The 'Set Up'

~~~ 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51~~~ Psalm 144 ~~~ Mark 3:1-6 ~~~

“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”

Jesus heals the withered hand of the man in the sight of all.
Jesus wanted the people to see the man's crippled hand
so that they would be able to witness to his healing.

It is ironic how much emphasis
is put on the details of keeping the Sabbath holy.

Is it really possible to go through the motions
 of being holy while harboring something very different in your heart?
Certainly God is not concerned with how
we demonstrate the practice of keeping holy the Sabbath.
We often get so caught up in the rubrics of prayer
 that it becomes an empty shell.
Prayer void of the heart is like a candle without its flame.

How much better is it to do good on the Sabbath
 rather than to 'show' with our actions how well
 we keep the Sabbath.

When we just keep the laws the true spirit of the Lord is lost.
What Jesus went about doing as he walked from
 town to town was revolutionary,
but when he did these things on the Sabbath
 it was horrific to the elders. 

He defied all that they held sacred
causing them to band together to plot his demise...his death.

They were the authority...they decided how the Sabbath
 was to be observed, not this outsider.

Just who did Jesus think he was?...

It is human nature to resist change much less radical change.
Jesus proposed 'radical' change.
His change was met with equal resistance.
The only way to stop Jesus,
so they thought, was to completely remove
him from the picture.

As we know, they grossly miss calculated his influence.

Their little scheme...their planned set up...
did not stop Jesus from getting his message to us.

Today we are Blessed
 because the plot to stop Jesus failed.
Even though they did kill him
his purpose; to do the will of the Father,
was accomplished.

Some plans are not meant to be effective in the end.

Do your plans align with God's plan for you?
His divine 'set up' will bring peace and blessings.

We pray for those who, for whatever reason,
are not able to follow God's plan in their life.
Peace.