The Bible Recap - Day 282 (Matthew 12, Mark 3, Luke 6) - Year 4

Episode Date: October 9, 2022

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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Today we really got a glimpse into why Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels. We read a lot of the same stories through three different lenses. First, we read about another time when the Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath, and Jesus uses it as an opportunity to teach them something important. As He often does, He teaches using imagery and parallels. He points out that while the temple is important, there's something more important than the dwelling place of God. Namely, God Himself. And He's

like, by the way, that's me, I'm him. Then he continues the comparison along these lines. Sacrifice is important, but there's something more important than sacrifice, namely, mercy. The point he seems to be making with all of this is that the law is important, but there's something greater than the law, the God who made the law. And in this instance, he made that specific law to serve the people, so even the needs of the people are greater than the law of the Sabbath. The law, at large, shows us our brokenness and our need, and it points out what righteous living looks like, and that's important.

But the law never terminates on itself. It points to him. And what the Pharisees have done is misinterpreted and misapplied God's law. They've twisted it into a version that no longer points to him and his heart. When Jesus gives examples of people disobeying the law yet being guiltless, he isn't endorsing anarchy or an abandonment of the law. God doesn't relax things or water them down in the New Testament. The standard for holiness is still the standard for holiness. Nothing has changed. So what's going on here? If you are with us in the Old Testament, let me point you back to a few of the stories we read where you can see parallels to this.

Think about when the Egyptian midwives were blessed for saving Israel at babies in Exodus 1, even though they lied in order to do it. Think about when King Hezekiah had the people celebrate Passover while they were unclean in 2 Chronicles 30. And there are lots more examples like this. The law pointed them toward doing good, but mercy pointed them toward the greater good. Jesus knows that legalism is uncomfortable with mercy, and he presses on the Pharisees about it. He continues to make them uncomfortable when he shows up at a synagogue on a Sabbath and meets a man in need of healing.

There's a possibility the Pharisees have even planted this man in order to trap Jesus. He points out their hypocrisy and their flawed argument by saying, if you're a sheep, fell into a pit on the Sabbath, you'd save him, and humans are more important than animals. So, yes, of course, I'm going to heal this guy on the Sabbath. Sabbath is about bringing rest and well-being. Doing good is not against the law, it's consistent with it. Then Mark III tells us he was both angry and grieved by their response. Just a quick side note for the animal lovers out there,

Jesus certainly loves animals, he made them. But there are a few times where he speaks and demonstrates that they're less important than humans. Like when he drives the demons into the pigs and Matthew 8, or when he tells people they're more valuable than birds in Matthew 6. I know it may be hard for some people to hear, but the distinction between humans

and the whole rest of creation is that we're the only thing made in God's image. But, we'll be happy to know that Scripture does point to animals being in the kingdom. We'll get to that eventually. After Jesus heals the man's hand, the Pharisees begin to conspire against him, so he pieces out.

He can't be distracted from his current assignment from the Father, which is to let the Gentiles know that he is the Messiah and that the Messiah is for them too, before it's time for him to die. The Jews already know to expect a Messiah, but for the most part, the Gentiles have no idea he's their Messiah too. It's always been God's plan. We've seen it all throughout the Old Testament, but they never knew it because they didn't have any reason to read the Hebrew Scriptures. When Jesus comes, he doesn't disregard the Jews by any means. He heals them and engages with them first, in fact. But then he has to maintain the delicate balance of keeping his identity somewhat secret while spreading the word to the Gentiles. Why does he have to keep it secret? Here's a bad analogy. Pretend you're Abraham Lincoln and you're out to dinner with a bunch of

your friends. At the far end of the room, some people enter that you're going to be having dinner with, but they don't know what you look like because TV and social media don't exist yet. You want to get their attention to wave them over, but at the very next table sits John Wilkes Booth. In this analogy, Jesus is Abe. He's at the table with the Jews, he's trying to get the attention of the Gentiles across the room, but without John Wilkes religious leaders taking notice, or at least not until the time is right, or until his hour has come, as he likes to say. So can you see why he treads so carefully? He continues healing people in the Jewish regions, but begs them to keep it on the down low. Every time he has compassion on someone and heals them, he takes a step closer to his own death, trading his safety and well-being

for theirs. He gathers all his disciples and hand picks the 12 who will be following him closely. While he has lots of disciples, these 12 specifically become known as the Apostles. Then his family shows up to have a come-to-him talk, because they think he's lost his mind. At this point, we're not sure what part they're objecting to. Do they disbelieve he's the Messiah, or do they just think he needs to stop inciting the Pharisees, or that he's not really going to act like a rabbi and have disciples, is he? Or maybe it's all the above. 10 vs. later, his mother and brother show up. We don't know if this is a continuation from earlier,

or if it's a different scenario. The people who are with Jesus say, Hey, your family's outside looking for you. And he says, My family is right here. It's you guys. It's everyone who does the will of God. This sounds harsh, but A, we're going to see an encounter with his brothers later that gives more context to this. And B, this probably wasn't intended as a downgrade for his blood relative so much as an upgrade for all believers. He emphasizes the connection of the kingdom over the connection of genetics. Then, we see him going to Heelaman who is both blind and mute as a result of a demon.

Demons can have huge effects on a person's well-being. We'll continue to see this. After he heals him, the locals wonder if he might be the Messiah. So the Pharisees try to fight back by starting a rumor. You know the only reason he can do that is because he's possessed by demon two, right? And Jesus is like, that doesn't even make sense, you guys. If our possessed by a demon, why would I be driving out demons? There are only two teams here, Light and Darkness, and I'm certainly not going to score one for the other team. Be rational. I did quite a bit of research on what comes up next in the text, the blasphemy of the

Holy Spirit, because this seems to be an easily misunderstood passage. Even hearing the phrase, the unpardonable sin, can strike fear in people's hearts. So here are a few things that might help you breathe a little easier. First, what exactly is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Given the context, it seems to be pointing to the way the Pharisees repeatedly and insistently attribute God's work to Satan when they know they're lying. By rejecting the work of God's Spirit through Jesus, they're rejecting the truth that Jesus is God.

So, maybe blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is specifically this kind of incident, attributing the Holy Spirit's work to Satan. Or maybe it's the more general rejection of Jesus as God. And if that's the case, then it falls along the exact lines of those who aren't adopted into God's family. Because everyone who is a part of God's family has affirmed Jesus as God,

and everyone who isn't, hasn't. Kind of like how Jesus said, whoever is not with me is against me in Matthew 1230. Regardless which of these two it is, it should hopefully set your heart at ease to know that a true believer can't commit this sin, accidentally or intentionally. And we'll continue to see more scripture

that points to this as we read, so stay tuned. Today, my God shut was in Matthew, where we read about Jesus being the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies. The verse that stood out to me was 12.20, which quotes Isaiah 42-3. It says, a bruised read, he will not break. I hear from so many of you who have been through spiritual abuse of various kinds, and I feel your pain truly. I ache over the harsh words and the lies that have been spoken to you and about you by people in the church. And some of

you who have experienced this are church staff or even pastors as well. No one is exempt. I think about the things Jesus encountered today, being falsely accused by the religious leaders, having his name on a wanted poster, then adding insult to injury, his closest friends and family turn against him. Of all people, Jesus himself certainly knows what it's like to be spiritually abused and to suffer the relational consequences as well. Not only has he been there, but we also see how he treats others who are going through it. The man with the withered hand who is maybe just a pawn to the Pharisees. The demonized man who they'd rather see stay blind and mute than be healed by Jesus. Those people weren't just suffering, they were suffering spiritual abuse on top of their regular suffering. And Jesus enters in with gentleness and mercy and healing, a bruised read he will not break.

He shows love to the hurting, and if that's you, if you have fresh wounds, I hope you'll feel his nearness today, and that it won't frighten you. He's only harsh to his false accusers, and if you were one of those, you wouldn't be here today. So I'm glad you are, because he's where the joy is. You guys are the very best at spreading the word about TBR. Thanks to you, so many people who never would have read through the Bible have joined us and are loving it. So here's a pro tip for all of you who love to share the joy. When you're inviting your friends to join us, have them start at the start as opposed to jumping in

where we currently are. That's the whole point of doing this chronologically so we can follow the whole storyline. The plot is important. So whether they plan on reading through the entire Bible or the New Testament, encourage them to start at the beginning of that section. We've lined up all the details for them on the start page of our website.

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