In today’s text we see just how twisted religion can get, even religion that is based upon our scriptures. All one has to do to miss God’s heart of the matter is add to or take away from the truths of scripture. Do this, and you will miss the entire point of God’s word. Yes, add your opinions or ignore the parts of scripture that you don’t like, and you will instantly find yourself at odds with the heart of God. The Pharisees prided themselves in being the pioneers of the “back to the Bible” movement of their day. But they prized the scriptures so much that they took it upon themselves to add elaborate commentary to the text. In doing this they often went too far and thus lost the heart of what God was really saying. May we never be guilty of the same, lest we find ourselves, like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, missing the whole heart of the matter, and even standing in opposition to our Lord. 

An excerpt from today’s text…

On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So, the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him. Luke 6:6-11 (NLT)

Give us insight O Lord that we might embrace the heart of Jesus!

Pastor Mike