Bible Culture At The Time Of Jesus

Honor was considered a limited good and as we start talking about honor, it is important that we understand it within the values and concerns of first century Jewish people. For them, honor was considered a "limited good." The understanding of limited goods is basically this: There is only so much of any particular thing in this world and if one person takes it, there's less or none for you. Honor "gained" was always "taken" from someone else.This outlook was related to the controlling of scarce resources including:

a. Land
b. Crops
c. Livestock
d. Political clout

So how was honor obtained? As we continue to build on an understanding of honor, we need to explore how an individual "received" honor. For the people of ancient Israel, honor was either ascribed or acquired.

Ascribed honor is basically that which comes from your family of origin (birth). Your honor was related to the character and standing your family had in the village. If you had a "good" family then you were with honor. All members of the family, whether young or old, male or female, had the same general honor rating. If you had a "bad" family, you were of a lower status and honor position in the community.

While honor was mostly ascribed by birth, it could to a certain degree be gained or lost. This is commonly referred to as "acquired honor". Acquired honor could be gained in the pursuit of righteousness and virtue. One might gain honor because of the way they treated a patron or their understanding of Scripture. This is the reason that some followed Rabbis - to acquire honor.

Honor could also result from exploits of one family member. For example, when David defeated Goliath, it changed the honor status of his entire family.

Of course honor could also be lost by certain actions and misapplications. This acquired "shame" would not only affect the offended party, it would affect their whole family. It could also effect their entire town.

Now this brings us to one of the more interesting expressions of the struggle for honor: Challenge and Response. In ongoing battles for honor there was what could be called a game of challenge and response. This practice is very foreign to our understanding and experience but it was and is a very active part Middle Eastern society. In virtually every public interaction honor is subject to "challenge." Honor could be challenged positively by means of a gift or compliment. Or honor could be challenged negatively with some small slander or insult, with a gift not given in an appropriate way or time, or even with a public question.

In every case an honor challenge must be met, and that can be done in a variety of ways. An equal gift or compliment can be returned and a relationship has regained its equilibrium. Or a comparable insult can be offered and the playing field is level once again. Sometimes a challenge is met by a greater challenge, a slightly more expensive gift, or deeper insult, and a game of one-upmanship ensues.

Challenges may be: answered, brushed aside with the scorn or responded to in kind but they couldn't be ignored. For them, to run from a challenge was a coward's disgrace. At its best, the game of challenge and response is primarily a game of wits.

Sometimes things could go too far and result in excessive public damage to the honor of another -perhaps even violence. An impetuous person who resorted to violence was frequently became an unintended public admission of failure in the game of wits.

Now that we understand all this, let's explore the text. We'll take what we have learned about Middle Eastern Culture now and explore two stories from Luke 4. We'll get started with the first story where Jesus' honor was challenged by satan.

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship [honor] me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:1-13)

Satan challenges the honor of Jesus three times, on two fronts: kinship and patronage. First of all, Satan questions whether Jesus is the Son of God. (Devaluing one's father or kin was considered a great insult.) As Jesus answers the Devil, He does not use His own words. Clarifying that His honor does not come from Himself, He uses the language of His father (Deuteronomy).

Secondly, Satan wants Jesus to worship (or honor to Him). Falling down in front of someone was recognition of the superiority or higher honor that they held. It was a common gesture before a "patron," "broker." In this story, Satan makes the audacious claim to be "God's broker." He is making a counterclaim against Jesus. Once again drawing upon the words of His patron, Yahweh, Jesus rather forcefully commands Satan to take a lower seat.

After failing to question Jesus' patronage he returns to the kinship accusation. Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11-12 "God will command His angels concerning you to protect you." This passage is talking about the kind of protection that a father offers his son. Satan is suggesting that he is the one who has the right to quote the Father. He is suggesting that he is the Father's true son. Of course, Jesus responds with the words of the Father again. "You shall not test the Lord your God." (Luke 4:12) Challenging the linage of God was simply not an option.