Matthew Study 12:12

"... is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath?..."

Jesus' priorities were such that his response to human need far outweighed the consequences of broken religious protocol.

It's not that Jesus was all about breaking the traditions. He, after all, was the fulfillment of those same traditions. He was all about the business of breathing Life into those traditions - about the business of rejuvenating empty works with the Living Word.

Here we see him in a synagogue where there is a man in sore need of healing. At once his heart is stirred to heal the man - to do something to relieve the suffering he sees around him, especially in this crippled lamb. At the same time he is acutely aware that the theological praxis - the religious protocol - speaks against such an act of compassion. The good in his heart is face to face with the hard consequences of that same goodness. He has a choice to make. What is more important here? The substance or the framework? The Law or the Lover? The Sabbath or the Lord over the Sabbath?

Stretch out your hand. It was an intentional no-brainer for Jesus. Ever since the Holy Spirit descended upon him at his baptism, he had been Graced with the Call and Responsibility to proclaim the Kingdom of God in thought, word, and deed. At times it was easy. Everyone loved him. Other times - like here - he had to choose - to be intentional - to live into that which he had been called, knowing the what would happen as a result of acting out in Holy Testimony.

Of course, the man was completely restored - God is seen! Of course, the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might destroy him. Jesus knew that would happen. Yet he considered the religious repercussion of the event secondary to the restoration of a Soul.

Most of the time, we who drink New Wine, find ourselves well within with the norms of accepted Christian culture. Tradition is a needful container for the Wine - a safety net - else it would become unbalanced. But, lest we forget, he is not a tame God. The Wind blows where it will. My ways are not your ways, says the Lord. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. There will be times in our life when - in the Spirit of Christ - we will find ourselves in a similar position: a position which challenges us to flow in the Spirit of the New Wine, in spite of what "the right thing to do" is.

Jesus had his choice, too. And he took it.

And, when he humbly rose into the Call for which he was ordained, it not only testified to the Greater Love of the Father but, in so doing, it healed - completely restored - a precious Human Image which, as a result of his display of compassion, he eventually died for.