The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 6:9,
"I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"
Jesus spoke these words when the Pharisees and teachers of the law were looking for a way to condemn Jesus. As their position in society of the day was threatened due to the conflicting teaching of Jesus with that of theirs, they attempted to discredit and dispose of him.
In the larger passage of Luke 6:1-11 we learn two things Jesus tells us about himself relative to the law. The first is, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath", Luke 6:5, which is to say, Jesus is God and the law the Pharisees and teachers of the law were appealing to came from him. The second is, "... which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?", Luke 6:9. Jesus then healed a man with a shriveled hand in their midst. This speaks to me of a second truth about Jesus and the law: it is through the law he will do good for mankind, to save life. As far as the law goes, it is his law and he will use it to save life.
John tells us, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness." 1 John 3:4. Since we know that sin is what brings us judgment from God, "... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23, how is it that Jesus will use the law to save us? The answer Paul provides in Romans 3 is that it is the law that makes us conscious of sin. "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:20. It is through the law we become aware of our lost condition before God and of our need for salvation. It is when we recognize we need to be saved, that we cannot save ourselves from eternal death, we reach out in faith for the wonderful salvation God offers us.
The Pharisees used the law to condemn people. But that is all they could do with the law the Lord had given them. The Son of God, having provided the law through Moses 1,400 years earlier, uses the law to point us to him and our great need of him.
I am a bit too big for my britches. I think I can do whatever needs to be done all by myself. The law cuts through all that and exposes me for what I am: helpless before a righteous and holy God, lost in my own sinfulness. I need a savior.
How wonderful Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath and will use the law to save life! He saved mine! How about you?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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