"The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (Luke 6:5)
There is a constant need of reminding us, "The Son of Man is also Lord of...." Perhaps a current application of our text could be, "I am Lord of, 'your-sinner's-prayer-is-not-as-good-as-mine.' I am Lord of your theologies. I am Lord of the Church in _________ (your town here), not you and all your billboards which may imply otherwise. I am Lord of political beliefs, economic beliefs, and, 'my-sin-is-not-as-bad-as-their-sin.'" The Jewish leadership by this time in history had developed quite a variation of this mentality. I pray I have not.
Jesus said at one point, "a greater than Solomon is here," and, "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple." In effect, "You say that my disciples committed a sin by plucking, 'the heads of grain and eating them.' Are you not aware of what David did? You have enshrined Solomon and the Temple, yet your interpretation of what I have said and been about from the beginning is based on your desire to make yourselves look righteous and all others unrighteous." This is what many fundamentalists have attempted with Bonhoeffer and other great men in Church History who did not pronounce the, "shibboleth," correctly.
"Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" Jesus response is the theme of His Teaching, "The Son of Man is Lord...." What the Jews needed, and what you and I need, is an attitude before our Lord of, "....quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger...." Most Jews of the First Century were quick to judge anyone who was not of their "camp." What about today? Could it be that we have cut ourselves off from those who are just as much, "born again," just as much citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven as we? Bonhoeffer once wrote, "Unity which is not based on truth is a sham." This is absolutely true; therefore, I am not advocating a careless, "try the spirits," rather an application of the oft read and quoted, yet little understood 1 Corinthians 13.
Biblical love is not a love of, "O, you have your beliefs and I have mine, and that's okay." It is not, as Mumford says, "Sloppy Agape." It is the very Love which Jesus Christ Is, as He is also, "The Way, the Truth, and the Life." This love is correctly translated in the KJV as, "charity," a giving which expects no receipt, no tax deduction, no, "Well I gave to you; now what are you going to give to me?" Phillips paraphrases it this way, "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience-- it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love...does not pursue selfish advantage. It...does not gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails."
I see none of this in the accusations of the Jewish leaders in the Gospels. "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath," is a reminder that you and I are not. Could there be a sense here and an application of the 1 Corinthians passage, "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart" (NIV). I confess I have attempted this far too many times over the course of my service in the Church. I now bow and surrender anew to Him Who is, "The Lord of the Sabbath."
Father, in Jesus' Name, convict me every time You would need to remind me that You are the, "Lord of," and not me. Amen.
There is a constant need of reminding us, "The Son of Man is also Lord of...." Perhaps a current application of our text could be, "I am Lord of, 'your-sinner's-prayer-is-not-as-good-as-mine.' I am Lord of your theologies. I am Lord of the Church in _________ (your town here), not you and all your billboards which may imply otherwise. I am Lord of political beliefs, economic beliefs, and, 'my-sin-is-not-as-bad-as-their-sin.'" The Jewish leadership by this time in history had developed quite a variation of this mentality. I pray I have not.
Jesus said at one point, "a greater than Solomon is here," and, "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple." In effect, "You say that my disciples committed a sin by plucking, 'the heads of grain and eating them.' Are you not aware of what David did? You have enshrined Solomon and the Temple, yet your interpretation of what I have said and been about from the beginning is based on your desire to make yourselves look righteous and all others unrighteous." This is what many fundamentalists have attempted with Bonhoeffer and other great men in Church History who did not pronounce the, "shibboleth," correctly.
"Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" Jesus response is the theme of His Teaching, "The Son of Man is Lord...." What the Jews needed, and what you and I need, is an attitude before our Lord of, "....quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger...." Most Jews of the First Century were quick to judge anyone who was not of their "camp." What about today? Could it be that we have cut ourselves off from those who are just as much, "born again," just as much citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven as we? Bonhoeffer once wrote, "Unity which is not based on truth is a sham." This is absolutely true; therefore, I am not advocating a careless, "try the spirits," rather an application of the oft read and quoted, yet little understood 1 Corinthians 13.
Biblical love is not a love of, "O, you have your beliefs and I have mine, and that's okay." It is not, as Mumford says, "Sloppy Agape." It is the very Love which Jesus Christ Is, as He is also, "The Way, the Truth, and the Life." This love is correctly translated in the KJV as, "charity," a giving which expects no receipt, no tax deduction, no, "Well I gave to you; now what are you going to give to me?" Phillips paraphrases it this way, "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience-- it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love...does not pursue selfish advantage. It...does not gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails."
I see none of this in the accusations of the Jewish leaders in the Gospels. "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath," is a reminder that you and I are not. Could there be a sense here and an application of the 1 Corinthians passage, "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart" (NIV). I confess I have attempted this far too many times over the course of my service in the Church. I now bow and surrender anew to Him Who is, "The Lord of the Sabbath."
Father, in Jesus' Name, convict me every time You would need to remind me that You are the, "Lord of," and not me. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
