So in REL 312 this past Tuesday, we discussed the difference between purity and pollution, in the ancient sense. Jesus really did rock people's worlds off of their axes when he dealt with so many exiles of society. When he forgave them of their sins, he didn't just heal them (in fact, the gospels seem to want to make it clear that the miracles are not the important part of the stories) he brought them back into relationship with society. Man, I can just see the look on the scribes' and Pharisees' faces when Jesus acted with such audacity as to welcome such outcasts with open arms.
Who did Jesus think he was? Heck, who did the outcasts think he was? Did they really understand what was going on when he interacted with them? I suppose they did, but just because he reconciled them with society didn't mean that they were automatically buddy-buddy with the scribes and Pharisees. When left with no source of income until they found some vocation in their community, did the newcomers to the "in crowd" feel like the ex-leper in Life of Brian? Shoved into a community that didn't really want much to do with them and that they possibly didn't want to do much with?
I think they definitely felt this way. These people had lived their whole lives in seclusion from everyone else and had grown used to the idea of going solo. I think however, that after awhile these new members of society caught onto the world that they had missed out on; I think they got used to it and moved on. I no if it were me I would at first be thrown off but I would be so overjoyed to be healed that I would make it work. As far as the people of the community are concerned, I'm sure they did not accept these people at first...but so many more important things were happening at that time that I would think people would eventually just stop caring; the healed would kinda just get lost in the crowd.
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