Text: Matthew 12:9-14
"9 And when he was departed thence, he
went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had
his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on
the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall
there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit
on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a
sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth
thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like
as the other.
14 ¦ Then the Pharisees went out, and held
a council against him, how they might destroy him."
Today, I would like to give a message entitled "God's Word And Theology." We understand from this text that there is a discussion among the Pharisees on how to kill the Lord Jesus. They were preparing to kill Jesus and ultimately, they did kill him. They, who handled God's word, killed him.
The Pharisees and scribes criticised and persecuted Jesus. Why? The main reason is they thought Jesus never kept God's teachings, laws, and Sabbaths. But, can we imagine Jesus, the son of God as not keeping God's teachings and laws? That just was not so. What is the truth? What is the truth before God?
The truth is that they who persecuted Jesus had been blind to the truth and were far from the will of God as revealed in the Bible. They interpreted scripture according to their own ideas and condemned an innocent Jesus as a sinner. But, there is only one truth, though it seems there is one truth before God and a different one before men.
The words of of the Pharisees were persuasive and acceptable for the Jews who believed in God. They wholeheartedly followed the pharisaic teachings. As a consequence, even the people who once recognized Jesus as savior would ultimately followed the Pharisees and agree to kill Him.
What was Jesus' sin that was seemingly so worthy of death? Actually Jesus had healed a sick person on the Sabbath. The Pharisees thought this act was a great sin and rebellion against God and his law. But that was just not so. Instead, Jesus just acted against the Pharisees' theology and logic. Jesus did not go against "God" or commit sin. Rather, Jesus went against their theology and tradition. The Pharisees' theology and teachings may seem similar to scripture. But, there is a big difference; they are actually quite different.
By the way, what happened in Jesus'age is a model for our age of the end time age. A similar situation may happen in our time period. Because it is written that:
"John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."
Please understand the truth which God repeatedly teaches us in the Gospel books. Jesus never commited any sin against God. He never perverted God's law or the word of God. But, he did go against the scribes and the Pharisees and refused to accept their teachings even if they seemed to be in authority over God's word.s Therefore, he was killed. He was killed not because he did not follow the Bible, but because he did not follow their theology and teachings. In addition, he was killed as a traitor to God and for teaching against God's word. Not to follow God's word is one thing, but, it is a whole other story not to follow theology, the teachings and traditions of Christianity. Sometimes they are equal. But, there are some cases when they are not.
We need to distinguish the word of God correctly from other so-called teachings.
Let's do the will of God in the end time.
end.