Digging Deeper - On the Other Hand
I truly enjoy the story portrayed in Fiddler on the Roof. Rexanne and I went to see the play on one of our early dates, at The Muny outside theater in St Louis way back in 1998. The main character in the story is Tevye, who is stressed because his daughters, one by one, choose mates in unconventional ways. Tevye has an ongoing habit of talking to God out loud when alone, trying to reason through the struggles he has. In one case, ruminating about his daughter, he says, “What kind of a match would this be with a poor tailor?... On the other hand, he is an honorable, hard worker… On the other hand, he has absolutely nothing… but on the other hand, things could never get worse for him, only better.”
What is being demonstrated through Tevye, weighing two opposing viewpoints, is very Jewish, a true part of their culture. He argues for one side, then for the other, pitting what appears to be two opposite viewpoints. We see it throughout the Bible. Examples would include Jesus being both fully human and fully God, a paradox that requires us to see two sides to something that seems at odds. God is loving and in control, yet he allows tragedy to occur and doesn’t always rescue the righteous. God is everywhere, and yet he can be at a specific place. As we look at the New Testament, Jesus would sometimes speak in paradoxes, such as, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last” (Mark 9:35) or when he says, “anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we are told “no one can see God and live” and yet just a few chapters later, the seventy elders of Israel go up on Mount Sinai, see God and live (Exodus 24:9; 33:20). No one can see God and live, but on the other hand…
In our culture we have a tendency when faced with such paradoxes to think one side of thought must be correct, the other side in error. But in Jewish culture that’s not the approach. Does a human have free will, or does God predestine what happens? A Jew might think, both are true, and they would be correct. On the surface the ideas seem contradictory, but with thought, humans do have free will to make choices, while God can see the future and exercise a certain level of control while implementing his will, a tension we must accept as these ideas coexist.
This “on the other hand” approach comes to play when faced with tough decisions, as we weigh what seem to be conflicting precepts. For example, for a Jew the law says to circumcise a newborn boy on the eighth day, and yet this would be considered work. What if the eighth day falls on the Sabbath, when work is forbidden? They would weigh out this conflict and decide that circumcision takes precedence over the Sabbath (John 7:21-24). A concept known as “pikuach nephesh,” Hebrew for “preservation of life.” The Law itself was given to bring life (Deut. 30:16), so having your life consecrated through circumcision trumps resting on the Sabbath. Imagine you are hiding a Jew during World War 2, and suddenly Nazi’s pound on your door. “Are you hiding a Jew?.” Isn’t it a sin to lie? If you don’t, you put the Jews life in jeopardy. Saving their life trumps lying. Yielding to the higher good.
Here's one for you. Are we saved by grace or by works? Ephesians 2:8 seems to clearly say by grace, not by works. But James 2:24 clearly says, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” And Philippians 2:12 says, “As you have always obeyed, so now…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” So, which is it? It’s another paradox: we are saved by grace through faith, but true faith responds in obedience. We can’t save ourselves. Salvation cannot be merited, but if we only have mental belief and don’t follow, don’t obey, we are no better than the demons who believe but do not obey (James 2:19), and they are lost. Again, a tension we must accept as these ideas of grace and works coexist.
Tevye might frame the paradox like this, “On one hand, I am a sinner, I know I can’t save myself; I agree with some of the reformers that Jesus did all needed to provide for my salvation. On the other hand, I am saved by being part of Jesus’ kingdom, and he is king. I must obey my king to be part of this kingdom. I’m not saved otherwise.” As the Jewish Tevye does, and as we should do, the tension of this paradox must be allowed to hold sway.
Cross Point: Another paradox: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matt. 20:26).
What is being demonstrated through Tevye, weighing two opposing viewpoints, is very Jewish, a true part of their culture. He argues for one side, then for the other, pitting what appears to be two opposite viewpoints. We see it throughout the Bible. Examples would include Jesus being both fully human and fully God, a paradox that requires us to see two sides to something that seems at odds. God is loving and in control, yet he allows tragedy to occur and doesn’t always rescue the righteous. God is everywhere, and yet he can be at a specific place. As we look at the New Testament, Jesus would sometimes speak in paradoxes, such as, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last” (Mark 9:35) or when he says, “anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we are told “no one can see God and live” and yet just a few chapters later, the seventy elders of Israel go up on Mount Sinai, see God and live (Exodus 24:9; 33:20). No one can see God and live, but on the other hand…
In our culture we have a tendency when faced with such paradoxes to think one side of thought must be correct, the other side in error. But in Jewish culture that’s not the approach. Does a human have free will, or does God predestine what happens? A Jew might think, both are true, and they would be correct. On the surface the ideas seem contradictory, but with thought, humans do have free will to make choices, while God can see the future and exercise a certain level of control while implementing his will, a tension we must accept as these ideas coexist.
This “on the other hand” approach comes to play when faced with tough decisions, as we weigh what seem to be conflicting precepts. For example, for a Jew the law says to circumcise a newborn boy on the eighth day, and yet this would be considered work. What if the eighth day falls on the Sabbath, when work is forbidden? They would weigh out this conflict and decide that circumcision takes precedence over the Sabbath (John 7:21-24). A concept known as “pikuach nephesh,” Hebrew for “preservation of life.” The Law itself was given to bring life (Deut. 30:16), so having your life consecrated through circumcision trumps resting on the Sabbath. Imagine you are hiding a Jew during World War 2, and suddenly Nazi’s pound on your door. “Are you hiding a Jew?.” Isn’t it a sin to lie? If you don’t, you put the Jews life in jeopardy. Saving their life trumps lying. Yielding to the higher good.
Here's one for you. Are we saved by grace or by works? Ephesians 2:8 seems to clearly say by grace, not by works. But James 2:24 clearly says, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” And Philippians 2:12 says, “As you have always obeyed, so now…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” So, which is it? It’s another paradox: we are saved by grace through faith, but true faith responds in obedience. We can’t save ourselves. Salvation cannot be merited, but if we only have mental belief and don’t follow, don’t obey, we are no better than the demons who believe but do not obey (James 2:19), and they are lost. Again, a tension we must accept as these ideas of grace and works coexist.
Tevye might frame the paradox like this, “On one hand, I am a sinner, I know I can’t save myself; I agree with some of the reformers that Jesus did all needed to provide for my salvation. On the other hand, I am saved by being part of Jesus’ kingdom, and he is king. I must obey my king to be part of this kingdom. I’m not saved otherwise.” As the Jewish Tevye does, and as we should do, the tension of this paradox must be allowed to hold sway.
Cross Point: Another paradox: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matt. 20:26).
Posted in Cross Points