Based on Matthew 12:1-14 (New King James Version)
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!’ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’ Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 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. 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? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.”
The majority of supposed believers point very easily the finger towards the pharisees. There are many that would say that they were so evil and perverse that they were even directly responsible for the Lord’s death. And well, from a certain point of view, yes, they had a big part in it. So then, many would conclude that religiosity is evil, and furthermore, the more spiritual of today would say that what God is truly looking for is to have a relationship with man, and not for man to be religious. But I ask myself, and seeing things as they are today, and especially having the privilege of being able to see different people in different parts of the world, “Do believers really have a relationship with God, or have they formed their own religiosity that is just as evil as the Pharisees?” The Spirit reveals that, as a group, we are in the same bad shape as those that we accuse so easily as being religious and evil. There is a new form of Pharisee, per se, that has filled our churches. And even worse, they are at the pulpits and platforms where God’s Truth should be preached. Quite sincerely, what the Spirit reveals, and the environment shows is that there is very little true faith. Unfortunately, many people live a false faith, something that seems genuine, but that is not.
There are many people today that base their faith on a supposed grace from God, something that is said or gives an idea that nothing else is necessary, but only to just believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as Savior, and that’s it, live your life because you are going to heaven. There are others that think that it is about being a “good person”, and that is very subjective. There are many that think that following the Lord is about going to church, giving some money, using some special vocabulary, and of course, singing a bunch of nice and entertaining songs, the ones they like, of course. There are many that think that being a believer is about having companionship with other believers and try to have a good time with each other. And also, there are also many that believe that learning the Bible cover to cover, and doing special studies, and of trying to understand the detail of things, and being better than others, is what God is looking for. In summary, there are many ideas and many things that are believed to be God’s will, and many believe that if they do these things, then everything will be fine. As a group, we have created such a variety of supposed truths that people don’t even know what to believe anymore. If I were an unconverted person and would look for some guidance in our group today, I would not even have an idea of where to begin. There is such a variety of things that this gives the world the idea that there should be many paths to God rather than one way, as the Lord defined. And we marvel of why it is so difficult for the world to believe! But, sarcastically speaking, that is their problem, right? Because that is the mentality that does reign in God’s people today: “Everyone for themselves, and everyone does what they want, and as is convenient to them.” And if things are like that, then we as a group are the same as the Pharisees. There is no difference.
If we truly understand what we read today, we should see the Truth that God really desires to see in our lives, and that it is not about religiosity or hollow theologies that have no life, and far less, of personal conveniences, but rather, something much deeper and exact. To start, what the Lord reiterated through His own actions is what has always been His will since the beginning, as it is written: “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ ‘In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? ‘Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:1-7. And this is also written: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31. But this is what the Lord is complaining about now more than ever: “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’” Malachi 1:6. In the end, the Way is Christ, and we should do just as the Lord did. He came to do God the Father’s will, and not to serve Himself. And He did it to the point of giving up His life without even opening His mouth. He did it all for love to the Father, and like that, He fulfilled the law, the first and second commandment, the ones we just read. He loved the Father, and like that, He looked to do His will. And through that, He did the greatest service that mankind ever needed, by giving us the way to eternal life. That is what Christ demonstrated (because His actions showed that, and not just His words, because faith without works is dead). And this is the key point: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. OLord, come!” 1 Corinthians 16:22. If God’s priorities are not fulfilled, then there is no salvation. So then, are you living out God’s priorities or are you living for the curse? Lord bless! John