2006-07-30
Communion Dedication – Baldwin Christian Church
1
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to
eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
2
And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
Nowadays,
this condition is called “edema”, a build-up of fluids in the cavities of
the body. It is very scary when
these fluids build up in the chest, pressing in on the heart and lungs.
This man was very uncomfortable.
3
And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is
it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
4
And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him
go;
5
And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an
ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the
sabbath day?
6
And they could not answer him again to these things.
There
is a danger whenever we search for deeper meaning in the Scriptures; we forget
about the fundamentals.
Deuteronomy
22:4 Thou
shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself
from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
Notice that the Scripture does not say,
“If you see your brother’s animal stuck in the ditch on a Sabbath day, stand
there all day and watch for people who try to help the critter out, and throw
rocks at them”. These Pharisees
and Scripture lawyers had probably read that old verse, or listened to it being
read at least a hundred times already. They
had long since graduated above the simple reading of it, and they were now
students of the deeper meaning. They
had something extra.
1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am
become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and
all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,
and have not charity, I am nothing.
3
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my
body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Even
with all the higher learning of these Pharisees and lawyers, they were left
speechless when Jesus asked them about helping someone’s animal out of the
ditch on the Sabbath day. Without
love, their service to God was meaningless, and without love, so is ours.
Without love, our service is worse than meaningless…
Psalm
37:32
The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
How
did Luke 14 begin? Jesus went into
the house of a chief Pharisee to eat on the Sabbath, but what’s the important
part of that verse? They were
watching Him! Why? They were standing beside the sick man, apparently unwilling
to bend a knee in prayer, but ever-so willing to bend a knee for to pick up
stones should anyone try to help that man on the Sabbath.
Romans
1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
The “deeper” things of Scripture led these people to believe they were better than Jesus. It led them down the path of legalism, of professing their own righteousness, and neglecting God’s. They didn’t care who got trampled on; they were not going to violate the Sabbath for anything or anybody. The deeper things led these men away from God. Even with all that Scripture knowledge in the room, nobody could answer a simple question about the Scriptures. Even with all that wisdom and learning, they couldn’t recognize the Son of God. With love, let’s keep our hearts open for every thing Jesus gives us today, even the simple things.