex relationships today.

Baldock also traces the history of sex, and how roles were viewed since Old Testament times until the present. This history is vitally helpful in helping us understand the horrific sexual scenes which are often depicted in the Bible, as well as archaic ideas which evolved through the years. Thoroughly researched, with an extensive Bibliography and Indices, this book is invaluable for anyone wanting to do a serious study of the relationship of homosexulity and the Church. 

Forging a Sacred Weapon is now available for purchase on Amazon, or directly from the author through CanyonWalkerConnections.