The midland journal., 1944-01-14
JESUS ANSWERS HIS CRITICS

JESUS ANSWERS HIS CRITICS
LESSON TExT-Mark 2:23-3:6.
GOLDEN TEXT-Blessed are We, when
men shall revile you. and persecute you,
and shall say all manner Of evil against
you falsely. for my sake.-Matthew Sill.
Criticism and opposition was the
constant lot of our Lord as He gave
Himself in His labor of love for man.
kind. 1t follows His disciples to this
day. for men seem to have not only
ingratitude, but an evil spirit which
rewards kindness with hard words
and unjust accusation.
The scribes and Pharisees had al
ready found ground for their COM
plant, for He had eaten with pub
licans and sinners" (2:16). The fact
that He went there to win Matthew
and to heal the sinsick GID made
no difference. Then they wanted to
know why His disciples did not OBJ
serve a fast (2:18) in the solemn
way they should. How could they,
when the Lord was in their midst?
They were joyful.
In our lesson we find these hating,
watching enemies of our Lords
showing their bitterness in two
ways.
1. Open Accusation (2:23-28).
They got at Him this time through
His beloved disciples. 1t was the
indirect approach so often used
by cowardly people who want to hurt
someone, but who dare not face him
squarely. They spread evil reports
or unkind criticism about loved
one, and thus wound the one they
hate.
Their accusation was, however, III
sense direct one. They claimed
that He was the one who had per-
r,itted His disciples to violate the
Sabbath law by plucking and rub
bing the ears of corn to prepare
them to be eaten. In other words,
He had allowed them to do secular
thing on sacred day and thus to
violate the holiness of the Sabbath.
What they did was not wrong, but
they did it on the wrong day, said
these critics.
Jesus met the charge by reaffirm-
ing the high viewpoint of God con-
corning man. We have lowered our
conception of mans position, while
at the same time exalting his unde-
pendable judgment.
Everything that concerns man is
sacred in the sight of God. Hunger
is natural, God made man that way.
He gets hungry on the Sabbath day,
so he must have food on that day.
The Sabbath was made to serve him,
and he must not be harmed or him
dered by his servant.
Now, someone will say: "That
means I can do what / like on the
Sabbath-or the Lords Day." No,
it does not. What you need is right.
What you desire may not be. You
are more than an animal, so you
must have more than physical rest
and recreation on Sunday. You are
more than mental being, hence
you need more than culture-read-
ing, music or friendship on that day.
You are spiritual being and must
have fellowship with God.
See how nicely it all balances up
when we 60 Gods way. Then moth
ing that concerns us is common or
secular. It is all sacred.
III. Silent Hatred (3:1-6).
Open criticism is bad, but it be-
comes worse when it is hidden in
the heart of a watching man ". q,
one who looks for his opportunity to
strike.
The scene is most dramatic one.
Jesus came into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day as was His Gus
tom. (By the way, is it your Gus
tom to 60 to church on Sunday?) "In
that synagogue was a man with
withered hand. Here occurs one of
those Incidental things, which are so
full of beauty in these narratives.
Seeking to find accusation against
Him, His enemies nevertheless all
unconsciously paid Him a supreme
compliment. They associated Him
Immediately, not with the chief seat
of the synagogue, but with the most
needy man in the crowd"
''They watched Him" ". q. The
air was full of silent, malicious, cum
ming hatred. Jesus faced them with
an alternative so high, so holy and
exacting that they dared not speak.
He pointed out that we either do
good or harm, heal or kill, by our
response to human need. It can
not be ignored. What would they
do with it? Keep their strict man.
made regulations, or honor God by
helping needy one on the Sabbath?
They dared not answer.
Then He healed the man. He did
not touch him. He did not do any
work, except miraculous healing.
But it was enough. The Herodians
and the Pharisees, who hated each
other, now became friends because
they both hated Jesus.
What an awful picture of what
may be in the human heart, even in
the Lords house on the day of wor-