Day 282 (Matthew 12, Mark 3, Luke 6) - Year 8

Tara-Leigh Cobble (0:01)

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara-Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today we really got a glimpse into why Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels. We read a lot of the same stories through three different lenses. First, we read about another time when the Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath, and Jesus uses it as an opportunity to teach them something important. As he often does, he teaches using imagery and parallels. He points out that while the temple is important, there's something more important than the dwelling place of God, namely, God himself. And he's like, by the way, that's me, I'm him. Then he continues the comparison along these lines.

Sacrifice is important, but there's something more important than sacrifice, namely, mercy. The point he seems to be making with all of this is that the law is important, but there's something greater than the law, the God who made the law. And in this instance, he made that specific law to serve the people. So even the needs of the people are greater than the law of the Sabbath.

The law at large shows us our brokenness and our need, and it points out what righteous living looks like. And that's important, but the law never terminates on itself. It points to him. And what the Pharisees have done is misinterpreted and misapplied God's law. They've twisted it into a version that no longer points to him and his heart.

When Jesus gives examples of people disobeying the law yet being guiltless, he isn't endorsing anarchy or an abandonment of the law.

God doesn't relax things or water them down in the New Testament. The standard for holiness is still the standard for holiness. Nothing has changed. So what's going on here? If you are with us in the Old Testament, let me point you back to a few of the stories we read where you can see parallels to this. Think about when the Egyptian midwives were blessed for saving Israelite babies in Exodus 1, even though they lied in order to do it. Think about when King Hezekiah had the people celebrate Passover while they were unclean in 2 Chronicles 30 And there are lots more examples like this. The law pointed them toward doing good, but mercy pointed them toward the greater good. Jesus knows that legalism is uncomfortable with mercy, and he presses on the Pharisees about it. He continues to make them uncomfortable when he shows up at a synagogue on a Sabbath and meets a man in need of healing. There's a possibility the Pharisees have even planted this man in order to trap Jesus. He points out their hypocrisy and their flawed argument by saying, If your sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, you'd save him, and humans are more important than animals. So yes, of course I'm going to heal this guy on the Sabbath. Sabbath is about bringing rest and well-being. Doing good is not against the law, it's consistent with it.

Then Mark 3 tells us he was both angry and grieved by their response. Just a quick side note for the animal lovers out there, Jesus certainly loves animals, he made them. But there are a few times where he speaks and demonstrates that they're less important than humans. Like when he drives the demons into the pigs in Matthew 8, or when he tells people they're more valuable than birds in Matthew 6 I know it may be hard for some people to hear, but the distinction between humans and the whole rest of creation is that we're the only thing made in God's image. But you'll be happy to know scripture does point to animals being in the kingdom. We'll get to that eventually.

After Jesus heals the man's hand, the Pharisees begin to conspire against him, so he pieces out. He can't be distracted from his current assignment from the father, which is to let the Gentiles know that he is the Messiah and that the Messiah is for them too, before it's time for him to die. The Jews already know to expect a Messiah, but for the most part, the Gentiles have no idea he's their Messiah too. It's always been God's plan. We've seen it all throughout the Old Testament, but they never knew it because they didn't have any reason to read the Hebrew scriptures. When Jesus comes, he doesn't disregard the Jews by any means. He heals them and engages with them first, in fact. But then he has to maintain the delicate balance of keeping his identity somewhat secret while spreading the word to the Gentiles. Why does he have to keep it secret? Here's a bad analogy. Pretend you're Abraham Lincoln and you're out to dinner with a bunch of your friends. At the far end of the room, some people enter that you're gonna be having dinner with, but they don't know what you look like because TV and social media don't exist yet. You want to get their attention to wave them over, but at the very next table sits John Wilkes Booth. In this analogy, Jesus is Abe, he's at the table with the Jews, he's trying to get the attention of the Gentiles across the room, but without John Wilkes religious leaders taking notice, or at least not until the time is right, or until his hour has come, as he likes to say. So can you see why he treads so carefully? He continues healing people in the Jewish regions, but begs them to keep it on the down low.