On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:6-10
There is Jewish belief (taught by Rabba Shemot), that if everyone kept the Sabbath properly (just once), then Messiah would come. The Pharisees became so hyper-fixated on keeping traditional rules about not doing any work on the Sabbath, that they missed the fact that the Messiah was standing in right front of them. Amazing! They became so misguided that they couldn’t understand good from evil and even participated in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Do I ever get hung up on ‘my way’ of seeing things, that I miss Jesus right in front of me?
God, as this day begins, give me insight and wisdom from above to say and do what You approve. Help me distinguish between what You want and merely what I want. Would you grow the kingdom of God today in our school and church ministry?!
