What is really important?

Introduction

As the disciples walked through a corn field with Jesus toward the synagogue they were hungry and pulled off some ears of corn. The Pharisees saw it and began to chide Jesus for the acts of his disciples.

Jesus challenged them with a few examples of when people did things like that and were not held accountable or guilty for having done them. He informs them that one that is greater than the Temple was in their presence and that he was greater than the sabbath day.

The message went right over their heads, but they were speechless as they gave no reply and Jesus proceeded to the synagogue. There he saw a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees wanted to catch him speaking against the law so they asked him if one could heal on the sabbath day. Jesus, as he often did answered with a question.

Matthew 12:11–12 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Jesus then healed the man and the Pharisees held a council to destroy Jesus for healing the man’s hand on the sabbath.

Let’s ask some questions about this passage of Scripture so that we can derive some spiritual truth that is evident here.

How were the Pharisees in a position to see the disciples plucking and eating the corn?

So Jesus and his disciples decide to go through a corn field on the way to the synagogue. As they make there way through it the disciples plucked some ears of corn and ate it.

The Pharisees saw them do this and began rebuking Jesus for allowing the behavior. Let’s stop right here in the story and hit the pause button.

How is it that the Pharisees came to see this? I suppose it is possible that they chose to take the same route as Jesus. However, it does not seem to be the case. It seems the Pharisees were following them trying to catch them doing something to accuse them. I would point out that later they asked if they could heal with the hope that they would be able to accuse him.

Principle: Intentions Matter

The intentions of the Pharisees in this matter were not to watch out for their brethren and help them escape the snare of the evil one. It seems they wanted the disciples to do something wrong. It seems they wanted to have something they could take to the council to accuse them of wrongdoing.

When we are motivated by a desire to put someone down or make someone look bad we have strayed from our responsibility as a Christian. We are to help our brethren. We are to encourage our brethren. We are to warn our brethren. We are to do all of this because we love them and have their best interest in mind. This was not the intention of the Pharisees. Their intentions were misplaced and wicked in the the eyes of Christ.

Why was their care placed upon Jesus’s answer about healing on the sabbath rather than the man with the withered hand?

When Jesus got to the synagogue people came up to him to ask him a question. Notice the Scripture does not say that Jesus noticed the man with the withered hand. It did not say he was intending to heal him and then the people stopped him. It’s as if it happened like this:

Hey Jesus, do you see that man with the withered hand? Yes, Jesus replies. Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?

Notice they did not go up to the man and show any care for him. They did not ask him if he had troubles getting a job and if they could help him in any way. There was no intention to pray for him or to help him. They simply used this man’s unfortunate predicament to pose a question with the intent of catching Jesus defying the law so that they accuse him before the council.

Principle: Compassion Matters

Do you think they asked this of Jesus to see if it was okay for them to heal the man? Do you think they wondered if it was okay for them to help the man? No, the Bible is clear that their intention was to accuse Jesus and contained no compassion for the man.

Jesus gave a masterful answer to them and then proceeded to heal the man. Why? Because Jesus cared more for the man than the optics. Jesus had compassion on the man and chose to show it to him rather than worry about how it would look to those around him.

We need to learn to have compassion on people and not use their problems for our own games.

What was their reaction to the man’s healing?

When Jesus healed the man and his hand was restored whole as the Scripture states, did they rejoice with the man? Did they throw a party for the man? Did they congratulate the man? Was their mind turned to the possibility that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath as he spoke about earlier? NO.

Their reaction was to dismiss themselves and go hold a council against him so that they could kill him. A man in their synagogue, who they probably knew, whose parents they probably knew, was healed right in front of them and their reaction was anger.

Principle: Reactions Reveal the Heart

Their reaction to Christ’s miracle of healing this man reveals that their heart was not a love for people, but a love of tradition, influence, and power. They apparently had been tasked with finding something against Jesus and that was their only focus. It revealed their heart condition. They would rather see Jesus killed than someone helped.

If our lives are dedicated to the Word of God then they should be dedicated to people being helped by it not to seek to destroy people with it.

ILLUSTRATION

ATHEIST argues with Christian about whether God exists. Atheist asks Christian if someone commits suicide do they go to Hell. Christian says it has nothing to do with the argument of whether God exists, stay on topic.

Later someone else told him the reason the Atheists was asking the question was because his wife had killed herself.

He said I was right about the topic of the argument. I was right to desire to stay on topic. I was wrong because I could have ministered to his hurt and instead I beat him up in the argument.

CONCLUSION

Why do we do what we do? What is our intentions?

Do we have compassion for people? Are people’s well being a central part of our focus?

What does our reactions to the actions of people reveal about our heart? Does it reveal a care and love for people? Does it reveal a dedication to a rigid system?

We need to be vigilant to believe the Bible and where it speaks clearly definitively and defend it without apology. But if that defense is without love, grace, mercy, and compassion then we have erred in our focus.