Our paragraph topic is:(The disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath) Pt 4.
Christ has taught them. Christ has instructed them. Christ has schooled them. Now he demonstrates the lack of knowledge that the Pharisees do not have through his words. He tells them, "But if you knew what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would never have condemned the innocent."
The Pharisees were the enforcers of the Law. They were the keepers of the Law. They were the scholars of the Law, for they studied the law all their lives. They lived by it, slept by it, ate by it, and made their livelihood by it. They are the modern day preachers who are committed to the preaching of the gospel according to their view. But Christ sought to bring them to truth. He sought to open their eyes. He sought to open their hearts that they may understand the truth in God and not just the words of God. They led the people. They taught the people. They were the ones who controlled the people and kept them in line according to their will and not the will of God.
You see, to keep the people in line there must be absolute obedience to the Law. Anyone caught breaking the Law should be punished according to the strict interpretation of the Law. Sacrifice one to keep the many in line. Sacrifice the guilty and the innocent to demonstrate their interpretation of the Law. The people will know because none of them knew the Law. None of the people understood. So they had to be taught. They had to be schooled. They had to be trained and once trained then order will be maintained. This was their plan. This was not God's plan. For God sought understanding. God sought love. God sought peace. God sought mercy not sacrifice.
And in these simple words Christ demonstrates his power. For he tells them, "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Again they are struck with shock at his sayings. He has told them that one greater than the temple stands before them. Now he tells them that he is Lord of the Sabbath. They, do not understand. Why, because they could not conceive that a man would consider himself above them, above their authority, above their rule. They could not conceive that they spoke with the Creator of the Sabbath, not just a mere man.
Today we have that same opportunity to speak with Christ. We pray to tell him our problems. We pray to tell him our pains. We pray to tell him our sufferings. He knows all these things. But we do not pray to give him the glory.
In times of great tribulation, great loss, great suffering, we do not pray to give him the glory. If a hurricane comes and destroys a villages and towns and takes lives, we do not give him the glory. If a tsunami comes and wipes out villages, we wail for the sorrow and the loss but we do not give him the glory. We explain it as Mother Nature and we try to tell ourselves that we will be better prepared the next time. We will have more warnings. We will have increased times to alert people to the danger. We will do all, to help people prepare for the wrath of Mother Nature. Our warning systems have gotten better. Our monitoring systems are more accurate. Our knowledge of these monumental events has increased. But we do not give God the glory.
God created Mother Nature. He tells her what to do. He knows what she will do and he accepts her destruction. But we do not give Him the glory. We do not praise him for his majesty. We do not understand how he could let this happen. And we wonder, in our sorrow and pain, how this could happen. Who has given counsel to God that he has required recompense? For He will do what he will do. He is the one true God and he does what he does. And we do not give him the glory. Praise God for his power. Praise God for his majesty. Praise God for his wisdom. For we cannot understand the infinite knowledge that he possesses. And we cannot fathom the whys and wherefores of his actions. But, we can praise him. We can give him the glory. And we can know that all things are done for good.
Christ has taught them. Christ has instructed them. Christ has schooled them. Now he demonstrates the lack of knowledge that the Pharisees do not have through his words. He tells them, "But if you knew what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would never have condemned the innocent."
The Pharisees were the enforcers of the Law. They were the keepers of the Law. They were the scholars of the Law, for they studied the law all their lives. They lived by it, slept by it, ate by it, and made their livelihood by it. They are the modern day preachers who are committed to the preaching of the gospel according to their view. But Christ sought to bring them to truth. He sought to open their eyes. He sought to open their hearts that they may understand the truth in God and not just the words of God. They led the people. They taught the people. They were the ones who controlled the people and kept them in line according to their will and not the will of God.
You see, to keep the people in line there must be absolute obedience to the Law. Anyone caught breaking the Law should be punished according to the strict interpretation of the Law. Sacrifice one to keep the many in line. Sacrifice the guilty and the innocent to demonstrate their interpretation of the Law. The people will know because none of them knew the Law. None of the people understood. So they had to be taught. They had to be schooled. They had to be trained and once trained then order will be maintained. This was their plan. This was not God's plan. For God sought understanding. God sought love. God sought peace. God sought mercy not sacrifice.
And in these simple words Christ demonstrates his power. For he tells them, "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Again they are struck with shock at his sayings. He has told them that one greater than the temple stands before them. Now he tells them that he is Lord of the Sabbath. They, do not understand. Why, because they could not conceive that a man would consider himself above them, above their authority, above their rule. They could not conceive that they spoke with the Creator of the Sabbath, not just a mere man.
Today we have that same opportunity to speak with Christ. We pray to tell him our problems. We pray to tell him our pains. We pray to tell him our sufferings. He knows all these things. But we do not pray to give him the glory.
In times of great tribulation, great loss, great suffering, we do not pray to give him the glory. If a hurricane comes and destroys a villages and towns and takes lives, we do not give him the glory. If a tsunami comes and wipes out villages, we wail for the sorrow and the loss but we do not give him the glory. We explain it as Mother Nature and we try to tell ourselves that we will be better prepared the next time. We will have more warnings. We will have increased times to alert people to the danger. We will do all, to help people prepare for the wrath of Mother Nature. Our warning systems have gotten better. Our monitoring systems are more accurate. Our knowledge of these monumental events has increased. But we do not give God the glory.
God created Mother Nature. He tells her what to do. He knows what she will do and he accepts her destruction. But we do not give Him the glory. We do not praise him for his majesty. We do not understand how he could let this happen. And we wonder, in our sorrow and pain, how this could happen. Who has given counsel to God that he has required recompense? For He will do what he will do. He is the one true God and he does what he does. And we do not give him the glory. Praise God for his power. Praise God for his majesty. Praise God for his wisdom. For we cannot understand the infinite knowledge that he possesses. And we cannot fathom the whys and wherefores of his actions. But, we can praise him. We can give him the glory. And we can know that all things are done for good.
