Crippled by Hypocrisy

June 22

(Luke 13:14-17 NIV) ““Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." {15} The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? {16} Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" {17} When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.””

(Matthew 12:9-14 NIV)  "Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, {10} and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" {11} He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? {12} How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." {13} Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. {14} But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus."

God’s mercy brings life, but it can also produce anger and indignation. This happened with Jesus. He healed a crippled woman, but not everyone was happy about it. The synagogue ruler where Christ was teaching tried to lecture the Creator of the Sabbath about the evils of healing on the Sabbath. Process that for a bit. Jesus would have none of it and countered regarding the hypocrisy of caring for animals, but not people, on the Sabbath. Our Lord knew there was more than one crippled person in the room that day. The synagogue ruler was crippled in his spirit, his attitude, and his theology. He was crippled by hypocrisy. He was bent over inside and couldn’t straighten up to see God’s mercy and glory. All that mattered to him was a rule violation. He was blinded by the letter of the law and missed seeing the Lord of life. Don’t join him. Don’t let hypocrisy cripple you. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day