Blogging Through the Gospels: Matthew 12

Blogging Through the Gospels with Amy from Mom's Toolbox
Reading:  Matthew 12


Scripture:   
Matthew 12: 9-13


 ⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
 ¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
 ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Matthew 12: 9 - 13

Observation:

The pharisees were watching, observing every action of Jesus, waiting for something that they could use against him.  Jesus knew what they were doing, and still tried to show them the True nature of God.

Application:

My heart broke when I read this account the two or three times that it is recorded in the different Gospels as I was reading the Bible in 90 Days.  The Lord pressed a deep sorrow on my heart that the ones who were supposed to be His people, and the ones who were LEADING His people were missing the point so entirely.  The rules, the guidelines, were never meant to be worshiped. They were to point to the depravity of our spirit, and our need for a Savior.  The teachers of the Law were so bent on following the RULES that they had no compassion, mercy, or love.

How our Jesus must have hurt to see the reality of their spiritual condition.  It was ALWAYS the plan.  It's not like He didn't realize that we were going to blow it and need a Savior.   He knew, before the foundation of the world, that He was going to redeem the world.  But the teachers of the Law were rejecting the Heart of God, and leading others astray in the process.  It's one thing to know that something is happening.  It's entirely different when you see it with your own eyes. 

Prayer:

Lord, my heart breaks for the lost.  My heart breaks for those who think they understand what Christianity is all about because they were lectured by someone who had a set of rules, rather than a relationship.  I was one of the lost. I thank you, so much, for your gentle pursuit of me.  Help me to share your joy, your peace, your love with everyone.  

Thank you for everything.  I am in awe.

Amen.