Luke 14:1-6
"1 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" 4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 5Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things."
He went into the house of one of. . . the Pharisees. The patience of Jesus is overwhelming. The Pharisees were the most obnoxious people to Him. If anyone ever had the right to ignore a group of people it was Jesus with the Pharisees. Earlier in Luke He unleashed several woes upon them. R. C. Sproul expounds on the wickedness of these people, explaining that external morality is all they cared about, leaving the inward condition of their heart unaltered from its evil nature. When we major in the minors, when we add rules outside of the bible (i.e. no secular music, no movies, no dancing, etc.), we become like the Pharisees, the people whom Jesus gave the most harsh warnings and curses to. But despite all of this, Jesus still dined with this Pharisee. Too often I only worry about evangelizing to people I like or to people I think would actually listen. Jesus does not evangelize with narrow mindedness. Many are called but few are chosen. Do I, like Jonah, avoid telling the truth to someone who annoys me because I don't want them to be in heaven with me? Do I have a right to lose someone's invitation in the mail? Aren't I just as annoying to Jesus as that person is to me? On the other hand, this does not mean that I am to spend all my time with friends of folly. Jesus spent most of his time with His disciples. My closest friends should be, as proverbs says, those that have godly wisdom. To be in the world but not of the world is one of the greatest tensions of Christianity.
They watched Him closely. The motivation of these Pharisees was far from pure. It is evident here that it is possible to seek God's presence with the wrong intent. Why do I wish Him to speak audibly and personally to me? Is it to receive His wisdom or is it for Him to prove Himself to me? Does God need to prove Himself to anyone? The curses Jesus gave to the Pharisees were no new concept. Several times in the Old Testament, God rejects the religious practices of the israelites because of a neglect to the heart of the matter (Isa 1:4,11; Jer 6:20; Micah 1:2). Both the Israelites in the OT and the Pharisees in the NT had the priviledge of hearing directly from the mouth of God and they still did not believe. It is only when I come to the scriptures with pure intent (a condition of the heart only God can grant, but I am responsible to pursue [Romans 12:1,2]) that I can hear from God, as He as already spoken everything I need to hear in His Word. Beyond that, I must ask for wisdom (James 1:5). On a different direction from this passage, too often I think that the way I love God and people is the only way to love God and people. When others come across my path that do this differently, I watch them closely waiting for them to fail so I can point it out and say "I must be holy. Their way failed." Little do I know that my way never worked. If I do not accept the diversity of God's children I do not love God's children. If I do not love God's children, the Bible is clear that I do not love God. C. S. Lewis constantly pops into my head at these times and says, "Do not be holier than your God."
Jesus. . . spoke. . . saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" The questions Jesus asks are always probing. He always knows the answer, but merely provokes anyone who hears to give an answer that reveals their heart. The pharisees could not answer because there is no law against healing on the Sabbath. Are all of my convictions biblical? Do I judge myself and others by a law that God did not set up? Am I more concerned with obedience and sacrifice than mercy and the knowledge of God (Hosea 6:6)?
"Which of you, having a donkey. . . pull him out on the Sabbath day?" Legalists are more concerned with obedience than the wellfare of God's children. These Pharisees would have mercy on a donkey in a pit, but did not have mercy on this sick man. Ironically, the Pharisees were more sick than He was. Perhaps they were jealous of not only Jesus, but the man. At least they should have been. They were at least jealous of Jesus though. Here was a man who obeyed the mosaic law perfectly. The whole reason they set up their extra laws was to ultimately obey the laws set forth by God on mount Sinai. But they missed the point of the law. It was not for salvation but for condemnation, to lead us to Christ. The prophets whom their fathers killed knew this. Jesus told them, but they kill Him too. And don't we do the same thing? I get jealous all the time when people are better at being holy than I am. I forget that the whole point is not to impress God by being holy. The point is that God already sees us as holy and He then calls us to be worshipers in spirit and in truth. As John Piper points out, spirit and truth correspond to the questions how and whom. How do we worship? In Spirit. Whom do we worship? The truth, Jesus Christ. This is the reason why theology is so important. There is a right way to worship and there is a right God to worship. So then, when other people do great things for God, we should rejoice and worship and glory in the beauty of God's design.
And they could not answer Him regarding these things. We should have a biblical reason for everything we do. If we don't, then what is the point of Christianity as a world view?
---
I posted this mainly for my own records, but I made it public for anyone who could possibly benefit from my meditations on God's true Word.
He went into the house of one of. . . the Pharisees. The patience of Jesus is overwhelming. The Pharisees were the most obnoxious people to Him. If anyone ever had the right to ignore a group of people it was Jesus with the Pharisees. Earlier in Luke He unleashed several woes upon them. R. C. Sproul expounds on the wickedness of these people, explaining that external morality is all they cared about, leaving the inward condition of their heart unaltered from its evil nature. When we major in the minors, when we add rules outside of the bible (i.e. no secular music, no movies, no dancing, etc.), we become like the Pharisees, the people whom Jesus gave the most harsh warnings and curses to. But despite all of this, Jesus still dined with this Pharisee. Too often I only worry about evangelizing to people I like or to people I think would actually listen. Jesus does not evangelize with narrow mindedness. Many are called but few are chosen. Do I, like Jonah, avoid telling the truth to someone who annoys me because I don't want them to be in heaven with me? Do I have a right to lose someone's invitation in the mail? Aren't I just as annoying to Jesus as that person is to me? On the other hand, this does not mean that I am to spend all my time with friends of folly. Jesus spent most of his time with His disciples. My closest friends should be, as proverbs says, those that have godly wisdom. To be in the world but not of the world is one of the greatest tensions of Christianity.
They watched Him closely. The motivation of these Pharisees was far from pure. It is evident here that it is possible to seek God's presence with the wrong intent. Why do I wish Him to speak audibly and personally to me? Is it to receive His wisdom or is it for Him to prove Himself to me? Does God need to prove Himself to anyone? The curses Jesus gave to the Pharisees were no new concept. Several times in the Old Testament, God rejects the religious practices of the israelites because of a neglect to the heart of the matter (Isa 1:4,11; Jer 6:20; Micah 1:2). Both the Israelites in the OT and the Pharisees in the NT had the priviledge of hearing directly from the mouth of God and they still did not believe. It is only when I come to the scriptures with pure intent (a condition of the heart only God can grant, but I am responsible to pursue [Romans 12:1,2]) that I can hear from God, as He as already spoken everything I need to hear in His Word. Beyond that, I must ask for wisdom (James 1:5). On a different direction from this passage, too often I think that the way I love God and people is the only way to love God and people. When others come across my path that do this differently, I watch them closely waiting for them to fail so I can point it out and say "I must be holy. Their way failed." Little do I know that my way never worked. If I do not accept the diversity of God's children I do not love God's children. If I do not love God's children, the Bible is clear that I do not love God. C. S. Lewis constantly pops into my head at these times and says, "Do not be holier than your God."
Jesus. . . spoke. . . saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" The questions Jesus asks are always probing. He always knows the answer, but merely provokes anyone who hears to give an answer that reveals their heart. The pharisees could not answer because there is no law against healing on the Sabbath. Are all of my convictions biblical? Do I judge myself and others by a law that God did not set up? Am I more concerned with obedience and sacrifice than mercy and the knowledge of God (Hosea 6:6)?
"Which of you, having a donkey. . . pull him out on the Sabbath day?" Legalists are more concerned with obedience than the wellfare of God's children. These Pharisees would have mercy on a donkey in a pit, but did not have mercy on this sick man. Ironically, the Pharisees were more sick than He was. Perhaps they were jealous of not only Jesus, but the man. At least they should have been. They were at least jealous of Jesus though. Here was a man who obeyed the mosaic law perfectly. The whole reason they set up their extra laws was to ultimately obey the laws set forth by God on mount Sinai. But they missed the point of the law. It was not for salvation but for condemnation, to lead us to Christ. The prophets whom their fathers killed knew this. Jesus told them, but they kill Him too. And don't we do the same thing? I get jealous all the time when people are better at being holy than I am. I forget that the whole point is not to impress God by being holy. The point is that God already sees us as holy and He then calls us to be worshipers in spirit and in truth. As John Piper points out, spirit and truth correspond to the questions how and whom. How do we worship? In Spirit. Whom do we worship? The truth, Jesus Christ. This is the reason why theology is so important. There is a right way to worship and there is a right God to worship. So then, when other people do great things for God, we should rejoice and worship and glory in the beauty of God's design.
And they could not answer Him regarding these things. We should have a biblical reason for everything we do. If we don't, then what is the point of Christianity as a world view?
---
I posted this mainly for my own records, but I made it public for anyone who could possibly benefit from my meditations on God's true Word.