Mark 3: 1-6 AGAIN JESUS went into a synagogue, and a man was there who had one withered hand [as the result of accident or disease]. And [the Pharisees] kept watching Jesus [closely] to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might get a charge to bring against Him [formally]. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, Get up [and stand here] in the midst. And He said to them, Is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to take it? But they kept silence.
And He glanced around at them with vexation and anger, grieved at the hardening of their hearts, and said to the man, Hold out your hand. He held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately held a consultation with the Herodians against Him, how they might [devise some means to] put Him to death.
It is very easy for me to read through this quickly and think, 'Those awful Pharisees! How could they be such horrible people?' But as I read this tonight, I realized that I am often very much like these men. They didn't object to His healing the man...only that He did it in a time that they deemed inappropriate. In essence, they had compartmentalized their lives, with acceptable time slots being made available for God to move and work. They had their plans for the way the Sabbath was to go - their own agendas, their own expectations for a given trip to the Synagogue. They were mad because Jesus operated outside of their own agenda/expectation structure. They had an idea of what was acceptable on the Sabbath, and their preconceptions were directly and openly challenged - we could even say they were violated.
How different are we really from that? I know I'm not that far off. There have been so many times where I knowingly close myself off from what I think God might be wanting or trying to do in or through me - not because I don't want Him to move...just that I don't want Him to do it right then. For whatever reason, really, but they all basically boil down to an inconvenience to me. I've definitely been guilty of compartmentalizing my life, and keeping God out when I might be delayed, or embarrassed, or personally convicted if I let Him in. I have been guilty of closing off certain times - sometimes it is Sunday morning, while I'm sitting in church - selfishly keeping that time to myself, in my own control, hoping it will run by my own agenda, my own timing, my own expectations. How different am I really from the Pharisees?
Luke 12:1 - ...Be on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy [producing unrest and violent agitation].
Just a note: I looked up "leaven" in Websters for clarification, just to make sure I understood clearly what Jesus was saying. Leaven, generally speaking, is an agent that causes dough to rise, as yeast does. One definition, though, that Websters gives states this: 'to leaven is to spread throughout, causing a gradual change.'
Any kind of gradual change that Jesus warns against is a gradual change I do not want. Lord, please change this in me, and help me be always available to You. What good is my life if it is not always open and available to You to work in and through me as You wish?
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