actually wants to share. From his question “If any one of you had a child or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull it out at once in a
Sabbath? Luke: 14:5” Jesus implicitly wants people to know how important the life of human being is than life of any other creatures in the world. The Sabbath,
from Jesus‟ reinterpretations, should be the day where people are allowed to work; to save the life of human being Mark 3:4. For Jesus, The importance of human
being is the reason of the Sabbath establishment. Therefore, human being is the Lord of the Sabbath Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-27, Luke 6:1-5. Jesus also asks
“What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone‟s life or to destroy it? Mark 3: 4”. From this question, Jesus implicitly
wants to challenge people especially the Jewish authorities about their understanding of Sabbath. The implication of this question is that Jesus wants
people know that letting someone suffer in sickness during the Sabbath is equal with destroying human being‟s life which is categorized as sin. The Jews, in
contrary, understand it as a profanation to Sabbath as a holy day. What they understand about the Sabbath is that Sabbath is the day when no one in the land,
neither the foreigners nor the animals is allowed to work Exodus 20: 8-10, Deuteronomy 12-
14. The one who oppose against Jesus‟ reinterpretation about the Sabbath is the Jewish authorities. In many cases, the Jewish authorities try to
kill Jesus because of this matter Matthew 12:14, Mark 3:6, John 5:18 The Jewish authorities‟ plan to kill Jesus is the embodiment of the clash of two
different ideas about Torah. The different ideas then makes the Jewish authorities plan to kill Jesus
because Jesus‟ idea is different from theirs.
4. Reinterpretation of the Son of God
In the Gospel, Jesus many times implicitly declares himself as the son of God. He admits that he is sent by God to do what God wants. For the Jews, they
are all the children of God John 8:41 However, the concept of the son of God between Jesus and the Jews are different. For Jesus, a prophet is the one who does
anything God commands him to do. It means that God works through the prophet. Just the same with a father and his son; a good son must obey his father. If both a
prophet and a son obey what their God and father say then they must represent the quality of God and father. Therefore, if Jesus says that he is the prophet, then God,
the one who commands him to do anything must be his father. This brings the meaning that Jesus represents the quality of God as his father. In this case, both
parties, father and son, are united by one quality. That is why Jesus says that he and God as his father are one as they both express the same quality. In another
hand, Jesus reinterpretation about the son of God is not well accepted by the people. It can be seen when Jesus heals a paralyzed man who is brought by the
people to him Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26. When the paralyzed man is brought to Jesus, he says “Courage, my son Your sins are forgiven”
Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20. Jesus here dares himself to forgive sins. This action then makes the negative reaction from the teachers of law. They believe
that it is only God who has authority to do that Matthew 9:3, Mark 2:7, Luke 7:21. In John, it is written that Jesus is rejected by the people because he tries to
make himself equals to God John 10:33.
“We do not want to stone you because of any good deeds, but because of your blasphemy You are just a man, but you are trying to make yourself God”
John 10:33. The term “Son of God” itself has a certain meaning in Jewish
tradition. Warren Carter in his book John and Empire says that “sons of God”
refers to those who become the “agents” of God Carter, 2008: 194. For the Jews,
a prophet is still a prophet, a human being. Though a prophet is a chosen one, he still cannot be equal with God as he is only a messenger. This means that for the
Jews, there is no one in the world can have the same position with God though it is a prophet. For the Jews, the effort of being equal with God like what Jesus does
is considered as sin. This is what they called it as blasphemy; the action that shows a lack of respect to God. The one who does blasphemy, according to Torah,
is to be put to be put to death. That is why the Jews stone Jesus after knowing that he makes himself God.
From Jesus‟ reinterpretation of Torah, it is clear that he shares new concepts of understanding Torah. The concept of forgiveness, love and charity,
and peace however do not fit with the condition and reality of the society at the time. This is the impact of the clash of ideas and desires between Jesus and the
society, especially the Jewish authorities. This conflict is an external conflict as it includes other characters; the Jewish authorities. It can be simply said that the
concepts Jesus offers to the Jews is different from what the Jews want to acknowledge.
Firstly, it is important to know the background of the society at the time before elaborating the conflict. In Jesus time, the Jews are described as a society
who lives under the domination of Roman Emperor. Palestine, the Jewish land, the setting where the story takes place, is under the Roman control. Smallwood
says that “Palestine came under Roman control, partial from 63 B.C. and complete from A.D. 6.” Smallwood, 1976: 1. In the gospel itself, it is mentioned many
times that the Jews are under the Roman domination. In the beginning of the gospel is m
entioned that Herod is the ruler of Judea. “Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of Herod was king” Matthew 2:1. In
Luke, it is also mentioned that “During the time when Herod was king of Judea,…” Luke1:5. Herod himself is a ruler of Roman Emperor Smallwood,
1976: 44. It can be seen also when the Pharisees ask Jesus whether to pay tax to the emperor or not in Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26. Here,
it can be said that the Roman Emperor is mentioned as the responsible authority during that time. Another indication which prove that the Jews in the gospel live
under the Roman domination can be seen when Jesus is brought to Pilate to be sentenced to death Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14, Mark 15:1-5Luke 23:1-5, John 18:28-
38. It is mentioned that “They put him in chains, led him off, and handed him over to Pilate, the Roman governor” Matthew 27:2. It is clear that the Jews at the
time in the gospel do live under the Roman domination. Not only under the Roman rule do the Jews live. Many years before, even
before the birth of Jesus, the Jews was already lived under foreign rule. In 587 BC, the Davidic kingdom of the Jews felt under the control of Babylonian rule.
Many of the Jews were exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar the king Grabbe, 2010: 2. The Babylonian exile was the most pathetical experience of the Jewish
