The Pharisees were pretty lowdown. Let’s face it. As we read through the Bible, we pretty much get the feel that they were ridiculous. They were supposed to be upstanding citizens, yet they made it harder for everyone else. They were supposed to know the Scriptures, but didn’t recognize the Scriptures in human form. And they were supposed to be looking forward to the promised Messiah, but instead challenged Him.
At every turn they worked against Jesus, who was supposed to be the very being they were living for. And what’s crazy is that they did even worse things than what they accused Him of.
Mark 3:1-6 (NLT)Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him. He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.
It wasn’t OK for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath, but it was OK for them to plot to kill on the Sabbath? It wasn’t OK for Jesus to give life, but it was OK for them to take it? Somewhere in their minds, this made sense.
And still today, somewhere in our minds it still makes sense. We may not plot to kill, but we do plan on getting drunk this weekend (Ephesians 5:18). We may not work on the Sabbath, but we do plan on sleeping with our boyfriend (1 Corinthians 6:18). We may tithe our 10%, but we certainly won’t give to the poor (Proverbs 28:27). Better yet, we may respect God, but we wont respect the government He has put in place (Romans 13:1).
We may not plot to kill Jesus, but we may plan to kill our own testimony.