The Pharisees are still out to discredit Jesus by finding some way to prove He is an unrighteous man. Today they criticize Him for performing a healing on the Sabbath.
"Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath." (Mark 3:1-2) Luke tells us that "some of them" means the Pharisees and teachers of the law. (Luke 6:7) Luke also informs us that Jesus is able to read their minds, "But Jesus knew what they were thinking". (Luke 6:8) It must cause the Pharisees a great deal of shame and confusion every time they realize Jesus knows their thoughts, but instead of acknowledging that this is proof of His deity, they convince themselves that His abilities come from the powers of darkness. (Luke 11:15) This is the only way they can cling to their refusal to believe in Him in spite of the miracles they witness. They will not even entertain the thought that He might actually be the Messiah; therefore He must be someone wicked who is in league with the devil.
The gospel writer Matthew tells us that some of Jesus' enemies ask, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" (Matthew 12:10) In other words, "Isn't it 'working' to heal on the Sabbath? And if You work on the Sabbath, aren't You breaking the Sabbath? And if You break the Sabbath, aren't You a sinner?" In our times it probably seems like common sense that God approves of easing someone's suffering if we can, even if it's on the Sabbath. But we have to remember that the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' time had taken the laws of God and made numerous additions to these laws according to what seemed right in their own eyes. God said not to work on the Sabbath or to force your servant or your animals to work on the Sabbath, but He didn't say to turn a blind eye to suffering on the Sabbath. If your child is sick, you're not going to withhold care and medicine from him on the Sabbath, and God doesn't believe in withholding care from His children on the Sabbath either. The Lord told Israel through the prophet Hosea, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6) If mercy toward our fellow man means more to God than anything we can bring as an offering to Him, shouldn't we extend mercy? How better to give back to God than to be merciful toward the human beings He has created?
Jesus illustrates the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by asking, "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? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:11-12) I love the common sense of Jesus! His examples and parables are always so down-to-earth and sensible. He says something like, "Anyone with a lick of sense is going to run and pull his sheep out of a hole even on the Sabbath. Not one of you would fail to extend mercy to that sheep. Yet you expect Me to deny mercy to a human being because it's the Sabbath. If you don't consider it 'working' to rescue your sheep on the Sabbath, why do you consider it 'working' for Me to rescue a person on the Sabbath?"
"Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, 'Stand up in front of everyone.' Then Jesus asked them, 'Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?' But they remained silent." (Mark 3:3-4) They remain silent because He's caught them in their own trap. He's shown the entire assembly how hypocritical their religious leaders have become. He's made it clear that, in following the letter of the law to an obsessive degree, they have lost the spirit of the law. Our God is a God of mercy. Naturally He holds mercy in high esteem. It's not sinful to extend mercy on the Sabbath, but it is sinful to withhold it.
"He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus." (Mark 3:5-6) The Herodians were a political party of Jews who were followers of Herod. They wanted political independence for the Jews but with Herod as their king. Normally they were not friends of the Pharisees, who also yearned for Jewish independence but with a descendant of David as their king. Normally the Herodians and Pharisees were not friends, but the Pharisees plan to present Jesus as a threat to the Herodian dynasty. As the saying goes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." These two groups which ordinarily have nothing to do with each other will unite together in their opposition toward Jesus.
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