I like putting myself into the story when I read the gospels—feel the heat, smell the dust, the food cooking, and the occasional breezes stirring amongst the people—talking with friends about Jesus, trying to get closer to Him to hear His words.

And on Sabbath, entering the synagogue—I hear that He’s in town, and He is there that day! I fade into the crowd as the watchers eye Him closely. There’s a man over there with a withered hand, and they pushed him forward. The hand, useless to him, but not to the watchers. Would He do it? Would Jesus, seeing him, heal him? If He did, and it seemed as though He couldn’t help Himself, He would be breaking their Sabbath law.  

Jesus knew. He always knows what they’re thinking, what I’m thinking. I try to grasp what He is saying to the watchers:

“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4)

I don’t understand—it sounds like He is saying that if I’m not doing good, I’m doing harm; if I am not saving life, I am killing!? I don’t hear a third alternative.

Jesus was angry. Grieved that the watchers couldn’t hear Him, weren’t receptive to the news that they were doing harm instead of good. It made me question the synagogue leaders, the Pharisees, who I looked up to with admiration. What was their motive? Weren’t they God’s voice to the simple folk like me? I must get closer to this man, Jesus—He speaks with such authority!

Jesus spoke with authority, something the people weren’t used to; yet how did the temple leadership have such a grip on them? Fear will do that. Jesus said that they put heavy burdens on the people that they themselves were unable to bear. The teachers of the law were indeed doing harm instead of good, destroying lives and killing hope.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

And he wrote through the leading of the Holy Spirit to the Galatian church, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) If we are not careful, we’ll become like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, doing more harm than good.

Jesus spoke with an authority that convinced people to walk away from the lives they knew into an unfamiliar faith walk with an unfamiliar God—it was practically treasonous to follow Jesus, forsaking the traditions of their leaders! The either/or of the situation, the doing good or doing harm took a commitment from them—There was no room for indifference or complacency.

As I’ve read through the Old Testament, there is a pattern, a cycle of wandering away from God, idolatry, and apostasy (abandonment of a previous loyalty) that characterized the Israelites. We may argue now that Jesus has come, that can’t happen to us because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. However, the apostle John tells a different story.

To the church at Ephesus, he wrote: “I know your works…you cannot bear with those who are evil…I know you are enduring patiently…But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:2-4)

And to Pergamum, he wrote: “I know where you dwell…Yet you hold fast my Name, and you did not deny my faith…But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel…” (Revelation 2:13, 14)

Thyatira: “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance…But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality…” (Revelation 2:19, 20)

To Sardis: “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die…Remember, then what you received and hear. Keep it, and repent…” (Revelation 3:1-3)

And to the church at Laodicea he wrote, again, the words of Jesus: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot not cold, I will spit you out of my mouth…” (Revelation 3:15-16)

There are plenty of examples given in the New Testament of people not walking “in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), and I can’t think of anything more devastating that a person letting go of such a fantastic gift! Especially considering the condition of the world and the time we are living. Especially since we have an enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Especially since delusion and deception and rampant!

Let’s serve Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, not with complacency, but with passion and determination!