GRACE WINSSample

Grace wins over law. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus breaks the religious norms of His day—not just for the sake of it, but specifically because He loves people. The grace of Jesus always puts people before rules. His allegiance is to the good news of God, not to the Pharisees who were trying to control the people through rules.  

The Pharisees—who had able hands to reach out with care for a man with a paralyzed hand—did not reach out because of the Sabbath. After God created all things, He created the Sabbath so that there would be a rhythm of rest, which He knew all humans would need. However, the Pharisees had turned a beautiful thing into an ugly thing. Perhaps we do the same thing as the Pharisees did, if we are not self-aware? We might go to church, but we don’t reach out to welcome the person who is sitting on their own, or we sings songs on Sunday about the kindness of God towards us but forget to extend that same kindness to our family or work colleagues.

Jesus knows that the whole room is hanging in suspense to see whether He will heal on the Sabbath; Jesus had already done it before, but would he do it again? Jesus’ question cuts the air: “Is it against the law to do evil on the Sabbath or to do good?” He is saying that where good needs to be done, we cannot remain neutral; for in remaining neutral, we contribute to evil. 

We do not rest from doing the right thing. Love always does the right thing even if it is not lawful, according to man’s religion. Healing on the Sabbath was not only permissible, but it was good because love is never lazy when it comes to injustice. A good test to see if we are living in false religion or true grace is our response to injustice, especially  in the situations where we can make a difference. May we never be people who hide behind false religious ideas at the expense of welcoming and loving others into God’s Kingdom. Let’s follow the example of Jesus. Let’s reach out with grace to those who cannot reach out for themselves. 

- Josh Kelsey