Today's Passage - Luke 6:6-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 6:6-11   On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, 'Get up and stand in front of everyone.' So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, 'I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?' He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.   Can the sick be healed on Sabbath Day? To us, the answer is obvious, because one can certainly perform good deeds and save lives on Sabbath. But to the Pharisees back in those days, it was a serious issue, because they observed Sabbath much like following the law, but they failed to see God's will behind Sabbath. God loves mercy, for He doesn't value outward behavior as much as the attitude inside. Pharisees wanted to preserve the law, so they set up rules concerning the distance one can walk on Sabbath in order to stay within the law. When someone must go on a long journey, however, Pharisees came up with a solution, which was to break the journey up to short segments, and make sure each segment measured under the maximum distance allowed by the law. Therefore, one can go on a long journey without violating the law. God's will is actually not to govern how much we walk, but He wants our heart to rest; The Pharisees, on the other hand, only cared about outward behavior, so they missed God's true intention.   The law also dictated that the rich should lend money to the poor, but when the year of jubilee comes, every penny that was borrowed would be written off. Year of jubilee was, therefore, time when the poor people were freed because their debts were wept out. The intention of God was to have mercy on the poor, but the rich people stopped lending money on the sixth year of the cycle, which would be the year before the year of jubilee; that way, they wouldn't end up not being able to collect their money. To find other ways to get around this law, the Pharisees explained that the law was only applicable to loans originated from individuals, not synagogues. Therefore, if the synagogue lent money to the poor - even though the money was also from the rich - the timeline for collection of debt was not bound by the law.   God wanted to release people's heart, but the Pharisees misunderstood God's intention. In this passage, Jesus simply asked the sick to stretch out his hand, and his hand was healed. Even while legalism and formalism was in practice, God was still glad to reveal His grace and mercy, and to let healing take place. May God help us not to pay attention to outward behavior, not to be bound by law and form, and to understand God's will. Let us edify one another in the process and preach the Gospel to everyone around us who needs it.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you and praise you, because you are the Lord of Sabbath. Let us follow your will so that we are no longer bound by tradition, form and legalism. Let us become channel of your grace, and bring about salvation and healing to those around us. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!