Recently, at our church home group Bible study, we were considering the story found in John 5:1-15. It is the account of Jesus in his interactions with a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years (v. 5). The wonderful thing is that this man is healed by Jesus as he lays beside a pool of water called Bethesda (which means “place of mercy”). The strange thing is the reaction of the Jews (possibly the Pharisees) when they later saw him carrying his mat (which he was laying on when Jesus healed him), something prohibited on the Sabbath according to the Jewish traditional interpretation of the Law of Moses at the time. They said to him, It is the Sabbath, the law forbids you to carry the mat. (v. 10)
Are you surprised at such a reaction? We certainly were in our group. On one hand Jesus has done the right thing and performed this wonderfully merciful and compassionate act of healing this man after suffering for thirty-eight years, and all the religious guys can think about is that this man is carrying his mat on the Sabbath! Not even a “well that’s wonderful news, but next time leave the mat at home!”
I think Proverbs 21:3 sums up God’s attitude to such situations:
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
The Jews had already heard this message many times before through the prophets. For example:
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:7-8)
How easy it is to slip into “religious activities” and forget to do the right thing by our fellow human beings. Right things like mercy, kindness, compassion, generosity and justice.
Other relevant verses in Proverbs 21 are:
15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity and honor.
Paul when writing his letter to the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:2) encourages believers to live by the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit (5:16,18). He then goes on to describe what this looks like in daily life as follows:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (5:22-25)
Only in the power of the indwelling Spirit of God will we be wise and discerning enough to live our lives doing that which is right and just, and so, in all situations we find ourselves in, acting justly and loving mercy and walking humbly with our God. Paul calls this true freedom – and for [this] freedom…Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1)
Is the world around you a better place due to you doing the right thing – at home, at school, at work, wherever God has put you at this time?
Worship and Wisdom - Psalms and Proverbs 