Pastor Alex's Blog Oct. 12th 08

In the 6th chapter of Isaiah, we read about Isaiah's dramatic call to be a "mouthpiece" for the Lord. A Prophet literally spoke the words of God and was in a manner of speaking "God's mouth." We also know that the least dedicated of the prophets, namely Jonah, had the most success and the greatest reception to his message (Nineveh  repented when warned of imminent judgment) as compared with the results that spiritual giants like King Ahas(see Isaiah 7) and wicked King Manasseh, the son of the godly King Hezekiah(with whom Isaiah had his great success, e.g. see Isaiah 36-39. In Isaiah 6:9f, we have these words:" He(God) said, Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing and never understanding; be ever seeing but never perceiving. Make the heart of the people calloused, and their ears dull and close their eyes. otherwise, they will see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." These strong words of irony or sarcasm are directed at a people who simply didn't get it, see it , hear it, or want it. They are closed minded and hard hearted. 

Jesus encountered the same response not only to His words but also to His deeds. If you think seeing is believing, then think again because one of Jesus' most dramatic miracles greatly encouraged the faithful but actually made His distractors obstinate and hardened. While in a synagogue on a Sabbath Day, Jesus met a man who had a shriveled right hand(he probably had been a "rightee"-I guess his baseball career had ended). Jesus also noticed that there were quite a few Pharasees and teachers in attendance  so Jesus seized the opportunity to do an "act of compassion," and challenge the unbelief of the "leading citizens." They had come to find evidence of Jesus' so called disregard for the Law(actually their own traditions), and Jesus was not about to back down. Meanwhile these Pharasees and "jail house" lawyers were on the prowl, looking things over, and watching closely. Jesus did not "disappoint" them. Jesus healed the man with the shriveled right hand on the Sabbath, a no no for these calloused critics. Their response was predictable; they began to plot against Jesus. So they SAW, the Watched, and they observed VERY CAREFULLY but they remained spiritually deaf, dumb and blind. How tragic. These men preferred human suffering in the name of their perfervid observance of human tradition. How tragic. 

Let us consider this prayer: "Lord, forbid that I should ever follow in the footsteps of the legalists by making any Christian regulation more important that the people I meet in life. Fill my life with such love and exaltation  that I shall never become defensive about mere traditions or habits of thinking. Through Jesus who drew fresh dedication from everything. Amen. From John Killinger, "A Devotional Guide to the Gospels(366 Meditations), " Word Books, 1984., on Luke 6:1-11(Vol.3), p.43.