Not All Rules are Good Rules
Luke 6:8-10 Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Get up and stand here where everyone can see.” The man got up and stood there.Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is the right thing to do on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?” Jesus looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law got so mad they couldn’t think straight. They talked to each other about what they could do to Jesus.
For some reason we’ve had this idea dropped on our heads that all rules are good rules and obeying the rules is a good thing. Well, perhaps that’s true … but there are some rules, religious rules, that can do more harm than good.
Religion, at the end of the day, is all about rules. Here’s the deal; if you play by the rules you’re okay, and if you don’t, you’re not. But what if those rules don’t actually work?
There was a man with a deformed hand who came to Jesus in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. Rule; no work on the Sabbath. Everyone’s eyes were on Jesus. Would He break the rule and heal the man, or play by the rules and send him away?
A real conundrum, or so it seemed. Dead silence. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Jesus. The religious leaders were ready to pounce. But …
Luke 6:8,9 Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Get up and stand here where everyone can see.” The man got up and stood there.Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is the right thing to do on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?”
You can feel the tension in the air. What would He do?
Luke 6:10 Jesus looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law got so mad they couldn’t think straight. They talked to each other about what they could do to Jesus.
An appalling response, don’t you think?
Religious rules and Jesus. They just don’t mix. They never have. They never will.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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