Week 8: Issues versus Human Need

 This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:

• Sunday: Leviticus 4:1-5:19; Mark 2:13-3:6; Psalm 36:1-12; Proverbs 10:1-2
• Monday: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4
• Tuesday: Leviticus 7:28-9:6; Mark 3:31-4:25; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 10:5
• Wednesday: Leviticus 9:7-10:20; Mark 4:26-5:20; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 10:6-7
• Thursday: Leviticus 11:1-12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9
• Friday: Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10
• Saturday: Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 6:30-56; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 10:11-12

Our S.O.A.P. this week is again from the book of Mark 3:

Scripture: Mark 3:1-6
"Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, 'Come and stand in front of everyone.' Then he turned to his critics and asked, 'Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?' But they wouldn't answer him.
He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, 'Hold out your hand.' So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus."

Observation:
This is a case of issues versus real human need...and how God chooses to navigate between the two. The religious leaders were lying in wait to see if Jesus would "heal on the Sabbath." That, for them, was the issue. These leaders adhered to sacred tradition, which painstakingly outlined every action that was forbidden on the Sabbath...down to the minutest detail. Included on the list was a prohibition against "practicing medicine." Therefore, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, these leaders construed it as breaking the law (even though the details of their sacred tradition were not part of the original commands that God delivered to Moses).

Jesus, who is God in flesh, was not concerned about the issue. He was concerned for human need. This man was suffering...and Jesus had the wherewithal (and the desire) to do something about it.

What I find fascinating about Jesus' reply is that he did not quibble with the Pharisees about the inappropriate level of detail in their sacred tradition, which effectively majored in minors and missed the spirit of God's intent behind Sabbath keeping. Instead he focused on the most basic issue at stake: "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?"

For Jesus...and this is what is most striking to me...Sabbath keeping was not dictated by the issue of non-work. It was supposed to be guided by real-time opportunities to do good: to help, to bless, to heal, and to comfort.

Application:
This makes me wonder how often I allow myself to be taken in by issues instead of human need. It is a lot easier to make pronouncements about an issue than it is to deal with the messiness of human life. I want to be forever open to the possibilities that Jesus is calling me to a form of "Sabbath-keeping" that takes me outside the box of my own presuppositions, which are conditioned by my tendency to adhere to simple, manageable issues rather than grapple with the complexities of human need. I want to be able to carry myself with Jesus' wisdom, which will take me beyond the simple, black-and-white answers of an issues-driven mentality and put me squarely in the center of God's will.

Prayer:
O Father in heaven, please help me to respond to the needs around me the way Jesus responded to the needs that he encountered. Please give me wisdom to see beyond a given issue to the real human need that lies behind it…and, please, for Jesus' sake, give me the courage to act accordingly. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck