APRIL 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS
JQ#12 *Who decides what is legal, God or man?*
“What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls
into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?”
(Matthew 12:11-12a)
LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer
JESUS, let the Praise from my heart be acceptable in Your ear, Lord
You have overwhelmed me again with Your Grace, overwhelmed because
even in the worldly pain we must endure, if we endure it “for Your sake” then
there is a Peace and Joy that cannot be explained.
In this “healing” from my “physical” injury that You have granted, my Faith
is growing and I am experiencing the spiritual sensation that the scales
are falling off slowly from my eyes of “little faith” and I am aware
of the improvement of my “spiritual” sight.
Lord Jesus, forgive me of those days when I allow the trials of this world
to fog my vision of Your Truth.
AMEN
THE JESUS QUESTIONS
Jesus asked the root Who-decides-Legality Question of the “legalist” that had
accused Him of “what is not lawful on the Sabbath” and this
JESUS Question
should leave us with no doubt that Jesus had a major point to prove
about the “law” and those that had “usurped” the “authority”
to “interpret” God’s Law for Him!?!
Jesus is making the main point that
God knows exactly what He’s doing at all times and God does not need
anyone to “interpret God’s intent”, nor does there need to be any
clarification to God’s instructions because God Himself had already
directed the Holy Spirit to instruct chosen men called prophets
to write down what God wants His people to know!
We know this is true as we read statements from King David (one of those
“chosen ones” whom Jesus had referred to in His initial response to
the Pharisees accusation that what Jesus was doing in the grain fields
was “not lawful”, see Matthew 12:3) David writes in this Psalm:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows
His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”
(Psalm 19:1-3)
David continues:
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of
the Lord is sure, making the wise simple; the statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
(Psalm 19:7-9)
One cannot but ask anyone who “thinks” they “know” what God “meant”
the same implied question Jesus asked the Pharisees:
“Do you expect any reasoning person to accept from a created being
their ‘interpretation” of what God said or should the person that reasons
for himself as God intended, accept God’s Own Words
which are ‘clean’, ‘pure’, ‘true’, ‘righteous’ and ‘endures forever’
and have been declared by the Creator Himself as ‘perfect’?”
There are numerous testimonies from those that God spoke to directly
that say God knows what He’s doing so why should we put any faith in
some third-party second-hand opinion from a socially or politically motivated
source wishing to gain control over a group of individuals?
The point Jesus is plainly making is that everyone, everywhere, has
access to God and God’s revealed Word and it is our responsibility to
listen not to man’s interpretation but to God Himself who is completely
capable of making Himself understood!
Jesus continues to prove this “deep Truth of God” and that we should concede that
God is the Only Authority
when after Teaching this Lesson verbally that Jesus “walked the walk” as He
entered a synagogue on the Sabbath and healed a man with a withered hand
which was His answer to the “officials” in the synagogue when they asked Jesus:
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
— talk about “In-Your-Face!” (see Matthew 12:9-13)
How can we doubt both Jesus and God and have the audacity
to think God needs our help in explaining
what God “really meant”?
