Something Greater.

Genesis 23-24, Matthew 12

The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen.”  – Genesis 24:26-27 ESV

It's fascinating to read the book of "beginnings" alongside the Gospel of Matthew. In them we see both the promise being unfolded and finally revealed. Through the life of Abraham, we see God sovereignly orchestrating the plan by which the "seed" will one day come. Then Matthew records His arrival on the scene hundreds of years later. It would be easy to read the Genesis account as merely history in the making and lose sight of the fact that it is a record of God's promise to man being fulfilled over time and in real life. For Jesus to arrive on the scene, thousands of seemingly isolated, yet intimately connected events had to occur. And these were not left up to luck, fate or happenstance. Sarah's barrenness was not just a random physical infirmity. It was part of God's plan so that He might reveal His power and prove His capacity to accomplish what He had promised, regardless of the odds. The birth of Isaac was divinely planned and essential to the ultimate fulfillment of His promise to bless the nations. It was through Isaac that the "seed" would come. Even the death of Sarah was well within God's timing and used by Him to prompt Abraham to make plans for the future. Her death caused him to start thinking about his own mortality and the need to provide Isaac with a wife so that the line might continue. And yet, all along, God was working behind the scenes in order to unveil His plan and accomplish His will, not only for Abraham, but for mankind.

What does this passage reveal about God?

This entire story is about God. It was God whose chose Abraham to begin with. "The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred…" (Genesis 24:7a ESV). It was God who made a covenant with Abraham and promised to give him a land, a seed, and a blessing. Abraham acknowledge that it was God who, "spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’" (Genesis 24:7b ESV). And Abraham knew that God would provide a wife for his son, Isaac. "…he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there" (Genesis 24:7b ESV).

And just as He had done in the past, God provided again. Abraham sent his servant all the way back to Haran in order to find a wife for his son from among his own people. Abraham did not want Isaac marrying a woman from among the Canaanites orother people groups who occupied the land. And this story reinforces for us God's sovereign control over all things, including this seemingly dicey attempt to find a woman who would be willing to leave her household, travel hundreds of miles into unknown territory to marry a man she had never met. And yet, God was there. He miraculously orchestrated the events to sovereignly provide a wife for Isaac so that from his lineage might come the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Every one of the stories recorded in the book of Genesis points toward a future event that would have eternal implications. The creation of Adam, while unbelievable, is nowhere near as critical. The rescue of Noah, while spectacular, falls short in importance.  The call of Abraham, while significant, pales in comparison. The birth of Isaac, while miraculous, isn't nearly as amazing.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read of the coming of Jesus, but also His ministry among men. It portrays a conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of men. It slowly reveals the growing controversy between the people of God, the Israelites, and the Son of God, their long-awaited Messiah. Over time, these people, the descendants of Abraham and Isaac, had placed far more stock in their own heritage than they did God Himself. They had ended up worshiping their status as God's chosen people and placing their hope in Hispresence among them because they falsely believed the Temple guaranteed it. And yet Jesus Himself had to remind them, "I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here" (Matthew 12:6 ESV). Someone greater than Abraham was among them. Someone more significant than Isaac was standing right in front of them. The greater sacrifice had arrived. The ultimate Lamb of God was in their presence. Everything that had happened from Adam all the way to Isaac had been a preamble, point toward the one to come. This was all part of God's divine plan.

What does this passage reveal about man?

It is so easy for us to miss the point. God would provide a wife for Isaac. He would give Isaac a son named Jacob. And from his family tree, God would ultimately raise up a king named David. But these are single acts in a divine play that has a plot of far greater significance and import. The stories contained in the Bible are not about the individuals whose names they contain. It isn't all about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Nehemiah, Daniel, Paul or even John the Baptist. It's all about Jesus. And yet I so often want to make it all about me, or at least, all about man. It is tempting to try and make the story about us. But it is about God and His divine plan to redeem what sin destroyed. It is about God restoring what has been damaged by the fall. It is about the God of the universe sending His own Son as the remedy for the chaos, confusion and justified condemnation hovering over the world He has made. I need to remember that something greater is here. Jesus has come and He offers a better way. The writer of Hebrews reminds me that "Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses" (Hebrews 3:3 ESV). He is not only greater than the high priest, He is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:13 ESV). He is the greater sacrifice, having "offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:12 ESV). There is nothing and no one greater than Jesus. In the book of Revelations, He refers to Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:14 ESV). And while man would like to make it all about himself, God will not allow it. While we might want to turn the Bible into a self-help manual designed to provide us with our best life now, God will not tolerate it. Something greater has come. Someone greater is here.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I want to make my life all about Jesus, not me. I want to see Him as the central figure in the story of my life, not me. I want to understand that my life as a part of God's plan, not the other way around. I exist for God's glory, not He for mine. I want my life to point to Jesus. I want my life to mimic His. I want my life to reflect His saving power, not my own sad self-sufficiency. I need to continually learn to read the Scriptures with a focus on God and His Son, not on me.

Father, keep my eyes on You. Keep my hope focused on You. Help me find my strength in You. Never let me forget that my life is dependent on You. Constantly remind me that, without Your Son, I would have no relationship with You. You are in complete control of my life, this world, my circumstances, and the future of all men. Never let me forget that. Something greater is here and I can rest in that fact. Amen.

A New Family.

Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21“Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." – Matthew 12:50 NLT

Jesus had a family. He had a mother and step-father. He had brothers and sisters. And He cared for them deeply. Yet in this passage it would be easy to conclude that Jesus had a less-than-expected love for His family based on His seemingly callous statements. But Jesus is making a statement about the Kingdom He had come to establish. In His spiritual realm, there would be new relationships forged that would be as important and binding as those of flesh-and-blood family. In accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, an individual becomes part of a much larger family or community, made up of all believers – of every language and culture. This new family expands the sphere of relationships and increases our responsibilities to include all those who share a common belief in Christ. It does not negate our love for or responsibility to our earthly parents or siblings. No, Jesus is saying that, as believers, we become part of a much larger family – the family of God.

In that new family there will be personality conflicts and relational issues. There will be the occasional disagreement or fight. At times, one of our new brothers or sisters will hurt or offend us. And we will do our fair share of hurting as well. But God has placed us in this new family so that we might live experience the oneness and unity He, Christ and the Holy Spirit enjoy. He has called us to live in unity and love. We are called to use the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control – in the context of our new family. We are commanded to love one another, pray for one another, bear one another's burdens, serve one another, be patient with one another and more. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul tells them, "You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT).

We are to love our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. But we are also called to love our spiritual family. It is within the context of our new family that the power of God is revealed as we live in close community with those with whom we have little in common except our common love for the Lord. Paul went on to beg the Ephesians "to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future" (Ephesians 4:1-4 NLT).

We are members of God's family. An amazing concept to grasp. But what a difference it will make when we do.

Father, thank You for my earthly, physical family. They are a blessing to me. But thank You also for placing me in Your family. Help me to see my brothers and sisters in the family of God the way You do. Help me to view them with the same love and affection You feel for them. Expand my love to include my expanded family. Amen.

Someone Greater.

Matthew 12:38-45

“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here – but you refuse to repent.” – Matthew 12:41 NLT

"Show us a sign!"

"Do something miraculous that proves who you say you are!"

"We won't believe in you until to convince us you are really from God."

That's the attitude of the religious leaders who confronted Jesus on a regular basis. The bottom line was that they refused to accept His claim to be the Messiah. They couldn't bring themselves to believe He was the Son of God and the long-awaited Savior. Yet they had seen and heard about the many miracles Jesus had performed. There is not doubt that they had heard rumors about Him turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana early in His ministry. He had healed a man of leprosy. He had healed the servant of a Roman officer – long-distance – by just speaking a word.  Early in the account of Matthew, he writes, "And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed – he healed them all" (Matthew 4:23-24 NLT). Word got out. Crowds followed Him wherever He went. And in those crowds were the Pharisees. The truth is, these men didn't try to discount the fact that Jesus had done all these things. No, instead, they wrote them off as having been done in the power of Satan. They accused Jesus of getting His power from the enemy, not from God. So it wasn't that they refused to believe in His miracles. They refused to believe in who He said He was. So when they come asking for yet another sign or miracle to prove His authority to do the things He did, Jesus responded with words of warning.

He accused them of being an evil, adulterous generation. They were unfaithful to God. Here was the Son of God standing in their very presence, but they refused to believe in Him. They would ultimately reject Him and have Him crucified. Which is exactly what Jesus is talking about that the only sign they will receive that they might believe would be His own death and resurrection. But even that would not turn their hearts toward Him. The people of Nineveh, an evil Gentile nation, repented when they heard the words of the prophet Jonah. But the people of God, the Jews, would not repent even after hearing the words of the Son of God. The queen of Sheba was amazed at the wisdom of Solomon, but Jesus is far greater than Solomon and these men refused to hear a word He said.

They were masters at looking spiritual and living lives that appeared to be righteous. But their hearts were empty. They saw themselves as right before God's eyes simply because they were descendants of Abraham and were members of God's chosen people – the Jews. But Jesus informs them that their future was bleak because they were turning their backs on the very one who could transform their lives and make them right with God. Their attempts at "cleaning house" on their own and making themselves presentable to God were going to prove futile. They would end up worse off in the end. All because they refused to repent. All because they were unwilling to believe.  And yet, today there are those who continue this tradition of rejection and refusal to believe. They just can't seem to accept who Jesus claims to be. They have heard the message. They have even seen His miraculous work in the lives of friends and family members, but it is not enough. They need more proof. They require more evidence. When they are told about Jesus death, burial and resurrection, they write it off and label it as myth. It is too hard to comprehend. It makes no sense rationally or scientifically. But in the end, it is the only proof God is going to give. The resurrection of Christ is the only evidence they are going to receive. He is alive and at work in the lives of millions of people on the earth today. He is transforming lives daily. He is ministering constantly. And yet, in spite of all He is doing, millions continue to reject Him. But there are millions who are also turning to Him. The Gospel continues to spread. The message of salvation through Christ continues to be preached. And the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ continues to be freely offered to all who will receive it.

Father, we will always have those stubborn, hard-hearted individuals among us. But don't let us lose faith or grow weary telling the message of Good News to all we see. Because You are still redeeming lives and restoring the lost to a relationship with You. We are the best advertisement of Your transforming power. May our lives reflect Your resurrection power and prove that Jesus Christ alive and well and at work in our lives today. Amen.

The Kingdom Has Arrived.

Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30

“But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” – Matthew 12:28 NLT

The utter blindness of the religious leaders towards Jesus and His claim to be the Messiah seemed to be limitless. It didn't matter what He said or did, they refused to recognize the power and authority that oozed from every pore of His being. His very words had power. At His command the seas calmed, the lame walked, the blind gained sight, the demon-possessed were set free, water turned to wine, and the dead rose from the grave alive. He miraculously fed 5,000 people with a meager meal that was barely enough for a single boy. He walked on water. He forgave sins. He taught with a power and authority that no one had ever seen before. Thousands flocked to see Him. And yet the religious leaders were blinded by their own arrogance, pride, self-righteousness and greed-driven ambition.

Their logic was illogical. The conclusions they reached were far-fetched and made no sense given the overwhelming evidence. How in the world could they seriously believe that the reason behind Jesus' ability to cast out demons was that He was demon-possessed Himself? They had just witnessed Jesus and His encounter with a man who had three strikes against him. He was blind and mute. But as if that wasn't bad enough – he had a demon. But none of that was a problem for Jesus. He simply healed him. The crowd was amazed and began to wonder if He really could be the Messiah. But the Pharisees reached a different conclusion, saying, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons" (Matthew 12:24 NLT).

It's absolutely ridiculous to think that these men could have witnessed something so amazing and still have written off as a trick of Satan. In essence, they were attributing to the enemy what was an obvious work of God. Which is why Jesus warned them about blasphemy against the Spirit. He tells them that to attribute to Satan anything that was a work of God through the Spirit was unforgivable. It was dangerous territory. But they refused to believe that God was at work in their midst and that the Kingdom of God had arrived. Their very words revealed the true nature of their hearts. And God was going to hold them accountable for both their words and actions.

But the real point is that Jesus clearly claims to be stronger than Satan. That is the reason He was able to cast out demons with a simple command. He gives them a much more logical conclusion to reach. "But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you" (Matthew 12:28 NLT). Why? Because only God would have the kind of power to defeat Satan. "Only someone even stronger – someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house" (Matthew 12:29 NLT). Which is exactly what they had just watched Jesus do. But they couldn't bring themselves to see it or admit it. And so they would miss out on it – the Kingdom that is. They had the very Messiah of God standing in their presence. They were witness to the power of God working right before their eyes. But instead of confess Jesus as the Messiah and His power as coming from God, they attributed it all to the enemy. They gave Satan credit for what had been done by God. Not the wisest move in the world.

And yet, how often do we fail to see God at work in our midst? How many times have we been blind to the working of God in our lives, even occasionally blaming the enemy, because things didn't turn out quite the way we had hoped. Jesus was not what the Pharisees expected. He did not come in the manner they supposed He would. He didn't look like they thought He would. He didn't teach and speak in a way that tracked with their conclusions and their own dogma. He was not only a disappointment, but a nuisance. So they plotted to get rid of Him. They looked right past the evidence because it failed to prove or support what they were wanting to see. And we can be guilty of the same thing. We can refuse to see Jesus working in our lives because He doesn't do it the way we want Him to. When He doesn't keep our agenda, we can easily become blinded to His presence in our lives. Just like the Pharisees. But the Kingdom has come. And He rules and reigns according to His terms, not ours. He does as He wishes. He works in our lives according to His plan. His power is on display every day for us to see, but we can easily become blind to it. The proof of who He is is all around us. May we open our eyes and see His power at work and praise Him accordingly.

Father, forgive me for failing to recognize and acknowledge the power of Your Son at work in and around my life. I know there are times that I give Satan more credit than I do Jesus because things don't appear to be going the way I wanted them to. But He is King. He is sovereign. He is in complete control. He is stronger than Satan and He has tied him up and plundered his house. May I see that increasingly more clearly with each passing day. Amen.

Healing Power.

Matthew 12:15-21; Mark 3:7-12; Luke 6:17-19

"Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” – Luke 6:19 NLT

Having read the stories surrounding Jesus' earthly ministry for so long, it can be easy to become callous about the countless miracles He performed. We read about Jesus casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, the mute to speak, and making the diseased completely whole as if they were everyday occurrences in our world. For many of us, the miracles of Jesus have become mundane. They have lost their power and significance. But imagine what it must have been like in those days. Consider what the atmosphere surrounding Jesus would have felt like as hundreds, if not thousands of people flocked to Him everywhere He went, all in the hopes of being healed by Jesus. Think about it. There were few doctors in those days. Medical care was scarce and disease was a regular part of everyday life. Injuries and ailments abounded and there was little people could do about it except suffer with it. The general misconception was that most disease and illness was a result of sin, so there was a social stigma attached to it as well. So if given a chance to be made well, who wouldn't have jumped at it? And the rumor was that all you had to do was touch Jesus and you would be made whole. That's why Luke adds, "Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone." Jesus wasn't just a celebrity, He was a source of hope and expectation for thousands of people who had long ago given up and resigned themselves to a life of pain, suffering and despair.

So the people came from all over – north, south, east and west. Luke says "there were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon" (Luke 6:15 NLT). Many walked for miles just to get to where Jesus was. They may have journeyed for days to get to the village where Jesus was last known to have been seen, only to find out that He had moved on. But in spite of their infirmities and disabilities, they kept pursuing Jesus. Their need drove them. Their helplessness motivated them. Their hope that Jesus could do something for them energized them. And Mark tells us that there were so many of them that Jesus had to tell "his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him" (Mark 3:9 NLT).

Jesus had healing power. So much so, that just to touch the hem of His robe would activate that power in a person's life. A little later on in the Gospels we have the story of the woman who had suffered for years from constant bleeding. She had spent all her money pursuing treatment from doctors, but was simply poorer as a result, not better. In fact, she had actually gotten worse. Mark tells us, "She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, 'If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.' Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition" (Mark 5:27-29 NLT). Jesus was immediately aware that something had happened. Even in all the pushing and shoving of the crowd, He noticed that "healing power had gone out from him" (Mark 5:30 NLT). And that power revolutionized a woman's life forever. Jesus told her, "God in peace. Your suffering is over" (Mark 5:34 NLT).

The miracles of Jesus were designed to reveal who He was and to reinforce His claim to be the Son of God. The demons certainly had no problem recognizing that reality. Every time Jesus cast one of them out of an individual, they would scream, "You are the Son of God!" There was no doubt in their demented minds that Jesus was just who He claimed to be. His power was self-evident to them. They were no match for Jesus. And while the people who happened to receive healing from Jesus may not have fully understood who Jesus really was, they had no trouble recognizing the fact that He had healing power. They had experienced it first hand. Their lives had been changed by it. They were walking billboards of Jesus' miraculous healing power. And we should be too. Each one of us who have been healed from the deadly disease of sin should be a living testimony to the healing power of Jesus. We have not only been healed, we have been given new life. We were dead, lifeless and hopeless, with no means to do anything about our situation. Like the woman in the story, we had exhausted all our resources trying to fix our situation ourselves, only to be worse off than when we started. But Jesus touched us. His healing power transformed us. We immediately went from being spiritually dead to alive. He removed our sinfulness from us and replaced it with His righteousness. He took away our disease and replaced it with wholeness. He did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. But we run the risk of treating our miraculous transformation just like we do the stories of Jesus' healings in the Scriptures. It can become old hat and pedestrian, losing its significance. We can easily forget what Jesus has done for us. We can take our healing for granted and allow our miraculous salvation to become mundane. Which is why we need to remind ourselves daily of what has happened and what Jesus has done. We must see ourselves in the lives of the people in these stories. We shared their hopelessness and helplessness. We were just as despairing. We were outcast and rejects, deformed and disfigured by sin. But when all hope was lost, the healing power of Jesus touched and transformed us. And our suffering was over.

Father, never let me take for granted the amazing transformation that has taken place in my life through the healing power of Your Son. I don't want it to become old hat and old news. May I constantly be amazed at just what has happened in my life because of Your love and Jesus sacrificial death in my place. I am healed and whole. I am alive and well. I am sinless and righteous before Your eyes because of what Jesus has done for me. Amen.

Hardened Hearts.

Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11

"He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts.” – Mark 3:5 NLT

Another Sabbath and yet another confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in the village of Capernaum. In the crowd there is a man there with a deformed hand. But there is also a group of Pharisees who are closely watching Jesus' every move to see if He attempts to "work" on the Sabbath by healing someone, thus breaking the law. In fact, Matthew records the question they posed to Jesus, in hopes that His answer would condemn Him. "Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?" (Matthew 12:10 NLT).

Jesus knows their hearts and so he brings up the man with the deformed hand and has him stand in front of the crowd, in full view of everyone. Then Jesus confronts His antagonists and asks them a simple question in return: "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" (Mark 3:3 NLT). His enemies are speechless, not knowing how to respond.  So Jesus continues, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11 NLT).

This exchange between Jesus and these religious leaders causes Him to be both angry and sad. He is angry at their insensitive hearts and their indifference to the needs of those around them. They are more concerned with their rules and regulations than they are for the people under their care. But who exactly were these men and what were their responsibilities. In essence, the Pharisees were a religious sect or order. Their name seems to mean "separated ones." But what or whom were they separated from? The general consensus is that they separated from the 'people of the land,' the 'am ha'ares. This was a designation of the illiterate and the unrefined people of the land, the peasants, whose illiteracy impeded any careful fidelity to the religious duties such as concerned tithes and cleanness" (Alan Ross, The Religious World of Jesus). They tended to view the common people as ignorant and cursed (John 7:49). They tended to equate their separateness with holiness. That's why they were constantly shocked by Jesus' decision to eat and associate with the common people, including all manner of sinners. These men also prided themselves in their refusal to be tainted by the influence of the Greeks and Romans. They considered themselves the few remaining "pure" Jews, who kept themselves untainted by outside influence. They were prideful, arrogant and brutally condemning of all those who disagreed with them.

Jesus is angered by their attitudes and saddened by their hard hearts. In all their religious fervor, they had become hardened to the real point of having faith in God. They didn't share God's heart. They were incapable of seeing the world from God's perspective. In fact, they had attempted to fit God into their own mold, and force Him to operate according to their standards. To them, God was just another Pharisee or rule-keeper. And yet Jesus, as the Son of God, revealed to them the very heart and nature of God the Father. He was compassionate, caring, empathetic, loving, sensitive and responsive to the needs of men – all men. He had a special place in His heart for the condemned, disenfranchised, broken, helpless, hopeless, sinful and needy. It was God's love for mankind that motivated Him to send His Son in the first place. It was not that God jettisoned His law and replaced it with love. No, God still had exacting standards and His requirement was still sinless perfection. But He knew that no man, Pharisee or other, could ever meet that standard. He gave His law to reveal to man his insufficiency and need. Then He sent His Son to do what no man had ever done before – keep the law of God perfectly and live His life sinlessly. He became the perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay for the sins of man. That is just how much God loves us.

But the Pharisees represent all self-righteous individuals who still believe that it is the keeping of rules that sets us apart from the rest, that our ability to perform earns us favor with God. But this attitude angers and saddens the Savior. It keeps us from recognizing our need for Him, and it prevents us from seeing ourselves as no better than any other man or woman who walks the face of the earth. We too, are sinners saved by grace. We are in need of the mercy of God every day of our lives. Of all people, we should share Christ's passion for the lost and a heart for those still suffering from the effects of sin.

Father, give us a heart like Your Son had. Help us to see the world the way He did. Don't let us live our lives or view ourselves as somehow better than everyone else. We have been transformed because of Your grace and mercy, not because we somehow deserved or earned it. Give us the ability to see others the way You do. Motivate us to extend grace in the same way it has been extended to us. Amen.

Lord of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5

"Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people,not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27-28 NLT

The Pharisees had turned the requirements of God into a set of ridiculously impractical religious rules. They had expanded God's law, adding an overwhelming list of additional prohibitions that made keeping it burdensome. All the while, they missed the point of the Law altogether. The Law, like the Sabbath, was created to protect man from himself. The original law given by God regarding harvesting on the Sabbath, was to prevent farmers from allowing their greed to allow them to ignore God and, in essence, worship material gain instead. It also protected them from forcing their workers to labor on the Sabbath. The Sabbath itself was designed that man might have rest one day out of the week. The fourth commandment given by God reads: "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy" (Exodus 20:8-11 NLT).

The Sabbath was to be a day of rest, It was a day to be set apart for the Lord. But the Pharisees had turned even the observance of that day into a list of rules to keep. Rather than restful, it had become laborious and cumbersome. For the average Jew, the day was filled with fear and trepidation because you never knew if some simple act you performed was violating some new rule added in by the religious leaders. So it is no surprise that the Pharisees confronted Jesus and His disciples, accusing them of harvesting on the Sabbath just for rubbing a few heads of grain together in order to satisfy their hunger. According to the Pharisees, they were working. But their keeping of their own laws was quite subjective in nature. On another occasion, Jesus had a similar conversation with the Pharisees after he had healed someone on the Sabbath. They were appalled. Jesus simply replies, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11-12 NLT). In other words, Jesus knows that these very same, self-righteous men would violate their own rules if it involved something of value to them. And that is Jesus' point in this story. People are more valuable than the religious and ritualistic observance of the Sabbath. And because He is the Son of God, Jesus has authority over the Sabbath. He can do what He chooses to do, and because He is doing the will of His Father, it is NOT in violation of the Sabbath, but in keeping with God's original intent. Jesus would later say, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT). Jesus came to bring mankind rest from the weariness of trying to keep the Law. He came to bring rest from the burden of trying live under the overwhelming requirements of religious rule-keeping.

When asked one time what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT). Loving God and loving others trump all other laws. Every other law given by God was based on these two. The Pharisees had missed this point. They loved their rules more than they loved people. They loved their rules more than they loved God! Keeping their rules had become an idol to them. That is how they could look past the miraculous healing of a man on the Sabbath, and only see the violation of their rules. And we can be guilty of the same thing today. We can have our own list of denominational rules or standards. We can have a stack of religious requirements that we put on ourselves and others that are not based on a love of people, but a love of rules. We burden others with our own rules, burdening them down with requirements rather than easing their load with love. We require people to clean up their act, THEN we'll love and accept them. Jesus loved people as they were. We require people to learn our rules and live by them, then we'll consider them part of our community. Jesus accepted people as they were. We are to love God and love others just as He did. If any rule, requirement, or religious standard keeps us from doing either, it is not of God. If our rules drive others away from God rather than to Him, they are of our own making, not His. Jesus came to ease burdens, not create them. The same thing should be true of us.

Father, it is easy to fall into the role of the Pharisee. Without even knowing it, I can find myself creating rules and standards that I hold others to, but that are not from You. Those rules can become burdensome and drive others away from You rather than to You. Help me to see this tendency and change it. Show me how to put loving You and others ahead of any rule I may hold sacred. Amen.