“On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.” – Luke 6:6–7
In the opening pages of Genesis, God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day. This established the seven-day week, with a day off for God’s people, and this was confirmed in the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). Sadly, religious people who were high on control and rules but low on compassion and relationship had hijacked the Sabbath by adding an ever-increasing list of things you could and could not do on the Sabbath – rules made by men and not God. Here is the pattern of religious rule makers:
- Ignore God’s rules you don’t like
- Make your own rules outside the Bible
- Appoint yourself as judge over other people
- Get angry with people who break your rules or have different rules
- Punish those who question or ignore your rules
Jesus heals seven different times on the Sabbath because He loves people and He’s not a fan of religious rules. In this scene, the religious leaders were present to attack Jesus instead of humbly learning from Him and brought a critical spirit seeking anything they could use to attack Jesus. The scene is incredibly arrogant, and their spiritual disciples continue to this day with people who think the Bible is a pair of binoculars for them to look through at other people, rather than a mirror in which to see their own sin.
On this occasion, all Jesus asked the man to do was come forward and stretch out his hand. That was the sum total of what happened before he was healed. In an ironic twist, the religious leaders wrongly thought they were testing Jesus, but in fact Jesus was testing them. He was appealing to the spirit or heart of God’s law, and all they cared about was the letter.
Jesus says this plainly in Mark 2:27–28: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” The man passed the test and was healed, and the religious leaders failed the test. Rather than learning from Jesus, they plotted to destroy Him.
It can be easy to fall into the same trap that the ancient religious leaders did, but it’s not our job to judge others. That’s Jesus’ job. We are called to compassion towards others and making a bunch of extra rules only does more harm. The Word of God should be a mirror for us to see our own shortcomings and need for Jesus, not binoculars to scrutinize the lives of others.
Come back tomorrow to learn about the healing of a bleeding woman.
Do you tend to follow any of the above-mentioned religious rules? If so, take some time to repent of that tendency and ask the Holy Spirit for more compassion for others.
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