[Friday's Devotional] Regulation

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.  Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?   He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."  Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

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 6:1-11 [NIV]

In the UK we rather like regulations.  Other European countries often seem more hesitant in applying, enforcing and adopting new regulations – but in Britain we just love enforcing them, at the earliest opportunity.  Stopping people from doing something seems to be so much fun!  In my view the spirit of the regulation is far more important than blind adoption of "the letter of the law".  If common sense doesn't prevail I often have a problem with the outcome.

Jesus and his disciples didn't see a problem with milling grain to eat the kernels on the Sabbath – nor did they have a problem with healing the sick on the Sabbath. 

We have a responsibility to respect and obey the law, but religious practice and canon law can sometimes limit people to the extent that it prevents them from doing exactly the things God would have us do.

Lord, help us to do the things you would have us do and not be constrained by legalism.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Dave MacLellan

Read the Bible in a year:  Proverbs 8:1-11, Numbers 19:1-21:3, Luke 5:33-6:11