Friday, April 6, 2012

Bible Study - verse by verse # 34

Matthew 12:6 The Pharisees were so concerned about religious rituals that they missed the whole purpose of the temple - to bring people to God. And because Jesus Christ is even greater than the temple, how much better can He bring people to God. God is far more important than the created instruments of worship. If we become more concerned with the means of worship than with the One we worship, we will miss God even as we think we are worshiping Him.
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Matthew 12:7 Jesus repeated to the Pharisees words that Jewish people had heard time and again throughout their history (1 Samuel 15:22, 23; Psalm 40:6-8; Isaiah 1:11-17; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6). Our heart attitude toward God comes first. Only then can we properly obey and observe religious regulation and rituals.
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Matthew 12:8 When Jesus said He was Lord of the Sabbath, He claimed to be greater than the law and above the law. To the Pharisees, this was heresy. They did not realize that Jesus, the divine Son of God had created the Sabbath. The Creator is always greater than the creation; thus Jesus had the authority to overrule their traditions and regulations.
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Matthew 12:10 As they pointed to the man with the withered hand, the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus by asking Him if it was legal to heal on the Sabbath. Their Sabbath rules said that people could be helped on the Sabbath only if their lives were in danger. Jesus healed on the Sabbath several times, and none of those healings were in response to emergencies. If Jesus had waited until another day, He would have been submitting to the Pharisees authority, showing that their petty rules were equal to Gods law. If Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees could claim that because Jesus broke their rules, His power was not from God. But Jesus made it clear how ridiculous and petty their rules were. God is a God of people, not rules. The best time to reach out to someone is when he or she needs help.
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Matthew 12:10-12 The Pharisees placed their laws above human need. They were so concerned about Jesus' breaking one of their rules that thy did not care about the man's withered hand. What is your attitude toward others? If your convictions may not be in tune with God's Word. Don't allow dogma to blind you to human need.

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