Mark 3:1–6 (ESV) —
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
NOTE: The Jewish leaders are still in the observation phase. They have noticed him "forgive sins" and now they see him intentionally challenging the oral tradition regarding Sabbath rules. Jesus turns the rules around by arguing intent of the heart versus letter of the law. At this stage, the Pharisees are not engaging Jesus, but building a case for or against Jesus' messiah-ship. All of this was triggered by the first of three Messianic miracles, the healing of a leper. By involving the "Roman" Jewish civilian leadership, they have escalated the issue into the secular realm.
Sometimes, we form opinions that are based on research and observation, but in fact we have already made up our mind. It is hard to believe that a first-hand honest evaluation which cause anything but wonder. His life backed up his words. He was not an instrument of evil, but clearly of good. We should be careful to check our biases.
PONDER:
- Do we jump into things based on assumptions and the views of others we esteem?
PRAYER: Father, today lies abound in society. It is hard to know what is true or false. I pray for you to lead and guide in the important issues. As for the other issues, help me to understand the ones that don't matter in terms of eternity.
No comments:
Post a Comment