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January 15, 2020

Luke 13:10-14

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
New International Version (NIV)

Vance Havner told about a circuit-riding preacher in the old west who had taught his horse to count. In front of a crowd he would ask the horse, “How many gospels in the New Testament?” The horse would stomp its foot four times. “How many apostles?” The horse stomped twelve times. A comedian in the crowd asked, “How many hypocrites in the church?” The horse went into a dance on all four legs.

True hypocrites are often unaware we have a problem. But others see it and turn away from God. When Jesus healed a woman from eighteen years of being bent over, he set her free. Shouldn’t everyone have been happy? Most of the people who witnessed it were delighted. But not the Synagogue ruler. He reminded them that the law said six days for work. To a woman set free from nearly two decades of torment, all he could say was, “You came to be healed on the wrong day.”

Some have just enough contact with Christianity to inoculate them from catching the real thing. The Messiah has finally come but the ruler wants to revert to the rules. So do we sometimes. We can keep score with rules and see ourselves in a better light. It is possible to get a 4 point grade average and miss the point.

The word hypocrite speaks of wearing a mask and pretending to be something one is not. To be truthful, I am a recovering hypocrite. Are you? I won’t confess your sins. But image management can become too important to us. We categorize people and castigate them for their sins, but somehow blind ourselves to our own. Then Jesus turns the light on and we all see who we are. It is not pretty, but it is helpful to know. Good news: Jesus can heal us of our hypocrisy, even if we have had it for decades. Any day is fine to be healed. Even today.

Pray with me:

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name set us free from our hypocrisy. Today we willingly hand our masks over to you. We never fooled you anyway. No one else bought our false piety. We are worse off than we thought. Thank you that we are more loved than we ever dreamed. Today when we see your blessing in the life of another give us the grace to rejoice. Let us live in the light of your love today, so that we may share it with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Join us in memorizing the Word. Scripture for this week:

Matthew 5:5-6

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan. Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG

We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week. In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year. Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.

Joyfully,
Duane

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Houston, TX | 77024 US

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