This scripture bolsters my faith that it is God's desire to heal his children. I see, hidden within this short interchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, the Lord's heart towards healing.
"Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other."
With a few deft swipes of the sword-his mouth- Jesus lays bare the Pharisees' hard hearts. If you had a helpless sheep that feel into a ditch, wouldn't you pull it out on the Sabbath? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep? Men of the cloth, you strain a gnat only to swallow a camel! These brothers not only failed to trap Him, but they also managed to make themselves look really, really bad.
The religious Pharisees loved the law more than they loved their neighbor and thereby miss the heart of the God that they profess to know so well. They miss the mark, and Jesus wanted them to know it. His answer to them accomplishes two purposes: it exposes the coldness of their hearts and reveals God's heart towards the sick and infirm. Jesus effectively equates a sick person with a helpless lamb that gets stuck in a ditch. It's a sad situation that even a cold hearted Pharisee would want to rectify.
Is it any coincidence that Jesus had a habit of conducting his healing crusades on the Sabbath day? By insistently angering the Pharisees by healing on the Sabbath, Jesus seems to be making a point. It's as if he is saying, "Let me show you what my Sabbath rest looks like: it looks just like a man with a withered hand being made whole." This is the rest of God. Would you like to enter in?
Seeing the Lord's heart of compassion gives me confidence today. He desires that we would believe and enter into the rest that He has provided (Hebrews 4). Today, we can stretch forth our hands and be made whole- for this is the rest of God, and it is good.
"Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other."
With a few deft swipes of the sword-his mouth- Jesus lays bare the Pharisees' hard hearts. If you had a helpless sheep that feel into a ditch, wouldn't you pull it out on the Sabbath? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep? Men of the cloth, you strain a gnat only to swallow a camel! These brothers not only failed to trap Him, but they also managed to make themselves look really, really bad.
The religious Pharisees loved the law more than they loved their neighbor and thereby miss the heart of the God that they profess to know so well. They miss the mark, and Jesus wanted them to know it. His answer to them accomplishes two purposes: it exposes the coldness of their hearts and reveals God's heart towards the sick and infirm. Jesus effectively equates a sick person with a helpless lamb that gets stuck in a ditch. It's a sad situation that even a cold hearted Pharisee would want to rectify.
Is it any coincidence that Jesus had a habit of conducting his healing crusades on the Sabbath day? By insistently angering the Pharisees by healing on the Sabbath, Jesus seems to be making a point. It's as if he is saying, "Let me show you what my Sabbath rest looks like: it looks just like a man with a withered hand being made whole." This is the rest of God. Would you like to enter in?
Seeing the Lord's heart of compassion gives me confidence today. He desires that we would believe and enter into the rest that He has provided (Hebrews 4). Today, we can stretch forth our hands and be made whole- for this is the rest of God, and it is good.
Comments