Writing Loopholes in God's Law

 Getting Back Big Bucks

Imagine it’s April 15th. That’s Tax Day here in the dear ol’ U.S. of A. But in this little scenario you’re feeling pretty good about yourself and the return you’re filing this year.

Why so cocky? Because of several large loopholes, you’re not just avoiding writing Uncle Sam a huge check, He’s sending you back some big bucks.

There’s just one little problem. You won’t find any of these loopholes anywhere in the tax code. It seems you wrote them yourself. You’re sure the IRS won’t have a problem with your creativity. And I’m sure they won’t mind sizing you up for one of those snappy orange jumpsuits either.

A Come-to-Jesus Meeting

What does that have to do with Mark’s story of Christ? So very glad you asked. It seems some religious power brokers had a literal come-to-Jesus meeting. The result? Our Savior shuts them up after they try to shut Him down (Mk 7:1-13).

When the curtain rises on chapter 7 of the second Gospel, we see Jewish officials rolling into Galilee from headquarters in Jerusalem. They’ve clearly got big problems with the Lord and His closest followers.

Flipping the Script

It seems the Twelve’s not obeying the rules found in the infamous Hebrew handbook. Earlier religious leaders wrote this manual and have handed it down for years. Break the rules at your own peril.

Let’s just say their little chat with the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth doesn’t go as planned. He totally flips the script on these know-it-alls and calls them out on their own disobedience. It seems they’ve written their own loopholes into God’s Law and that’s not gonna fly.

Mark picks up the story as “some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus” (v1). The home office of the Hebrews sends a team of their best to check out Jesus. It makes sense since His popularity has spiked.

Not the First Time

It’s not the first time they’ve investigated the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth. There was the time they crashed Levi’s house party and freak out when when they see Jesus hanging out with the scum of society (Mk 2:15-17).

Later they blow a gasket when, in their not-so-humble opinion, Christ and His crew spend too much time fasting and not enough time feasting (Mk 3:18-22). Another time, their jaws hit the floor when they catch the Lord and the boys hitting a drive-thru on Saturday, breaking all sorts of Sabbath rules (Mk 3:23-28).

Forcing Jesus to Follow Your Rules

Ever hear about the time these religious nitpickers try to trap Jesus into breaking their man-made rules about church (Mk 3:1-6)? He becomes such a problem for them that they eventually figure He must be an agent of Satan (Mk 3:20-30).

There’s a really important lesson here for all of us. Don’t make the mistake of forcing Jesus to follow your rules. It won’t end well. We need to remember that it works the other way around. He graciously provides us with commands that unlock supernatural joy and abundant life that only God provides

Ceremony, Not Sanitation

So when they see our Savior stirring up trouble again in Galilee, the Pharisees and scribes reach into their bag of tricks and pull out an oldie but a goodie, a little something called ritual washing. “They noticed that some of His disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating” (v2).

Maybe the first thing that came to mind when you read this passage is when your mom made sure you washed your hands before supper. Just so we’re clear, personal hygiene isn’t the issue. These rules are NOT about sanitation and ALL about ceremony.

A Convoluted Ceremony

Since Mark writes for mostly a non-Jewish audience of Roman readers, he has to explain the finer points of Hebrew religious tradition when it comes to the complicated sequence of ceremonial hand washing (v3-4). It’s way more convoluted that those signs we see in restaurant restrooms telling employees to use soap and warm water.

It goes a little something like this. The ceremony begins with pointing your fingers up while someone else pours water over your hands. Here’s where the NLT gets the picture of “cupped hands” (v3). If the water drips off at your wrist, you can proceed to the next step. If not, start over.

Make a Fist

Step two is turning your hands over and pointing your fingers down. Someone then pours more water over them a second time. And you thought the “lather, rinse, repeat” instructions on your bottle of shampoo was a little much.

Think you grab a towel and dry off at this point? Not so fast, my friend. Now you make a fist with one hand and begin rubbing the other hand to dry it off. And you do that all the way up to the elbow.

Then each hand was to be rubbed with the fist of the other hand. As you can imagine, this takes a while. And the crazy thing is that you’re expected to do this even if you don’t have any water by dry scrubbing and rubbing your hands to get ceremonially clean.

Turning on the Blue Lights

When the religious police don’t see Jesus and His followers following their rules, they turn on the blue lights. “Why don’t Your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony” (v5).

Did you catch that? “YOUR disciples….OUR age-old tradition” (emphasis added). Gulp. Do you realize just Whom you’re talking to? They’re going to learn in Galilean minute that trying bully the Son of God is a very bad idea.

Tradition with a Capital T

“Tradition” is an important word here in this passage. It’s the Greek noun παραδοσις/paradosis, which literally describes a handing down or handing over or something delivered. Here it means the passing down of something important from one generation to the next.

Back in first century Israel, tradition isn’t simply history or how things have usually been done for a while. This is Tradition with a capital T. We’re talking about all sorts of formal rules and regs collected and passed down.

Religious Hall Monitors

The bad part is that this so-called tradition actually took the place of God’s Word as the highest authority in Judaism. In Jesus’ day, it simply existed in oral form since the days of the Babylonian captivity. A couple of hundred years later, Jewish leaders wrote it down into what we know today as the Mishna.

In the process, the scribes and Pharisees end up adding hundreds of their own rules and regs to God’s commands. They believe their role was to be the religious hall monitors and make sure everybody toes the line.

Every. Single. Person.

Part of that tradition is ceremonial washing. Back on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses commands requiring that priests wash their hands before eating holy offerings (Ex 30:17-21; 40:12-15). Over the years, leaders expand those stipulations to cover anyone and everyone worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not just priests. Every. Single. Person.

For those of you who grew up Catholic, you’re probably familiar with this idea of tradition. According to Catholic teaching, there are three legs on the doctrinal stool: the Bible, papal decree, and tradition. In other words, tradition carries the same weight as God’s Word. You’re going to see that Jesus says the exact opposite.

Posers

But there’s something else going on here too. Commentators believe these knuckleheads from Jerusalem have arrived with a simple plan: Convict this Troublemaker of breaking Moses’ law. They plan to use tradition to take Christ down.

It’s at this point that Jesus leads these Old Testament experts on a rather interesting Bible study. He begins by calling them out for, well, being posers. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you” (v6).

Wearing a Mask

Hypocrite is one of those words that even folks who’ve never been in a church throw around. It comes from a Greek word (Gr. ‘υποκριτης/hupokrites) that describes an actor or someone simply pretending to be somebody else.

It’s a compound word that literally means to interpret from underneath. Back in the Greco-Roman world, actors in the theater wore big masks in order to portray different characters. Kinda like they wear heavy makeup and prosthetics in movies and plays 

today.

The Oscar Goes to…

That’s how hypocrite came to mean an imposter pretending to be something they’re not. They’re a fake and a phony. They present themselves as one thing when in fact they’re really something else.

Jesus isn’t complimenting them on their acting ability. He’s not nominating them for an Oscar. Just the opposite. Our Savior sees right through them. He gets up in their grill and calls them counterfeits.

Take off the Mask

They’re not the only ones. We ALL need to take off our masks. You. Me. Us. Them. It’s time to stop the act. Get real. Be who you are. Don’t worry about what others think of you. Be you. The real you. You do know God can see the real you, right?

That’s why it’s important to find a group of folks who accept you just as you are but love you too much to let you stay that way. In other words, we all need friends who love us unconditionally, without our masks, just like Jesus does.

When Your Worship Is a Farce

Back in Mark’s Gospel, the Lord goes on to tell these religious leaders that God has mentioned them in the Bible. Most times that might be pretty sweet…except this time. This time He’s using them as the bad example. Gulp.

Christ quotes from a conversation His Father had with the prophet Isaiah (Is 29:13). “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” (v6-7).

Religion or Relationship?

This is originally part of God’s warning to His people to turn their worship around. Despite the holy heads up, they didn’t listen. About 100 years after Isaiah sounds the alarm, God allows Babylon to bulldoze the nation of Judah and haul the people off as slaves. Can’t say they weren’t warned.

Now Jesus accuses the Pharisees and scribes of doing just the same. They’re all about rules but NOT a relationship. That’s the big difference between placing your faith in Christ and religion. Religion is all about what we have to do to reach God. Faith in Jesus is all about what He has already done.

The Ultimate Rule Follower

In other words, religious rule-following to reach God is like trying to high jump to Jupiter. Yeah, good luck with that. Our Savior does for us what we could never do for ourselves. He brings God to us here on earth in human form so that we can have a relationship with Him.

Jesus follows all the rules because we can’t. He dies the death for our disobedience we should have died. He rises to the new life we don’t deserve. We place our trust in what He’s done and His loving leadership for our lives.

A Big Steaming Pile

One of the greatest Pharisees of all time learned this lesson the hard way before placing his faith in the resurrected Jesus. The apostle formerly known as Saul worked his tail off to build up such an impressive religious resume that God had to accept him.

Despite piling up a LinkedIn profile that might make the Pope jealous, Paul realized it was all a big steaming pile compared to knowing Jesus (Phil 3:4-11). He says there’s nothing more awesome than a relationship with the risen Son of God.

A Biblical Buffet

These religious know-it-alls don’t know that yet. Instead Christ cuts to the chase. “For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition” (v8). They’re rewriting the rules to suit their own agenda. They trim out this pesky little section over here. They add little something something over there.

Come on, admit it. You and I do the same. We carefully pick and choose what parts of God’s Word we want to obey. Kinda like some sort of biblical buffet. I take some of this. Ooo, I LOVE that! We pass right on by the stuff we don’t like they’re Brussel sprouts.

A Tradition of Insurrection

We need to realize this is a not-so-subtle form of revolt against the King of Kings. It’s saying that His commands aren’t good enough. We’ve got a better idea when it comes to running the universe.

So we weasel our way onto His throne and rewrite His rules. Bad idea. Trading our man-made ways for His perfect and holy law is an age old tradition. A tradition of insurrection and rebellion. And in case you didn’t know, we’re ALL rebels against God’s kingdom before Jesus came to our rescue (Rom 5:10).

If You Can Dodge a Wrench

Jesus gives the Pharisees and scribes a sweet backhanded compliment. “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition” (v9). Boys, when it comes to avoiding the Father’s commands, you’ve got serious game! To paraphrase the great Patches O’Hoolihan, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a command.”

The Lord then gives them a specific example of their nimble disobedience (v10). He reminds them that God thinks honoring our parents is such a good idea that He put it in His Top Ten (Ex 20:12). Our Heavenly Dad goes so far as to say that talking smack about them is a capital crime (Ex 21:17). Apparently He skips right past time out.

A Hebrew Pre-Nup

But these religious legal experts evade these commands by writing their own loophole. Jesus says, “But you say it is right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given you’” (v11).

This is something called “corban.” Think of it as a sort of Hebrew pre-nup. It’s a promise that ties up your fortune to support future work at the temple. Kinda like announcing that you’re leaving all of your inheritance to the church.

Shirking Their Responsibility

Giving a huge chunk of cash to further God’s kingdom might sound like a great idea. I mean, who wouldn’t like their name on that cool new Sunday school building? Maybe you could even get a plaque on your own special pew like some sort of religious PSL.

But the problem is that it’s really an excuse they use to shirk their responsibility to help their own families. By promising their portfolios to the temple, they believe their money was now untouchable for any other use…that includes helping mom and dad!

Caring for Aging Parents

Jesus pulls no punches with them. “In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents” (v12). Remember, there are no 

nursing homes, retirement communities, social security, or longterm care insurance in the First Century. It’s up to adult children to care for their aging parents.

So in order to get out of honoring their parents with financing support, the Pharisees and scribes have cooked up their own loophole in God’s law. Geez, Mom and Dad, I’d love to help you. I really would. There’s just one hitch. I promised it to God. Stinks to be you.

Not an Isolated Incident

Christ calls them on their con. “And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others” (v13). Somehow these religious leaders think they can cook up their own commands that make divine decrees null and void.

This isn’t some isolated incident either. These religious leaders have been working overtime to come up with all sorts of crazy 

laws to repeal God’s precepts. Just how god are His commands? King David wrote a song about them and it goes a little something like this.

“The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living” (Ps 19:7-8). There’s more. Do I need to go on? I didn’t think so.

God Doesn’t Need an Editor

When it comes to God’s commands, He doesn’t need an editor. He’s not looking for a rewrite. So let's all put down the red pen.

The only thing He asks of us is our willing obedience. Don’t buy the lie that His law is a cosmic buzzkill. It’s the key that unlocks the flood of divine joy and abundant life.

God's Guardrails

Whether it’s you and me or the scribes and Pharisees, we’re making a big mistake when we rewrite God’s divine decrees. First of all, we might think we’re being clever and creating a loophole. Not so much.

Second, we’re missing out on the path to true joy through willing obedience. Our loving Dad in heaven wants nothing but His best for us. In many ways these commands are God’s guardrails to protect us from ourselves.

Third, if you think the feds are rough on tax cheats, that’s nothing compared to those who monkey with the law of God. It makes an IRS audit will look like a vacation at Sandals.

Limp Limbs and Hard Hearts

Pick One

What’s worse? A limp, lifeless limb or a rock hard heart?

Oh, I’m not asking because one is that much better than the other. Neither is exactly an all-expense paid trip to Sandals.

But which is the best of the worst? If someone forced you to pick, what would it be? A physical deformity or petrified ticker?

That’s the question on the table at a worship service one weekend in Capernaum (Mk 3:1-6). But before get there, let’s back up a bit in Mark’s bio of Jesus.

Setting the Scene

The time is the First Century. The place, Israel. Specifically, Capernaum, a little backwater fishing village on the north shore of Lake Galilee.

There’s a hot new Rabbi from just up the road in Nazareth named Jesus who’s all the buzz. His own cousin believes this relative is the One God has promised to send for centuries (Mk 1:2-3, 8). The Carpenter’s Son is packing them in wherever He goes (Mk 1:28, 32, 37, 45).

The Worst of the Worst

Jesus has started assembling a team. Let’s just say that His choices are, um, curious. Four crusty commercial fishermen (Mk 1:16-20) and a rat fink Roman tax collector (Mk 2:13-14).

And have you seen who else He’s hanging out with? These people are the worst of the worst! Nothing but losers, rejects, and outcasts (Mk 2:15-17).

Who Does He Think He Is?!?

Meanwhile, religious leaders are about to blow a gasket over Jesus. He doesn’t seem to give a flying flip about their complicated rules about obeying God.

He heals and forgives sin without their permission (Mk 2:6-12)! His crew has the unmitigated gall to break their bylaws by grabbing a snack on the Sabbath (Mk 2:23-28)! Who does He think He is…GOD?!?

The Gathering

We pick up the action as villagers gather for a time of worship. “Jesus went into the synagogue again” (v1). The word “synagogue” (Gr. συναγωγυ/sunagoge) is a compound Greek term that literally means a “bringing (Gr. -αγωγυ/-agoge) together (Gr. συν-/sun-).”

Just like “church” doesn’t mean the building but the people, it’s the same with synagogue. It’s the gathering or uniting of people. But the synagogue is WAY more than a group of people that gets together once a week. It’s the center of life in the village.

And it’s not exactly like you have another choice when it comes to worshiping God. Capernaum Community Church may not be a megachurch but it IS the only game in town. You don’t exactly do a lot of “synagogue shopping” in 30 AD.

A Second Sabbath at the Synagogue

This is the second time we see our Savior gathering with God’s people on the Sabbath. If you’ve been following the story in Mark’s story of Jesus, this is the same synagogue He attends back in the opening chapter (Mk 1:21-26).

People are still talking about what happened that day. As if His amazing message wasn’t enough, He performed a quickie exorcism right before everyone’s eye.

Catching Jesus’ Eye

At some point after He arrives the second time, somebody catches His eye. He “noticed a man with a deformed hand” (v1). Mark doesn’t mention his name. Neither do Matthew or Luke in their versions of the same story (Mt 12:9-14; Lk 6:6-11).

It makes you wonder if that’s how everybody in town knew him. The man with the deformed hand. Kinda like the crazy cat lady on the corner or the homeless guy at the exit ramp.

Too many times we slap a label on somebody instead of asking them for their name or if we can help. Labels not nearly as messy as getting to know someone.

An Atrophied Hand

Whatever the case, the dude clearly has a disability. According to Mark, his hand is “deformed” (v1). The author uses a word (Gr. ζηραινω/xeraino) which describes something that’s dried up, shriveled, or deprived of fluid.

More than one Bible expert says the grammar here tips us off that this isn’t a birth defect but the result of an injury or disease. If that’s the case, it’s’ easy to picture the man’s hand atrophied after lack of use.

It should come as no surprise that Dr. Luke makes a note in the chart that it’s the patient’s right hand (Lk 6:6).

The Real Cause

We never find out how it happened. Is it an injury? Was he attacked? Did he suffer a stroke? Is it a case of MS?

The big answer is that sin is the cause. Yup, that’s right. Sin. Our first parents first let the monster out of the cage into God’s perfect creation (Gen 3:1-9).

A Broken World…and We Broke It!

Whether we’re the victim of our own rebellion or someone else’s, we can trace it all back to sin. We live in a broken world.

Don’t believe me? Just click on your favorite 24-hour cable channel. Subway terrorist attacks. Nuclear threats. Mass killings. We live in a broken world, alright. And we’re the ones who broke it!

Here We Go Again

Meanwhile, back in the synagogue, we soon see that everyone there is NOT a fan of the Nazarene. “Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched Him closely. If He healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse Him of working on the Sabbath” (v2).

Here we go again. The religious police look to bust Jesus and His boys one more time. This is the fifth time in Mark’s Gospel they’ve tried taking down the Son of God. Gotta give the Pharisees credit for one thing. They are a persistent bunch.

Oh-for-Four

They hated it when Jesus not only forgives but heals the disabled dude (Mk 2:1-12). They lose their minds when He parties with sinners (Mk 2:13-17).

They freak out when He feasts instead of fasts (Mk 2:18-22). They accuse His crew of working on God’s day off when they’re simply hitting a drive-thru (Mk 2:23-27).

For those scoring at home, they’re oh-for-four. Hmm, I wonder how this will turn out?

Our God-Given Day off

Notice a few interesting points Mark makes in this verse. First of all, it’s Sabbath Saturday, the God-given day off for rest and worship (Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:8-11).

The Pharisees tried to help out the Almighty by closing what they see as loopholes in the holy law. They meticulously defined limits on what you could and could not do. How far you could walk. How hard you could work.

Setting the Trap

As a result, they “watched Him closely” (v2). Mark uses a Greek verb here (Gr. παρατηρεω/paratereo) meaning to observe with total focus and tunnel vision.

When used in a negative sense (as Mark clearly does here), it means to lie in wait or lurk. They’re setting a trap and just waiting to ambush their prey. Go ahead, Jesus. Perform a miracle. We dare you!

Locked and Loaded

What exactly are His enemies hoping to see? “If He healed the man’s hand…” (v2). Did you catch that? If. They clearly believe Jesus COULD heal. It was only a matter if He WOULD heal.

And if Jesus has the nerve to restore this guy’s atrophied hand, they’ll be all over Him like white on rice. The Pharisees are locked and loaded, just waiting “to accuse Him of working on the Sabbath” (v2).

The Devil You Say!

When we peek behind the word “accuse” (Gr. κατηγορεω/kategoreo), we see a legal term meaning to bring formal charges against someone. Again, they’re actually HOPING Jesus breaks their rules.

It just so happens to be the very same word the Apostle John hears over the heavenly loudspeaker describing Satan as “the accuser (Gr. κατηγορεω/kategoreo) of our brothers and sisters” (Rev 12:10).

Let’s just say anytime someone in the Bible compares you to the devil, you might want pump your brakes and take a long look in the mirror.

Enforcing God’s Rules

These Jewish leaders think it’s their job to enforce God’s rules. There’s just one little problem. His laws about working on the Sabbath have absolutely nothing to do with helping people and everything to do with glorifying God (Gen 2:1-3; Ex 20:8-11; 23:12; 34:21; 35:3; Lev 23:3; Dt 5:12-15).

As a matter of fact, Jesus has already dropped the mic on these knuckleheads about this once before (Mk 2:27-28). God created the Sabbath to serve us, not the other way around. He should know since His Heavenly Dad put Him in charge of the Sabbath.

A Sabbath Showdown

Clearly Christ is more than ready for another showdown with the Pharisees over what should go down on the Sabbath. He knows EXACTLY why they’re here and what they hope to do.

In his take on the same event, Dr. Luke points out, “Jesus knew their thoughts” (Lk 6:8). You do realize we can never pull a fast one on the Son of God, don’t you?

Can Everybody See?

The Lord invites the physically challenged guy to step forward in the synagogue. “Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, ‘Come and stand in front of everyone’” (v3).

He wants everybody to see what’s about to go down. He doesn’t want anybody…including the Pharisees…ESPECIALLY the Pharisees…to miss one bit of what’s about to happen. Move on in, folks. Can everybody see?

Out from the Shadows

Put yourself in the man’s sandals for just a moment. Your shriveled hand is an embarrassment and shame. It limits everything you do. Jesus has to call you front and center because you’re hiding in the corner where no one could see you.

When God gets involved in our healing, there’s no longer any reason to be ashamed of our brokenness. Don’t hide. Let everyone see what Christ can do. Why? He specializes in turning our awful into awesome.

A Question for the Know-It-Alls

Just as He calls up the man with deformed hand, Christ calls out the religious know-it-alls. Before He does any healing, Jesus has a little question for them. “Then He turned to His critics and asked, ‘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?’” (v4).

Hey boys, since you’re such hot shots when it comes to God’s law, here’s a question for you. If you’re going to do something on the Sabbath, what would it be? Helping or hurting? Good or evil? And in doing so, our Savior flips the script.

Sins of Omission

Jesus not only turns the table on the Pharisees, He also makes a much bigger point. NOT doing what we know we should do is the same as doing what you shouldn’t do. In other words, not doing good IS doing evil. The sin of omission is the same as a sin of commission.

Stephen Short puts it this way in the International Bible Commentary. Jesus claims that refusing to heal the man would technically be a ‘work’ just as much as to curing him, and an evil one at that.

Fixing a Flat

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re on your way to church one Sunday morning. While you’re driving, you see a single mom broken down on the side of the road, struggling to change a flat tire.

Do you (a) put the hammer down and head to church because you shouldn’t be working on the Sabbath, or (b) pull over and help because it’s the loving thing to do? Hint: God won’t mind if you’re late to church.

Just in case the light bulb hasn’t come on yet, Jesus’ kid brother James puts it this way. “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 4:17). See any loopholes about the Sabbath anywhere in there? Didn’t think so.

Crickets

Jesus’ question to His enemies shuts them up and shuts them down. “But they wouldn’t answer Him” (v4). Crickets. Silence. Dead air. He’s exposed them in front of everybody on their home court. Awkward.

But this isn’t simply about winning an argument. The Son of God is furious over their total lack of compassion. “He looked at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts” (v5).

There’s more than one medical problem in the room. There’s obviously the poor guy with the atrophied hand. But our Savior also sees their hard-boiled hearts…and He doesn’t exactly need an EKG to do so.

Scar Tissue

It should come as no surprise that Jesus diagnoses the Pharisee’s heart problem using medical lingo in the original language. “Hard” (Gr. πωρωσις/porosis) describes a callous, scar tissue, or any thick growth of tissue which results in insensitivity.

Robertson’s Word Pictures says the root word is actually a kind of marble. While marble may be great for countertops in your new kitchen, it’s the wrong thing when it comes to your heart.

Feeling Deeply about the Lack of Feeling

Jesus is both angry and brokenhearted at what He sees. On one hand, there’s the band with the shriveled hand. On the other, there’s the uncaring Pharisees and their rock hard hearts.

The Lord feels deeply about their total lack of feeling. His heart breaks anytime we show our lack of one. What a powerful reminder that He ALWAYS cares more than I do. Every. Single. Time.

Shattering God’s Heart

Our hard hearts shatter God’s own heart. Anytime scar tissue builds up and dulls our emotions, bad things happen. Let’s review.

Pharaoh had a rock for a heart and refused to release God’s people (Ex 4:21; 7:3, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:12, 34-35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 6). Solomon instructs his kids, “Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart falls into calamity” (Prov 28:13 ESV).

Not once but twice, the writer of Hebrews quotes the Psalms and tells us to not make the same mistake God’s people did in the desert. “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Ps 78:32; Heb 3:8 15).

A Hard Time with Hard Hearts

When the Pharisees point out that Moses signed off on quickie divorce, Jesus says the Big Mo only handed down the command “as a concession to your hard hearts” (Mt 19:8; Mk 10:4). Even Jesus’ own crew continually had a hard time with hard hearts (Mk 6:52; 8:17).

A hard heart is spiritually fatal. God’s chosen people miss the Messiah because of the hardening of their hearts (Rom 11:25). Non-Jews are alienated from a relationship with God because they have “hardened their hearts against Him” (Eph 4:18).

Heart Guard

That explains why the wisest dude who ever lived made heart health his top priority. “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Prov 4:23).

While a limp limb is nothing to sneeze at, heart hardness has eternal implications. Even for religious pros. ESPECIALLY for religious pros! That’s why Jesus had His harshest words for those who should have known better.

Healing the Hand

Back inside the synagogue, Christ turns His attention to the disabled man. “‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!” (v5). Jesus wasn’t going to let this bunch of bullies stand in His way of bringing healing.

Imagine the scene. You have to think there are cheers and applause. Oohs and ahhs. Something tells me you couldn’t wipe the smile off the man’s face who finally has the use of his right hand again.

Putting a Contract out on Christ

But there’s one group of folks who don’t share in the celebration. “At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus” (v6). Well THAT escalated quickly!

How stony are their hate-filled hearts? Hard enough to murder. While I’m certainly no expert on the Pharisees complicated rulebook, I’m pretty sure plotting a murder does NOT qualify as a good work on the Sabbath!

A Common Enemy

How badly do they want Jesus dead? So bad that they team up with their hated rivals. These supporters of Herod are a secular political party who are blindly devoted to their allegiance to King Herod Antipas and the Roman Empire.

The Herodians have placed patriotism above everything else. Including God. Especially God. Imagine deeply religious people aligning themselves with hardcore patriots against a common enemy. Sound familiar?

God’s Heart Transplant

But did you realize that God can heal a hard heart just like he can an atrophied hand?

God can not only heal atrophied limbs but hard hearts as well. That’s at the heart of the promise Yahweh makes through a prophet named Ezekiel. The divine cure is a supernatural heart transplant.

A New Heart and a New Spirit

“I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey My decrees and regulations. They they will truly be My people, and I will be their God” (Ezek 11:19-20).

And not just a new heart. A new Spirit. The Holy Spirit. In other words, God Himself comes to live in each one of us.

“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new Spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put My Spirit in you so that you will follow My decrees and be careful to obey My regulations” (Ezek 36:26-27).

A limp limb. A hard heart. I wouldn’t want to choose either one. But we have a Savior who can cure either one, even on the Sabbath.

©2017

Jay Jennings

A Day off after Your Day off

Regular R&R

Ever feel like you need a day off after your day off?

You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Something comes up on a day you hoped to kick back that suddenly kicks your butt. Maybe the boss calls you in when you planned to be out. Maybe there’s an unexpected emergency at home sucks the life out of you. Before you know what happened, you need a day off after your day off.

Did you realize that God’s looking out for you? Yup, the Creator of the universe has your back by building a day off into our week. He knows there’s nothing you and I need more than regular R&R. And by “R&R,” I do NOT mean “rules and regulations!” Instead, He gives us a day to get regular rest and set our undistracted focus on His incredible generosity.

Lazy Saturday

The last thing we need on our day off is a long list of laws. Make sure you do this. Be sure you don’t do that. The next thing you know, we’re paying more attention to rules and not relaxation. But that’s exactly what happens to Jesus and His posse while they were out enjoying a walk together one lazy Saturday (Mk 2:23-28).

Mark tells us how one moment they’re grabbing a snack, the next they’re under arrest by the fun police. The Pharisees bust out the religious rulebook (which they wrote, by the way) and start telling Him all the ways His boys are breaking the law. Suddenly, their day of rest becomes a day of rules. Next thing you know, they’re going to need a day off from the day off.

Saturday’s Alright for Fighting

When it’s all said and done, Jesus goes old school and sets the Pharisees straight on what the Sabbath is all about. Just to be sure they understand who they are dealing with, He drops the mic and tells them He should know since He’s God.

Maybe Elton John is on to something in his hit song “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting." It goes a little something like this. “Don’t give me none of your aggravation. We’ve had it with your discipline.” The Lord seems to live out the lyrics when pokes His finger in their legalistic chest.

Round Four with the Pharisees

If you’ve been following the story here in Mark 2, this is actually the fourth time the Pharisees have freaked out over the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth. First, when four guys drop their disabled buddy through the roof, they grumble when He dares to not just restore the man’s mobility but forgive his sin (Mk 2:1-12).

They blow a second gasket when our Savior attends a shindig with a guest list of losers, rejects, and outcasts (Mk 2:13-17). The third time, the Pharisees get a little back up from the folks following John the Baptizer when Christ and His crew attend one party after another (Mk 2:18-22).

That sets the stage for round four. These religious bullies don’t like to lose. And because of that, they’re apparently tailing Jesus and the Twelve while their out on a stroll one Saturday. The Pharisees are looking for any reason to bust these boys. A broken tail light. Expired inspection sticker. Anything.

Working for the Weekend

Mark picks it up here. “One Sabbath as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, His disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat” (v23). It’s the Sabbath. Did you catch that? In the Jewish world, the Sabbath happens every Saturday. The word (Gr. σαββατον/sabbaton) literally means a ceasing from work and a focus on worship of God and rest for His people.

Our Creator celebrated the very first Sabbath back on the very first Saturday. “On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, so He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation” (Gen 2:2-3).

God had just made everything from nothing and did it in only six days. Not a bad week at work, don’t you think? But Yahweh certainly wasn’t just working for the weekend. He certainly didn’t need a day off. Remember, He’s all-powerful and never gets tired (Is 40:28). But He relaxed as an example for us to follow.

400 Years without a Day off

Fast forward the story a few thousand years and we find God’s people as Pharaoh’s primary labor force as slaves in Egypt. For 400-plus years, they didn’t get one single day off (Ex 1:8-14; 12:40). And we complain when we have to work through lunch. Please.

Everything changed when God used Moses to free His people and put Egypt in their rearview mirror. When the Israelites got to Mount Sinai, God made a point of including this weekly day off and party for His people in His Top Ten.

“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” (Ex 20:8-11).

A Weekly Festival

Have you ever thought that God created the Sabbath as a weekly, 24-hour festival starting on sundown Friday and ending sundown Saturday? The followers of Jesus shifted the Sabbath celebration from Saturday to Sunday since that’s the day He came walking out of the cemetery. Pretty good reason to party, don’t you think?

In a letter to Jesus’ followers in Colossae, Paul makes a point of allowing each person to determine which day we should relax and rejoice in God. “So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality” (Col 2:16-17).

No Better Place

So bust your tail for six days. But make sure everybody gets some rest at the end of the week. And there’s no better way to truly relax than to set our undivided focus on God and His goodness. One of the tunes in the boxed set of the Bible’s greatest hits says just one day in God’s presence is better than a thousand anywhere else (Ps 84:10).

The Sabbath is a reminder that rest is a big part of God’s rhythm for us. The LORD makes a personal promise to Big Mo, “I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you” (Ex 33:14). King David sings about how our Good Shepherd rejuvenates us in green fields near peaceful streams (Ps 23:1-2).

The Son of God makes that rest a big part of His message to His followers. “Come to Me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). And just in case you think He’s only talking about some sort of pie-in-the-sky-sweet-by-and-by kinda thing, Jesus recognizes His team’s need for a retreat. “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mk 6:31).

Hitting the Drive-Thru

Meanwhile back in the farm fields, Christ’s crew grabs a snack by plucking some grain. It’s the First Century version of hitting a drive-thru or stopping at a convenience store. God goes out of His way to give it His stamp of approval. “And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of the grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle” (Dt 23:25).

The next thing you know, the Lord and His team are hearing sirens and seeing blue lights. “But the Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain?’” (v24). Breaking the law?!? Harvesting grain?!? You have GOT to be kidding!  The boys are simply picking up something to nibble on where they’re on the road.

Granola on the Go

These religious rule makers have have transformed God’s gift of a day off into a legalist “no fly zone” for anything that resembles work. They’re most likely misapplying something Yahweh told Moses on the mountain. “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest” (Ex 34:21).

It’s just one more example of how these hall monitors repeatedly use their twisted interpretation of the Sabbath as their favorite weapon when going after Jesus (Mt 12:2, 10; Mk 3:2-4; Lk 6:2, 6, 11; 13:14; 14:1-4; Jn 5:9, 16-18; 7:22-23; 9:16). They twist a God-given guardrail into a roadblock in our relationship with Him. This isn’t what our Heavenly Father has intended. He has nothing against grabbing some First Century granola while on the go.

When God’s Rules Aren’t Good Enough

You see, the Pharisees apparently thought God dropped the ball and forgot to provide the needed details to His Sabbath rules. His weren’t good enough so they had to help Him out. Glad somebody’s got His divine back.

But it’s so much worse than that. They’ve made the mistake of thinking their manmade rules and traditions are equal with God’s commands. Yeah, not so much. Jesus and the guys are NOT breaking God’s rules. They’re breaking YOUR rules! As a result, they’ve turned this glorious gift of rest, relaxation, and worship into 24 hours of concentrated command keeping.

After they’re done with the Sabbath, folks are going to need a day off after their day off.

Sarcasm, Son of God Style

Leave it to Jesus to deliver the perfect comeback. Let me give you a little tip. You may think you’re hot stuff but you’ll lose every single time you pick a verbal fight with Christ. Grab a good seat for what’s about to go down. The Pharisees are about to get a taste of the sarcasm, Son of God style. Elton’s right. Saturday’s alright for fighting.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?’” (v25). If you’re like me, you may not catch the dig the first time. Our Savior builds His snarky response around the question “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures…?”

It’s His way of saying, “Hey, there’s this thing called Scripture and this guy called David. Maybe you’ve heard of them.” Of course they have! They’re Pharisees. It’s what they do. They have huge portions of the OT, we’re talking entire books, memorized! It’s actually one of His favorite ways to tweak these religious bullies (Mt 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31; Mk 12:10, 26; Lk 6:3).

Israel’s Most Wanted

Jesus reminds them of the story about David they already know (1Sam 21:1-6). The king-to-be and his loyal crew were on the lam. King Saul put them at the top spot of Israel’s Most Wanted. They rolled into a suburb of Jerusalem called Nob in desperate need of a meal.

I’m not gonna lie to you. This particular incident is, shall we say, messy. But then again, David’s life is loaded with lying, lust, adultery, murder, and all sorts of dysfunction. Despite his repeated failures, he had a rep as a man after God’s own heart (1Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22).

In the OT, Samuel tells the unvarnished truth of how David cooks up some cockamamy story about being on special assignment from King Saul. One of those, “If I told you, I would have to kill you” deals. David won’t have to. When the king finds out what happens, he orders the execution of 85 priests, their entire families, and all of their livestock (1Sam 14:18-19). I told you it was messy.

Losers, Rejects, and Knuckleheads

A couple of quick but very important points. First, Jesus believes the OT Scriptures are true and believes David is an historical person. Second, there’s only ONE Hero in the entire Bible. It’s Jesus. The entire story points to Him, predicts Him, promises Him, and makes prophecies about Him.

Every other person in both the Old and New Testaments is flawed and fallen. They are there to show us how God uses an endless parade of losers, rejects, and knuckleheads to accomplish His purpose. He picks horribly flawed and broken people because it’s all He has to work with. And that includes you and me!

The Sacred Loaves

Christ continues His impromptu Bible study with the Pharisees. “He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was the high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions” (v26).

To understand why this was such a big deal, we need to know a little bit about the rules God established for the Hebrew people when it comes to worship. It included placing one dozen loaves of fresh bread in His holy presence (Ex 25:30). That’s one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Relationship over Rules

Every Sabbath, the priests would put out twelve hot and fresh loaves for the LORD. They were the only ones allowed to eat last week’s bread (Lev 24:5-9). When David asked for food, the high priest actually asked God if it was okay to give the future king the bread. Yahweh said “yes” (1Sam 22:10).

Why? According to John MacArthur, preserving David’s life trumped ceremonial rules about who could and could not eat the bread. In other words, God did not want His people worshiping a set of religious rules. He wanted the rules to be a means to deepen the relationship between He and His people. He didn’t want them to always have to take a day off after their day off.

A Blessing, Not a Burden

That’s exactly how our Savior explains it to the Pharisees. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath’” (v27). God gives us a day off as a blessing, NOT a burden!

He wants us to enjoy a day of worshiping Him, NOT worshiping the Sabbath. Focus on the Giver, NOT His gift. It’s Jesus’ way of saying, “You legalistic knuckleheads just don’t get it. The Sabbath isn’t about what we CAN’T do. It’s all about we GET to do.”  

The Sabbath Is His Idea

Christ then takes it up a notch. WAY up. He tells these self-proclaimed religious experts, “So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (v28). Uh oh. Jesus pulls no punches. He claims to be God. He’s saying, “I should know. This whole Sabbath thing is My idea. That’s why I invented it and commanded it. Just like the rest of the universe I created. Because of that, I’m in charge of it.”

What’s the Pharisees’ response to Christ’s incredible claim? Crickets. Nothing but crickets. They’ve got nothing. Ironically they’ve been working overtime on the Sabbath trying to trap Jesus. At the end of the day, they’ve got nothing to show for it but egg on their face. Looks like they’re going to need a day off after their day off.

©2017

Jay Jennings