Jesus and Honor

Jesus is a figure whom has since his own time inspired ambivalence amongst the world’s population. During his own lifetime there were those who loved him, and those who hated him. The theme of honor and its relationship to Jesus in its various forms is one which runs throughout the book of Luke. The many ways in which he gained honor and lost it becomes central in understanding the mindset of ancient Rome and Israel. It is also important when examining what makes Christ so unique in the scheme of things. 

Jesus’ disciples and the large crowds that followed him became his biggest proponents. His disciples are more than followers, they become like bodyguards; this is important because it speaks to Jesus’ “royalty” in that he is the “heir” to the House of David as well as the son of God. His disciples are constantly differing to him and treating him with the respect due a member of the nobility. Luke repeatedly speaks about the crowds and how they were “amazed”, or later, “spellbound”. In one such instance in chapter 12, Jesus attacks the Pharisees and it is because of the great crowd that the Pharisees cannot do any harm to Jesus. This becomes important later on when Jesus is arrested. Jesus is always playing to the crowd, and his honor continues to rise, not as a simple man, but as the Messiah. Chapter 19 talks about a man, Zacchaeus, a tax collector of all people, who climbs a tree to watch Jesus’ entrance into Jericho. Jesus’ honor and influence were such at this time that he inspired this man whose place in the social order was greater than his, to repent and repay those whom he cheated in the past. The reversal of honor and position is one which his carried through Luke.