Tag Archives: Sabbath

Rules, Rules, Rules

Posted on by

He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 ESV1

Read Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28 & Luke 6:1-5

During the raising of our children, my husband and I were blessed with some excellent parenting resources. From one of those sources, we gleaned the valuable advice: Rules without relationship equals rebellion. That truth, paired with other wisdom and the help of God Almighty, allowed us to develop a home with high standards bathed in grace and love to which our children responded beautifully. It is too bad the Pharisees of old weren’t able to discover such life-giving truths from the resources available to them, the Law and the Prophets. Instead, they exhausted themselves making up new rules, trying to enforce those requirements, and attempting to punish anyone who broke those man-made laws.

Continue reading →

Malevolence

Posted on by

The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him. Mark 3:6 ESV1

Read Matthew 12:9-14, 15:22; Mark 3:1-6, 12:13-17; Luke 6:6-11, 20:20-26

Malevolent is an adjective. It means “wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; ill-disposed; malicious: evil; harmful; injurious:”2 Jesus experienced malevolence from the religious leaders of His time. These religious leaders, particularly those from the sect of Pharisees, were hateful toward Jesus out of jealousy. The more and more popular Jesus got, the more and more irritated these religious leaders got. People were flocking to Jesus instead of them. People were praising Jesus and not them. Their envy got the best of them; it turned into malice. They began to look for a way to trap Jesus and bring Him down. That task was easier planned than carried out.

Continue reading →