Posted on 11/27/2022 1:31:18 PM PST by metmom
“He said to them, ‘What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand!’ He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other” (Matthew 12:11–13).
One of the tragedies of Hinduism in India is its distorted disregard for human welfare. You should not give food to a beggar because that might interfere with his karma and keep him from suffering on a higher level of existence. You should not kill a fly because it could be the reincarnation of a person. For the same reason, you must allow rats to live and eat whatever they want. Hindus consider cows sacred and feed them whatever food is available. At the same time, they let certain people starve.
Similarly, the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time despised other people and showed more compassion for their sheep than for the handicapped man here. Mark’s account says Jesus asked, “‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?’ But they kept silent” (Mark 3:4). The Pharisees couldn’t say anything because they would have been forced either to contradict their tradition or advocate murder. Their only external response was to remain silent, but undoubtedly they “were filled with rage” (Luke 6:11).
Our Lord answered His own question with the clear declaration, “So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” He then healed the man’s deformed hand as the Pharisees’ resentment no doubt rose to new heights. Christ not only approved of doing good on the Sabbath, He went ahead and actually performed good on behalf of another. If anything, this set forth the Sabbath as the supreme day for doing good.
Ask Yourself
What teachings of Scripture do you still mainly follow out of dutiful habit, not with an eye toward honoring God or being used as a blessing to others? What has your legalistic adherence gained for you, and what has it cost you?
From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.
Studying God’s Word Ping
Again, you promulgate this man’s slander on Jews, born of ignorance. Are you an expert on Jewish law? I doubt it. Is this guy McArthur an expert on Jewish law? Obviously not, but he is quick on the trigger to condemn Jews for not wanting to violate the Sabbath. It is possible within Jewish law to violate the Sabbath, but the circumstances under which that can occur are quite narrow and precisely defined. We don’t know the circumstances concerning this “handicapped man” referred to in this statement, and therefore we don’t know whether the conditions at that time would justify violating the Sabbath. Yet McArthur condemns the Jews anyway in his complete ignorance. And you post this stuff without being able to check out whether the Jews of that time were simply obeying the Jewish laws of the Sabbath, which are quite strict, or whatever.
It specifically deals with that specific time and place and individuals at the time of Christ.
He is not making blanket condemnation of Jews as a whole throughout their entire history.
No one is slandering Jews here.
It's historically true that the 1st Century Jewish religious leaders used "the law" to lord it over the people.
McArthur's take on this is in line with that of Jesus, who is not a "slanderer of Jews" either.
The writer actually makes more of the comparisons with the failures of Hinduism and the legalistic practises of the first century pharisees then he does in slandering all, then and now, extant Jews.
I failed to find this in the exerpt.
However; it would be a good title for an "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode.
Cite specific references. The text posted specifically says the Jews "despised" other people, which is nonsense.
If one cannot state plainly that it is better to save a life than to kill, I think that evidences a certain disdain for others.
The Pharisees couldn’t say anything because they would have been forced either to contradict their tradition or advocate murder. Their only external response was to remain silent, but undoubtedly they “were filled with rage” (Luke 6:11).
Filled with rage? Not exactly evidence of a love for others there.
Not to mention Mark's account tells us these religious leaders were trying to set Jesus up:
Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1,2)
Jesus exposed their hypocrisy and it was one of their justifications to conspire to take Him out:
At this, the Pharisees went out and began plotting with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. (Mark 3:6)
I read it as the Jewish leaders despised other Jews as well, not just the inferred, non-Jewish folks.
And what is this based upon? Upon the word of a man who wrote this about 35 years after the death of JC. There are no specifics cited. I have no reason whatsoever to believe it. Jewish leaders would not have "despised" other Jews. If the "other Jews" were not as observant as they should have been, then the leaders would have sought to persuade them to up their observance. They would not have "despised" them.
You won’t find much love for others from the Pharisees.
They were a certain high up group of Jews that were very legalistic.
This is a certain group of Jews referred to, NOT all Jews.
And the hated Jesus and were looking for ways to discredit him.
Jesus called them whitewashed containers (I can’t spell sepuclyres)
Luke 6:11 KJV:
11
And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
“Madness” could very well contain rage.
Seems to me they crucified at least one. I guess the Jewish leaders liked Him?
So much for the “devotional” tag. 🙁
You are wrong. The text does not specifically say that the Jews despised other people.
This is what it said, copied and pasted from the thread text……
Similarly, the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time despised other people…..
Please try to avoid false accusations.
Those pharisees in Jesus day did not have any use for tax collectors or prostitutes. There is no indication they made any effort to persuade them to become observant.
There’s a world of difference between what they should have done and what they did do.
Yeah. It happens.
“Again, you promulgate this man’s slander on Jews, born of ignorance. Are you an expert on Jewish law? I doubt it. Is this guy McArthur an expert on Jewish law? Obviously not, but he is quick on the trigger to condemn Jews for not wanting to violate the Sabbath.”
I don’t think McArthur would ever intentionally slander Jews. It might be possible that he has unintentionally said something that might alarm some Jews because what has happened to Jews in recent history makes many reasonably quite sensitive to speech that is perceived to be anti-Semitic. (That’s not to mention the not-so-recent history of anti-Semitism.)
Are you aware that this preacher was interviewed by Ben Shapiro, in which they discussed many religious, philosophical, and political issues of the day?
The “Jews” (in a broad, general sense) did not come up on this thread until your post. McCarthur said “Jewish leaders”. But the context here is a story about Jesus, a Jew, disciples of Jesus, all Jews, crowds also all Jewish, and a particular man who was sick and was a Jew. The author of this section of the Christian Bible was also Jewish as nearly all of its authors are. So, all the people are Jewish. Should he have simply said “leaders of the people”? But would that have made sense in the context of the Sabbath, which is a Jewish custom/law?
What I’m saying is that, by your logic, what is being said could be very pro-Semitic because what is being advocated is that most of the Jews in the story were seeking the miraculous healing (and seeking God), or performing the miraculous healing, or supporting those who did these things and seeking to learn more about God and His will for their lives. These are the praiseworthy things about Jews in the story. But I don’t think the point of the story was to praise or condemn Jews in any general sense. It was meant to address a universal problem with humanity in that we can all become so focused on rules, rituals, customs, traditions, etc. that we miss the very point of those activities (or inactivities in the case of the Sabbath or other prohibitive commandments). And that is why McCarthur used Hinduism as an example. But Hindus might get offended and think he is singling them out as well.
The conflict addressed between Jesus and the “Jewish” leaders were not over them “not wanting to violate the Sabbath” (i.e. if you accept the account as written), but because they were making demands on others such as this sick man. They were trying to forbid people from seeking miraculous healing on the Sabbath.
I’m not knowledgeable enough about the Oral teachings of Judaism, Mishna, etc. to say for sure, but I’d be surprised if getting supernatural healing on the Sabbath had been thoroughly debated and settled by the time of Jesus. So, the story could be viewed as Jesus, regarded by the contemporary Jews of the same time period, arguing not only that this activity is lawful but also divinely confirmed to be so by God because He is the one who actually performed the miracle. In other words, the point of the showdown between Jesus and the “Jewish leaders” was to establish Jesus as being a superior rabbi not merely by Jesus being more persuasive but because God confirmed the message with a miracle.
I mean, quite frankly, isn’t the main reason to follow the God of the Bible because He proved He is the Supreme God? When He poured out plagues on Egypt, mocking the Egyptian gods, didn’t that make the case for following Him? Or else, if the gods of the Nile, and Sun, and a couple of lesser deities had managed to overthrow the God of the Bible, wouldn’t we all potentially have become sun-worship devotees?
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