Jesus is being more deliberate in his confronting the pharisees. He has said in the last chapter that the Sabbath was made for people. It was to be a day of rest. The pharisees are now going to prove that they believe otherwise. Man was made for the Sabbath, because that is what they believed. They have devoted their lives to this belief system and this itinerant preacher from some back woods town is undermining that belief with the people who they re responsible for.
Jesus continues his “new wine in old wineskins” tour. On the Sabbath he brings a man up with a withered hand, with the intention of angering the pharisees even further.
Jesus succeeds. When he asks them a question, they do not answer him. They are not interested in dialogue. They are only interested in compliance. They are demonstrating in stark detail that they are unable to take new wine, because they have old wineskins and refuse to upgrade them. The conflict increases.
After Jesus defies them they go out and start planning to kill Jesus. Why is there such a need to destroy? They want to kill Jesus. They have tried to discredit him, but that doesn’t seem to be working. So destroying him is the next best option. Killing him will be tough because the people love him. The pharisees know these common people who’s lives “depend” on them. They know that it may be difficult for a while because Jesus is so popular, but in the end they will come back to what they know because they have to.
There is a real danger in becoming too firm in belief systems that it attempts to puts constraints around God. As soon as that happens you have “God in a box”. He doesn’t fit there, but it makes some feel better that they can wrap their mind around him. The message loud and clear with Jesus in this passage is that he refuses to be contained, and if you do attempt to put constraints around Jesus, you will be the one who is frustrated and threatened.
Prayer: Help me to constantly be aware that You are bigger than anything I could imagine. Don’t let me attempt to box You in, but constantly seek to be the new wineskins, flexible to expand to see God working in ways that challenge the very core of my belief.
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