The Greatest Law

[cmc]

Key Passage: Mark 3:1-6
Topic: Christian Living

And he [Jesus] said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. (Mark 3:4, ESV)

Did you know that in Staten Island, New York, you must be holding the hose in your hand to water the lawn? And in Ohio, a license is required to kill flies within 160 feet of a church.

There were probably good reasons for making these laws, but it's hard to imagine what they were. And in a slightly different way, this is the situation Jesus was faced with in today's reading.

The Law said, "The seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates" (Exodus 20:10, ESV).

It's fairly clear, but it still raises a few questions. Is cooking a meal work because you need to eat even on the Sabbath? These are questions the religious leaders of Israel asked. And between the time of Moses and the time of Jesus, they pretty much completely defined what work is and is not. Healing was considered "work".

That's why the Pharisees were watching Jesus so closely; they knew He had healed many people, but would He break the law to heal this man? The problem is that the Pharisees forgot an even greater law: "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18, ESV).

Caring for each other is never against the law. Don't let yourself become like the Pharisees: so wrapped up in being sure to follow the letter of the law that you forget that you are first of all called to love God with all your heart and second to love your neighbor as yourself.




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