Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ ”
NL Daily Devotion for January 31, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The more Jesus challenged the laws, the more the law-keepers dug in their heels. Change does not come easily.
As with any organization that has been functioning for a long time, the rules, rites, and rituals of Israel had drifted from their original purpose. (For a fun list of ridiculous laws that have outgrown their purpose, check out this article from Business Insider.) Once intended to offer rest, rejuvenation, and a time to reconnect with God, family, and self, the laws about working on the Sabbath had themselves become toilsome.
Jesus saw what others could not. He saw that the laws intended for rest had become a burden, and that the enforcement of those laws further separated people from their intent. Jesus also knew a great deal about his own history, the stories of Israel and of God. Instead of using only words to shake Israel out of her complacency, Jesus acted. He plucked grain to eat and he healed on the Sabbath. Of course, his actions infuriated the Pharisees who could already see that his words and actions were going to cause them problems. They tried to stop him, but he turned the tables on them by citing the stories of their history that contradicted their very own laws. They were faced with an impossible situation—hold fast to the laws that no longer served their purpose, or risk losing hold of everything they thought they knew.
The Pharisees were not prepared to make such a dramatic internal shift. They knew the laws, and the laws served them. The divide between the Pharisees and Jesus was widening. The more he challenged them, the more they dug in their heels. This would be a battle Jesus could not fight alone. He recruited his capable team, selected 12 to be leaders alongside him, and their contentious ministry continued.
