Monday, August 22, 2005

The Master Deviant

The term deviance refers to a practice that is outside the established norms for a particular society or group within a society. Christ is the Master deviant! Not in terms of conforming to the wishes of His heavenly Father and doing God's will, but this question is referring to deviance to society. In the course of His earthly life, Jesus consistently defied the social norms of His day. There are too many examples to share them all but I would like to point out a few.
He amazed His disciples, in John chapter 4, because He, being both a man and a Jew, openly spoke to a Samaritan woman. This broke not only social customs in dealing with other races but also in dealing with members of the opposite sex. He was willing to not only heal lepers but also touch them. This is something that a leprous person would never feel again- human touch. They were outcast by society and here Jesus (Mark 1) shows compassion, and deviance from society because they had no compassion, and instead of moving away from him or requiring him to shout "Unclean, Unclean!" Jesus reaches for him and touches him! Here's a thought. Do you think He touched them because He knew He was God or because He didn't care and had the faith to be protected?
Jesus deviated from the culture norms in that He did not instruct His followers to ceremoniously wash their hands before eating (Mt.15). He again surprised His disciples when He, being the Master, washed the feet of His disciples. This was a chore that society had reserved for the lowliest of servants. And yet here was the One they had confessed was the Messiah kneeling to wash feet!
He again deviated in Mark 10 when He instructed His disciples to not forbid the little children to come to Him- for society wanted the children seen and not heard and not waste the Master's time- but instead took time for them and explained that the adults must become like the children!
Pilate was also amazed at His deviance from established norms seeing how He did not try to defend Himself. Pilate in John 19 asked Jesus if He understood that Pilate had the power to crucify Him and why then would Jesus not present a defense against the charges. Jesus responded in a way that was deviant from the natural and cultural norm to self-preserve. He had already explained that His Kingdom was not of this world. If it was, His followers would fight, but since it wasn't, they wouldn't. None of this should have surprised him because Jesus(Emmanuel) had already stated, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways... (Is 55:8)

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