THE NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE STORY #5

 THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  BIBLE  STORY  #5

WRITTEN  ESPECIALLY  FOR  CHILDREN

Chapter Eleven:

The Rise of Opposition by Jewish Leaders

JESUS AT HOME

      Certainly the Gospels show and record that Jesus was a

wandering preacher, moving about all over the Holy Land. It is

also recorded that at times He really did not know where He was

going to rest and sleep for the night, and there were probably

many times He and His disciples slept under the stars during the

warmer parts of the year.

     While all the above is true, there is recorded for us an

interesting verse in the Gospel of Mark. We read in chapter two,

and verse one, " And when He was come to Capernaum after some

days, it was reported that He was AT HOME. "

     Mark does not say He was in the home of a friend, or

relative, or in the home of one of His disciples. Mark says He

"was at home." A phrase that within the context of words around

it, would indicate this home was Jesus' home.

     And coming from a background of the carpenter trade, it

should not take us by surprise that either with Joseph (His

earthly adoptive-father) and/or with His other brothers, they built a

house for themselves, or specifically for Jesus, at some point in

past time. 

     Mark puts it in such language that indicates this was Jesus'

home at Capernaum. And while "at home" we have the story that

follows, which contains certainly one large important truth Jesus

was again revealing to the masses and to the religious leaders of

the day.

JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC AND FORGIVES SIN

     We shall let Luke tells us the story, found in his fifth

chapter. Jesus was teaching (as we have seen, at home in

Capernaum), and some of the Pharisees and teachers of

the law were sitting there. They had come from every town of

Galilee and Judea, even from the city of Jerusalem itself.

     Some men carrying a man on a bed, one who was paralyzed,

came to the house hoping to bring the paralytic to Jesus for

healing. Yet there was such a large crowd of people in the house

and door-ways, it was impossible to get through to where Jesus

was. But, they were not about to give up that quickly. One of the

men suggested they go up on the roof top (the houses were built

with flat roofs in the Holy Land in those days), remove some

tiles and let the paralyzed man on his bed down to Jesus from the

roof top. The others all thought this was an excellent idea and

so proceeded to follow that suggestion.

     Imagine the scene. First, a whole appearers in the roof, all

look up, and secondly, behold down comes a bed with a paralyzed

man laying on it.  It would seem Jesus (and probably all the

other people present) knew exactly what they wanted done. He

perceived they had much faith. He looks at the paralytic and

says, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

     Sometimes in the foolishness of our mind we may do a silly

or dare-devil physical act (that God would not have wanted us to

do) and it sometimes ends in the physical breaking of our body in

some form. Whatever this man had done to bring about his

paralyzation, Jesus knew it was a sin (not revealed to us exactly

what or when or how), and told him He would forgive that sin.

Now, other examples in the Gospels show us that not all bad

physical problems that happen to us are the result of some sin we

do, but there are times it could be. This is a case of where

Jesus knew the man's physical problem was the result of some

foolish physical sin he had done.  In the most part God does not

inflict us with physical ailments when we sin in mind, thought,

or word. If He did then most of us would be crippled a thousand

times over. But there are times God allows some of our foolish

physical actions to move in dire results. He may not always

step in and prevent the tragic end result of our physical errors.

     Jesus forgave the sins of this man and was willing to heal

his physical body.

     Well, at those words by Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees

looked at each other in shock and anger, saying among themselves,

"Who can forgive sins but God only?" 

     Jesus knew what they were saying. He could read their hearts

and the looks on their faces. 

     "Why do you question in your hearts, " said Jesus to them,

"which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to

say, 'Rise and walk'? But I said it the way I said it so you may

know the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins."

     

     Now, the scribes and Pharisees were correct in thinking that

only God can forgive sins in the strictest sense, and certainly

in any healing where sins are to be forgiven. Jesus was again

showing and proving to them and all the people standing by, that

He was God in the flesh, that He was the Immanuel (God with us)

that was promised to come by the prophet Isaiah. He was showing

them that as God in the flesh, He did have authority to forgive

sins. He was teaching them that He was part of the Elohim (a

singular God with a plural form) they all knew about in the Old

Testament Scriptures.

     Jesus once more turned to the paralyzed man and said, 

"I say to you, pick up your  bed  (in those times people's beds were

often a roll up type mattress) and  go home."

     Immediately the man rose up and departed, glorifying God as

he went his way. Needless to say the crowd was just amazed,

filled with awe, and praising God they said, "We have seen

strange yet wonderful things today" (Luke 5: 17-26).

LEVI (MATTHEW), A TAX COLLECTOR, IS CALLED TO BE A DISCIPLE

     Jesus left the home and went again besides the sea, where

even more of a crowd gathered around him. And He taught them many

things about the Kingdom of God. He was walking along a little

while later and He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus (this is he that

was called Matthew and the one whom we believe wrote the Gospel

of Matthew), sitting at the table of the tax gathering office,

and He said to him, " I want you to come and follow me. "

     We are not told any "behinds the scene" details as to

whether Levi knew Jesus from some other time before. Whatever the

case may have been, Matthew immediately rose and up and went with

Jesus. The place they were going to was Matthew's very own

house. It would seem Jesus had no hesitation at times in inviting

Himself over to certain individual's homes, and enjoying a meal

with them and others. This we must look upon as not being

"forward" or "ill-mannered" but in the context of doing the work

of God, teaching people the truths of God, calling disciples to

follow Him. It was often the way Jesus did things, and nobody it

seems got offended at that way.

     Now, some did get offended by the company of persons Jesus

did allow to be around Him when in someone's home.  This was the

case here while in Levi's home enjoying a meal, teaching and

relaxing.  

     Mark, in his Gospel says, many other tax collectors were

present (they not being liked at all by the Jews for they

collected taxes for the Roman Government), as well as

"sinners."  This word "sinners" is used often in the Gospels to

refer to "sexually immoral" people, and especially to women who

sold their bodies to men for sexual gratification.

     Well, when the Scribes (writers of the books of God as we

have in the OT) and the Pharisees (leaders of the popular common

religious party bearing that name) saw Jesus keeping company with

such people they looked down their nose and got quite indignant

about the whole scene.  "Why do you eat and drink with tax

collectors and sinners?" they asked of Jesus.

     

     Jesus gave them an answer that they could not but clearly

understand what He was meaning. "Those who are well and healthy

do not need to go to a doctor, but it is those who are sick who

need the help of a doctor," Christ first said to them, and

concluded with, "I have come to do a work not among those who

are spiritually righteous and healthy, but among those who know

they are sinners" (Mark 2:13-17).

     Jesus was certainly not intending to mean that He thought

the Scribes and Pharisee leaders were righteously healthy, for

other parts of the Gospels make it very clear He thought nothing

of the kind about them. We will see some pretty plain words

later that Jesus used to tell them where He thought they stood

when it came to spirituality. 

     What He said to them here was with tongue in cheek. The

scribes and Pharisees could not see their sins and lack of true

spirituality, but many others could see their own sins, such as

tax collectors (who often cheated the people through power of

authority and with fear tactics, and gained more taxes than

required by the law, pocketing it and becoming quite wealthy) 

and sexually immoral persons.

     Jesus, was telling those self-righteous Scribes and

Pharisees, He was concerned with, and was there to serve and

help, those who could see their sins and wanted spiritual

healing. Those who could not, but thought they were spiritually

fine and dandy, He could not help.

     We must all come to see that no matter how "righteous" we

may be in the eyes of the society we live in, and our own

standards of life, that we still have sins, that we are sinners

in the light of the perfect holiness of God.

JESUS TALKS ABOUT FASTING

     Many people at large knew some who were either disciples of

John the baptist or disciples of the Pharisee sect. They knew

that disciples of both often fasted (going without food and water

for a day or even many days). For years they had seen and heard

of those disciples setting one or more days aside to devote to

pray, study, meditation, on the things of God. But, in observing

Jesus' disciples for maybe months, they could never see, nor did

they hear about, any of His disciples ever fasting for any length

of time. 

     Finally, some were just so bewildered by it all they had to

ask Jesus about it, that is, why His disciples did not fast,

while other disciples from other religious leaders did fast.

     Jesus gave His answer as found in the Gospel of Luke.

     "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is

with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away

from them, and then after that they will fast. No one tears a

piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it as a patch on an

old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from

the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old

wineskins; if he does the new wine will, as it ferments, burst

the skins and it will all spill out, and the skins will be

useless. But new wine must be put into new wineskins. Further, no

one after drinking old wine desires to drink new wine, for he

will usually say, 'The old tastes better'" (Luke 5:33-39).

     Fasting is done to draw close to God, to really put aside

all physical things like work, play, preparing and eating food,

and to devote all the time to getting as spiritually close to God

as can be humanly possible. Fasting is to learn from God through

His word, through pray, through meditating on His word, and

letting the Spirit of the Lord teach and guide you.

     With Jesus being God in the flesh, the Immanuel, the perfect

teacher, the one to set the perfect example of human holiness

through the Spirit, and as He was also there right in their

midst, they were as close to Him, to God, as could be expected

and desired for in this physical life. Jesus' disciples had no

need to fast to get spiritually close to and in tune with God. He

was already close to them, and all the help, all the teaching,

all the answers to their questions, was there rubbing shoulders

so to speak, with them.

     Fasting, under those circumstances was not a correct or

needed mixture for spiritual insight. The old way of getting

close to God was not needed while the new way and perfect example

of spirituality, was living, walking, and talking among His close

disciples.

     As Jesus had said to them, fasting is also a time for

serious mindedness and it has some inner sadness to it, not that

that is not a good thing at times, for such can and should

produce spiritual growth and joy. But having Jesus with them was

like being at a wedding. It was a time to live with physical (and

of course mental) happiness and excitement, enjoying the day and

hour that belonged to the bridegroom. 

     For Jesus' disciples it was not a time to wander off by

ones-self, leaving Him behind, heading for the wilderness to fast

in order to get insight and teaching from God, for God was right

there with them in the flesh, in the form of Jesus Christ, to

teach and bring them insights from the Father in heaven.

     Jesus would not always be physically in their midst. One day

He would return to heaven. After that day, then fasting for His

disciples would be once more important as a method to draw close

to God, to learn of Him, to be corrected and taught by Him

through the Spirit. Until then, fasting for Jesus' disciples was

not needed as the perfect new way was so very close to them,

hence the purpose for fasting was quite redundant and unnecessary

for those who were Jesus' close disciples.

JESUS HEALS A MAN ON THE SABBATH AND ENCOUNTERS

TROUBLE FROM RELIGIOUS LEADERS

     There was in the city of Jerusalem by the sheep gate a

famous pool of water, called in the Hebrew language "Bethesda"

which means "house of grace."  It had a roof with five porches,

giving ample protection from the heat of the sun and yet easy

access to the pool itself.

     This pool was indeed a gracious place, for when the waters

moved, miraculously at times, and the invalids, blind, lame, and

paralyzed, got into the water, they were healed. 

     God, through this water miracle, was granting physical

healings to some of the people.

     It was one of the Festival times and Jesus went up to

Jerusalem and on a Sabbath day He visited this Bethesda pool. 

There He saw a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. He

was lying under one of the porches, hoping to get into the pool

when the waters moved.

     "Do you want to be healed? " asked Jesus of this man. "Oh,

yes sir, but I have no one to help me into the pool when the

water is moving. And while I'm trying to get there on my own,

someone else always gets there before me," answered the man.

     It would seem that the miracle God gave was on a "first

come, first served" basis. It only lasted for a very short time.

     Jesus looked with sympathy and compassion upon the man and

said, "Rise, pick up your bed-roll and walk."

     Immediately the Gospel of John records, the man was healed,

stood up, picked up his bed-roll and walked away praising God.

     It was soon noised abroad what Jesus had done. Some of the

religious leaders heard Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day. They

sort out the healed man and looking down their nose with a

condemning attitude said to him, "Do you not know it is the

Sabbath, and therefore it is not lawful for you to be carrying

around your bed-roll." 

     The religious leaders of the Pharisee sect had about 600

laws for Sabbath observance. Most of them were of their own

making. It was all to do mainly with physical do's and don'ts.

They had become so materially minded about keeping the Sabbath

that doing kindness, showing love, having mercy, and even serving

someone in need on the Sabbath, was put to one side in favor of

keeping hundreds of physical man-made laws, one of them being

that people should not carry their bed-roll on the Sabbath. Doing

that to those religious leaders was carrying a "burden" and so

working, hence breaking the Sabbath.

     The healed man, at this moment in time, could have cared

less about any man made rule or law of Sabbath observance. All he

knew was that God had healed him and he was walking.

     "Well, the man who healed me, told me to take up my

bed-roll and walk," replied the happy hearted man to the

questioners and condemners.

     "So who is this man that told you to do this thing?"

asked the religious leaders.

     The healed man was now kind of stunned, for he then realized

he did not know who this man was. He would have liked to have

known, but he now remembered that after the healing the man

immediately walked away into the large crowd. At this time the

man could not tell them who it was that healed him.

     It so happened that a little later in the day, in the

Temple, Jesus found the man He had healed and spoke once more to

him.  "Ah, you are well and healthy again. Be careful to sin no

more, lest a worse sickness befall you," Jesus said to him.

     We have seen already that some of our physical problems in

life can be our own fault, because we have done something against

the natural laws of nature. Sometimes breaking those laws, what

Jesus clearly called "sin" - sin in the physical, can lead to

physical sickness and troubles for us.  Sometimes we do foolish

things without thinking we may end up hurting ourselves.  We may

be walking along going to school, and we see this thin brick

wall, about three feet high. We think it would be fun to try and

balance walk along the top of it, so without much more thought up

we get and with one foot in front of the other away we try to

balance walk. But we maybe never did this before and certainly

had never practiced on something much lower to develop our skill

first, before trying it on a three foot wall.

     Well, we slip and fall, smash a knee, twist an ankle, or

even break a leg, as we hit the ground.  We have done a type of

sin, a physical sin against the laws of gravity and our own human

body.

     It would seem this man had done such a sin in his life (but

we are not told exactly what it was he had done) that left him

unable to walk. Whatever it was Jesus called it a sin, and told

him to be careful and not sin in this manner again, or something

worse than not being able to walk, may come upon him.

     The NT teaches that our physical bodies are the Temple of

God. God can dwell in us through His Holy Spirit, and so we then

become His spiritual Temple in a manner. He wants us to

appreciate and look after and take care of our physical bodies.

We should stop and think before we act or do certain physical

things in life, as to whether it is too dangerous, and could

possibly injure us if doing such a thing does not go smoothly.

Some things can be too "reckless" - too "far out" - too "wild"

and we are then taking chances with out bodies and minds that God

would not have us take chances with, for as He has written, our

bodies are His Temple for Him to dwell in.

     After Jesus had found the man and spoken to him again about

his healing, the man went and told the religious leaders who the

person was that healed him. He told them it was Jesus.

     All of this happening on the Sabbath was just another reason

for those leaders to seek out Jesus and persecute Him, for

breaking one of their made up laws of Sabbath observance.

     Jesus looked at them, probably with some anger, as he saw

their cold, unkind, unmerciful hearts, and said, "My Father is

still working, still doing good things on the Sabbath, and so I

will do good works also on the Sabbath." 

     It's true, God the Father still feeds the birds on the

Sabbath day, still brings up the sun, or sends the rain to feed

the trees and flowers. Doing good to people that come our way,

and that really need a helping hand on the Sabbath is living

within the laws and love of God. It is also doing correct good

works just as God is still doing on the Sabbath.

     Well, with those words from Jesus' lips, that God was His

Father, those Jews knew He was making Himself equal with God, a

part of the very Godhead, above any angel, putting Himself right

up there on the God level of existence, as a part of God. This

made them see red hot fire. It was bursting their blood vessels.

Now they were so angry with Him for not only in their eyes

breaking their Sabbath laws, but now having the affront to

say God was His Father. 

     Those Jews now sought all the more to find a way to kill

Him. They knew what making someone your "father" mean. 

They knew it was putting yourself in that "family" with that father, 

in as close relationship as literally possible.  Jesus had told them

before that He was God in the flesh, that He had authority as a

part of the God family, to forgive sins on earth.  Telling them

here that God the Father was His Father, was telling them again

what He had told them before, but putting it in a different way. 

     They clearly got the message, understood fully what He was

saying, and to them it was blasphemy, and so were more determined

than ever to want to see Him dead (John 5: 1-18).

     The wonderful truth of the matter is that the NT makes it

abundantly clear that all true children of God today, have God as

their Father, and Jesus Christ as their elder brother, in as

literal a way as can be possible.  Spirit filled Christians are

now and will be in the future, a part of the very family of God,

bearing the nature and name of God. God the Father is enlarging

Himself, by having many sons and daughters born of Him (2 Cor.

6: 16-18).  All in that family will be equal in the sense that

they are equal family members, all bearing the name of that

family. But as in the human family, not all with have the same

authority or the same gifts. God the Father will always be the

head of that family (1 Cor.11:3).

     It is a wonderful wonderful honor and privilege to call God,

"Our Father."  Jesus did, and so may we.

              ................................

Written June 2001 

Chapter Twelve:

Jesus has more problems with the Pharisees

CHRIST LAYS IT ON THE LINE

Many were the disputes and the problems Jesus had with the

religious leaders of the Pharisee sect, and others also of the

Sadducee priestly group and the Scribes.  What John records for

us in his chapter five (verses 19-47) of the Gospel book that

bears his name, are words from Christ that are plain, no punches

pulled, with Jesus being very God in the flesh, He had the

authority to speak those words with a dogmatic tone of voice.

     Jesus said to them, "Truly, with truth, I say to you, the

Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the

Father doing; for it is whatever He does that the Son also does

likewise. The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He

Himself is doing. And yes even greater works than these He will

show Him, that you may be astonished and marvel.

     As the Father can raise the dead and give them life, so the

Son as well will give life to whom He will. 

     The Father has decided to judge and condemn no one, but has

given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even

as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not

honor the Father who sent the Son. 

     It is the truth, that I say unto you, he who hears my words

and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life. He will not come

into condemnation, but has passed from death to life eternal.

     Once more it is the truth that the hour is coming, and even

now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and

those who hear will live."

     Jesus, by saying the hour now was here, did not mean to say

there were resurrections taking place, and people coming back to

eternal life, as He was speaking those words in His teachings in

the towns and country-side. He was meaning that many

"spiritually" dead in their sins, were believing His words,

repenting, and gaining grace and eternal life.  Then one day all

such people will be raised to life in a resurrection, at the

trumpet voice of the Son of God when He returns to this earth.

That truth is taught in many passages throughout the NT and in

the Gospels, as we shall later come to see and read about.

     Jesus then went on to further explain what He was meaning:

     "As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the

Son also to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to

execute judgment and condemnation, because He is the Son of man,

and knows what human life is all about, having experienced it. 

     Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who

are in the graves will hear His voice and shall come forth from

death. Those who have done good, to the resurrection of eternal

life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of

judgment."

     Putting all the passages together in the NT that talk about

this subject of resurrections, we come to see that there will be

at least two great resurrections. The one resurrection is for all

the true children of God that have lived in faith from Adam to

the coming again in glory and power of the Son of God, when His

voice will go forth with a shout. Those dead in the graves will

rise together with the children of God alive in the flesh, at the

coming of Christ. They will all be glorified together with

eternal life, and meet Jesus in the clouds of this earth, and so

be with Him forever more (1 Cor.15 and 1 Thes. 4: 13-18).

     There will also be another general resurrection for many

people who were not called to salvation in this life time. The

20th chapter of the book of Revelation mentions this

resurrection, where it indicates the book of life will be opened

to them. This is after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and the

saints upon this earth, as the first part of the chapter

describes.

     It is the Father's will that all persons be given a full and

clear opportunity to know the only name whereby anyone can be

saved, to repent, and find the way to eternal life (Acts 4:12; 2

Peter 3:9). 

     Jesus said all that are in the graves will one day hear the

voice of the Son of man and come forth to live again. But, it

will not all happen in just one resurrection at one single event

in history.

     Christ now really started to get specific and hit the nail

on the head with many listening to Him.

     "I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge;

and my judgment is very just, because I seek not my will but the

will and way of Him who sent me. If I bear witness to myself,

testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But

there is someone else who is testifying about me, and I can

assure you that everything He says about me is true. 

     In fact you sent people to listen to John the Baptist, and

he was preaching the truth. But the best testimony about me is

not from a man, though I mention to you John's testimony that you

might be saved. For John and his ministry shone brightly for a

while and you benefited and rejoiced, well some of you did. 

     But I have a much greater witness than John - my teachings

and my miracles. They have been assigned to me by the Father, and

they testify that the Father has indeed sent me.

     And again, the Father Himself has also testified about me."

     

     Jesus continued, "You have never heard His voice or seen

Him face to face as I have. You also do not have His message in

your hearts, because you do not believe me, the one He sent to

you.

     You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you

eternal life, yet it is those very Scriptures that point to me!

But you refuse to come to me so that I may give you eternal life.

     Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, because I

know your hearts that you do not have the love of God within you.

I have come to you representing the Father, and you refuse to

welcome me, even though you accept others who only represent

themselves. It is no wonder you cannot believe me! You can honor

each other, pat each other on the back, but you do not really

care about the true honor that comes from God alone."

     In His final breath on this matter, Jesus told them, "Yet,

it is not I who will accuse you first, of this dishonor before

the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, the one on whom

you set your hopes. But if you had fully believed Moses and what

he wrote, you would have believed me because he it was that wrote

about me. And since you do not then believe what he wrote, how

then it is  possible for you to believe what I say?"

     Wow!  Yes indeed, Jesus hit them right between the eyes with

all those words.  He made it very clear where many of those

religious leaders of His day stood in spiritual relationship with

the Father. They just simply did not!  They had no connection

with the Father at all. They were playing at religion, playing

among themselves, patting each other on the back, accepting each

other on human terms, but their hearts were far from seeking

the ways of the true God in heaven and believing His written

word. With proudness they accepted Moses as their great physical

ancestor. But in the area of where it really counted, believing

what Moses had written, they struck out three times. And so they

could not, would not, did not see that this Jesus was indeed the

Son of God, the one who had been with the Father from the

beginning, and the one whom the Father had sent to earth to teach

His truths and perform His miracles.

PHARISEES ACCUSE JESUS' DISCIPLES OF BREAKING THE SABBATH

     Matthew in his Gospel tells us that it was about the same

time the above took place that Jesus and His disciples were

walking through the grain-fields on the Sabbath day. His

disciples were getting quite hungry and so began to pluck the

ears of grain, rub them between their hands and eat the flour

substance then produced by that action.

     The Pharisees were tagging along not far behind. They

noticed what Jesus' disciples were doing. With indignation they

shouted, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to

do on the Sabbath."

     If you read this account as given by all three Gospel

writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke) you will notice the Pharisees did

not quote any verse to back up their dogmatic utterance.

Even after Jesus answered them, they did not attempt to support

their accusation with any Old Testament law of Sabbath

observance.  Why not?  Very simple, there was not and is not any

such law in the written word of God.

     What the Pharisees were accusing Jesus' disciples of doing

was breaking a point of one of their man-made Sabbath laws, that

they, the Pharisees together with the Scribes, had manufactured

and invented. Recorded history tells us that the Pharisees had

about 600 Sabbath laws. They had the mind-set that their invented

laws of Sabbath observance had the stamp of approval on them by

God Himself. Such was not the case at all, as Jesus went on to

explain.

     Jesus reminded them (written in the Scriptures they all

read) of the time when David and his men were so hungry that they

went to the House of God and asked the priest to give them the

holy bread that in the letter of the law was only for the priests

to eat, and not for anyone else.

     Jesus did not go into all the details of this account when

answering the Pharisees.

     They got the point with the basic answer Jesus gave. But

looking at it in 1 Samuel 21, and the context, you will see that

David asked the priest, and the priest went to inquire from the

Lord if he should grant David his request. The answer came back

as, yes. 

     God, as Lord of the Sabbath, the one in charge of Sabbath

regulations and observance, was going to set aside a letter of

the law command concerning the holy bread of the Temple, and was

going to allow David and his men to eat it, as they were very

weak in the knees (as we may say) from hunger.

     God was looking at a situation that was at hand in the

physical lives of some of His people, and was quite willing to

set aside a physical law in order to fulfil a greater law, one

that entailed showing kindness, mercy, love, compassion.  And all

such greater laws were quite in line with the observance of the

Sabbath.

     Then again, as God is the one in charge, as He is the law

maker, the governor of all that is good and right and lawful, He

has the authority to govern the observance of the Sabbath, even

His Temple, as He chooses under any particular circumstance and

situation that may arise in any era of time.

     Jesus did not stop with the example of David and his men and

the bread of the Temple, but also gave them another example to

meditate on.

     

     "Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the

Priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless?"

     In a technical letter of the law way, when reading the words

of the fourth commandment, and understanding that the Priests in

the Temple still continued to do the work of administering the

animal sacrifices on the Sabbath, you could say they most

certainly did "work" on the seventh day of the week. So, in that

technical letter of the law way they broke the Sabbath

commandment, of not working on that day at your secular

job.

     But, we also read in the law of Moses that God allowed the

Priests to work on the Sabbath day and He held them guiltless,

blameless. He did not look upon them as breaking the Sabbath day.

As God is the creator of all things, physical and spiritual, as

He is the creator of the Sabbath day and the rules that apply to

observing it, He can then set the rules as He chooses in how to

observe the Sabbath day.  And for the Priests in the Temple,

doing much physical work on the Sabbath, God said the rule of not

working at your secular job on the Sabbath, did not apply to

them. 

     God was Lord of the Sabbath. He was in charge as to how the

rules for observing it would apply in any given situation, and

with whomever persons within any situation that arose on the

Sabbath day.

     What Jesus continued to tell these religious leaders was

very meaningful and significant.

     "I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here. And

if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not

sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the

Son of man is lord of the Sabbath" (Mat. 12:1-8).

     The something greater than the Temple standing there, was

Jesus Himself. If they had recognized that He was Immanuel, God

in the flesh, the promised Messiah, the very Son of God, they

would have realized He had authority over what He allowed His

disciples to do on the Sabbath day, and allowing them to then

pluck grain and eat it as they strolled through the fields, was

not sin, or was not breaking the Sabbath.

     Also, if they had understood the mind and love of God, in

that God does in many circumstances, put mercy and kindness to

serve people in their physical needs of comfort (such as not

going hungry) before some letter of the law, then they also would

have not condemned Jesus' disciples in their actions as they

walked through the grain fields. They would have realized the

mercy, love, and kindness of God, was far above any of their

self-righteous man-made laws of Sabbath observance.

     Then lastly, if they had really known, if they had been

willing to admit, that Jesus was the Son of man, God in the

flesh, the creator of the Sabbath, the one greater than the

Sabbath, the one who was in charge of setting the rules for

Sabbath observance in any situation, they would have understood

that as Jesus did not stop the disciples from plucking the grain

and eating it, then He had set the rule in that situation that

such actions on the part of the disciples, was not in any way

breaking the observance of the Sabbath day.

     They would have recognized Jesus was lord, governor, of all

rules for Sabbath observance under all situations, and that He

had the authority to adjust those rules as the circumstance arose

for any specific condition on any Sabbath day. What the disciples

were doing, in Jesus' mind, was in no manner breaking the law of

Sabbath observance.

JESUS HEALS ON THE SABBATH AND ANGERS MANY   

     On another Sabbath day when Jesus was in the synagogue and

was teaching the word of the Lord, there was a man there who had

a right hand that was withered up in some manner. It may have

been a disformed hand from birth, or maybe it had been burnt

in a fire, or some other accident had caused it to be withered.

     Well, the scribes and Pharisees, knowing what Jesus had done

on other Sabbath days, were watching Him out of the corner of

their eyes to see what He would do when He noticed this man with

the withered hand. They were probably hoping within their minds

that He would help this poor man, but not to praise Him and give

God the glory, but to accuse Him of breaking their man-made

Sabbath laws.

     Oh, for sure, Jesus knew their evil thoughts. He said to the

man with the twisted and gnarled up hand, "Come over here my

friend, and stand by me."

     The man arose and came and stood by Jesus.

     "I ask you," said Jesus, looked at everyone, but especially

the scribes and Pharisees, “Is it lawful and proper on the

Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?"

     Looking around again upon them all He went on to say to him

with the withered hand, "Stretch out your hand."

     The man did as Jesus told him to do and his hand was

restored to its normal size and function.

     The self-righteous scribes and Pharisees were just boiling

over with fury, and with whispers among themselves they discussed

with one another what they might be able to do against this Jesus

fellow that they considered a great Sabbath breaker (Luke 6:6-

11).

JESUS CONTINUES TO HEAL AND FULFIL A PROPHECY OF ISAIAH

     Jesus knew the hearts of those religious leaders were

against Him, so with His disciples He withdrew to the sea shore.

Yet by this time His fame had spread so far abroad that a huge

crowd of people followed Him. They came from Galilee, from Judea

and Jerusalem, from beyond the Jordan, even from the region Tyre

and Sidon, up on the west coast of Palestine, quite a distance

from Jerusalem. They all came to hear Him speak. So many there

was that He had to tell His disciples to have a boat ready that

He could get into off shore, lest He be crushed by all the people

around Him. 

     Another reason why so many followed Him, and came from so

far away, was because of His healing powers. They wanted to touch

Him to be healed. Many who had evil demon spirits within them

fell down before Him and cried out, " You are the Son of God." 

Yes, those evil spirits knew exactly who He was and through the

mouths of humans confessed it in a public manner. Jesus more

often than not ordered them not to make Him known in this public

way. It was not yet time for such open publication, in that

manner.

     All this was to fulfil that which Isaiah the prophet had

spoken, in the forty-second chapter.

     "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with

whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and

he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or

cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will

not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till he

brings justice to victory; and in his name will the Gentiles

hope."

     Jesus was not coming with great fan-fare, the blowing of

trumpets, a big firework display, to announce His teaching and

preaching. He was not coming with large display ads in the local

news papers. He did not want publicity campaign managers running

all over the land announcing His fame and unique  origin.

     As for the talk about a bruised reed and smouldering wick,

one of the old master Bible commentators, Albert Barnes, gives

the meaning of all this. We read these words in his commentary on

this passage:

     "The reed is an emblem of feebleness, as well as change

(Mat.11:7). A bruised, broken reed, is an emblem of the poor and

oppressed. It means that he would not oppress the feeble and

poor, as victorious warriors and conquerors did. It is also an

expressive emblem of the soul, broken and contrite on account of

sin, weeping and mourning for transgression. He will not break

it. That is, he will not be haughty, unforgiving, and cruel. He

will heal it, pardon it, and give it strength. 

     Smoking flax. This refers to the wick of a lamp when the oil

is exhausted - the dying. flickering flame and smoke that hang

over it.  It is an emblem, also, of feebleness and infirmity. He

would not further oppress it, and extinguish it. He would not be

like the Jews, proud and overbearing, and trampling down the

poor.....He will not treat them harshly or unkindly, but will

cherish the feeble flame, minister the oil of grace, and kindle

it into a flame.

     Till he send forth judgment unto victory. Judgment here

means truth - the truth of God, the gospel. It shall be

victorious. It shall not be vanquished. Though not such a

conqueror as the Jews expected, but he shall conquer......"

     Jesus was to conquer, but not in the way and manner that

most of the religious leaders of the day and their followers

thought and taught that the Messiah would come. They could only

see the prophecies in the Old Testament that talked about a

powerful warring Messiah to come to set up His Kingdom on the

earth and rule all nations (which prophecies are yet to be

fulfilled).  They had overlooked all the prophecies of His coming

as a life giving Messiah. A Messiah to bring love, peace,

forgiveness, to repentant souls longing to be strengthened and

brought back from a smouldering wick ready to die out, into

a bright burning flame of joyful salvation (Mat.12:15-21; Mark

3:7-12).

     Here again on the sea shore Jesus was living and doing the

very words that Isaiah the prophet was inspired to say He would

do.

       ......................

Written August 2001

To be continued