God’s laws are not given to keep us in bondage to a life of rigid rule-keeping. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 (NKJV) The law was given to benefit us, that we might know and reflect God’s nature, and experience a life lived in communion with Him. In Mark’s gospel, we’re shown the ugly coldness of rule-keeping divorced from true affection for God. The Pharisees valued compliance with their Sabbath scruples even above meeting human need. In confronting the Pharisees, Jesus did not eliminate God’s law; He looked behind it to reveal its guiding principles in the context of real life – the human needs around Him.
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Steve Massey is the pastor of Hayden Bible Church of Hayden, Idaho. He also writes about matters of faith for The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., where he previously worked as an editor and reporter. He and his wife, Pam, have two grown children, Jake and Sarah.