Is your heart hard?

Matt 12:9-14: “Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?; that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. 13 Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.”

Jesus said that His mission was to seek and to save the lost. His heart was moved when He looked upon the multitude of people. He saw the broken hearted and the destitute. When He looked upon the people of that day He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, scattered, confused, and vulnerable. He saw them as sheep that were without a shepherd and extremely susceptible to the dangers of being without protection. He knew that the religious leaders, who were supposed be the shepherds of the people, failed at their responsibility.

Jesus saw this man who needed to be healed. For Him there was no question of what He was going to do. There was a need and Jesus was going to fill that need. The Pharisees however, had a problem with Jesus. First of all, Jesus disrupted the balance of power that the religious leaders enjoyed having. He started preaching with authority and teaching theological truths that these people desperately needed and wanted. He also performed miracles that proved His divinity. He met the peoples’ needs and drew crowds everywhere He went.

He healed this man and the Pharisees decided to plot His demise. Jealousy and hypocrisy was seen through their actions. Jesus healed and they plotted His murder. They judged Him because He healed a man on the Sabbath, yet they failed to realize that they plotted a murder on the Sabbath. For the Christ-follower we need to be careful not to become hardhearted like the Pharisees. When we lose sight of those in need we become calloused and become unusable.

Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Gen 38-40 New Testament Matt 12:22-50