Would Jesus push vaccinations?

Honestly, I don't know the answer to the question. Be careful of anyone who claims insight into the mind of the second person of the Christian Trinity. This is one of those seemingly inescapable "What Would Jesus Do" queries.

Let's drill it down.

They didn't have vaccines in first-century Palestine. There were no federally approved medications either. In the Roman era, I tell my Southeast Missouri State University classes each semester, if you got sick, you died. It was that simple. In antiquity, if you lived to what Americans now call a typical retirement age, you were a genuine oddity.

Long before his finished work on the cross, Jesus of Nazareth was considered a miracle worker by the indigenous population.

Crowds followed him in Galilee and Judea because he could heal with his touch and sometimes just by speaking.

If the Master lived in this time, would he stand at a podium and encourage people to take vaccine doses in their arms?

Would the Galilean knock on doors and offer to drive you to the nearest vax clinic?

Any response we might give implies knowledge we simply don't possess.

What we do have are stories about Jesus's life found in the New Testament, our only source of information about the person I consider the most remarkable being in history.

Let's deal with what have rather than guess.

Telling people what to do

Certainly, and unbidden, Jesus did this at times. If we read the Sermon the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5 through 7, the Savior's prescriptions are everywhere apparent.

A sampling:

• Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. (Matt. 5:44)
• Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven ... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt. 6:19-21)
• in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matt. 7:12)

Waiting to be asked

At other times, Jesus would give his opinion only upon request.

A sampling:

• "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What say you?" They kept demanding an answer, so he said, 'All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!'" (John 8:4,7)
• "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered, "You know the commandments." The man responded, "I have kept them since I was a boy." Jesus answered, "You still lack one thing -- sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven." Hearing this, the man became very sad because he was very wealthy. (Luke 18:18, 20-23)

Today

It's difficult to recall a societal issue quite so polarizing as the COVID-19 vaccine. People get angry at those who don't take the shot and walk around unmasked. Conversely, others seem enraged by those who did accept an inoculation and wear a face covering. The gulf seems wide and deep between the two poles and is a source of sadness for this writer.

I've had both doses of Pfizer, and if a booster becomes available, I'll be first in line. Others have made a different choice; it's a free country. Jesus didn't say anything about taking inoculations. Not germane to his time.

I find myself caught between the proactive Jesus, who did not shy away from telling people what to do, and the reactive Jesus, who waited to give his thoughts until someone asked him.

Instead of us imagining what Jesus would do with a COVID vaccine, which is total guesswork, why not drill down on what he did say and do? Get to know the man as presented in Scripture

Perhaps a 21st century Jesus might say the following to those who claim the title "Christian" for themselves and who long for his guidance on this subject: "Have I been with you this long and still you do not know me?" (John 14:9)