Matthew
12 – Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
The
religious leaders were waiting for an opportunity to attack Jesus, and He
deliberately gave it to them. What a tragedy to be burdened by legalism when
you could enjoy the true Sabbath rest! When Jesus is your Lord, all of life
becomes a Sabbath and every place is God’s temple, even a grain field.
The
Pharisees were concerned about keeping the Sabbath but not about showing love
to a man with a handicap condition. Jesus wants mercy, not sacrifice (Hos.6:6;
Mic 6:6-8). The Pharisees knew these words but had completely missed their
practical implications. We are not to use people but serve them. Jesus shows
that the “burden” of the Sabbath is to do good by meeting people’s needs. For
the Pharisees, healing on the Sabbath was lawful only if a life was in danger.
Jesus declares that it is always lawful, and in fact, it is an obligation to do
good on the Sabbath. This conclusion should be applied to everyday living.
Jesus
is the Stronger Man who has invaded satan’s house, overcome him, taken his
weapons, and is now claiming his spoils (Eph. 1:15-23). Put on the armor and
join Him in victory (Eph. 6:10ff). Jesus declared that it was absurd for the
Pharisees to believe that satan would attack and defeat his own demonic forces.
If that were to happen then satan would be destroying himself. Jesus had freed
people from demons. Those in the crowd who attributed exorcism to the power of
satan had corrupt hearts and could not speak good things or say anything
ultimately truthful (James 3:2-12).
Beware
of an empty life! It is a standing invitation for satan to go to work. In the
spiritual war being waged today, you cannot be neutral. You are either for Him
or against Him. If people clean up their lives and do not fill them with God,
they are left vulnerable to even greater evil than what they were originally
exposed to (I Pet. 5:8).
Please
read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.
If
you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.
J.
Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.
Dr.
David Jeremiah.
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