Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to the third week of our teaching series called Rejected. We talk a lot about the people who followed Christ during his earthly life. But in this series, we’re focusing on the people who rejected him. And there were a lot of them.

The prophet, Isaiah, describes Jesus in a way that we’re not used to…it’s a description of Jesus that we’re probably not comfortable with. But it’s the truth.

Talking about Jesus, Isaiah said, “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” (Isaiah 53:3, NLT)

In this series, we’re exploring the lives of some of the people who rejected Jesus. This week, we’re talking about some of the most famous rejecters in the Bible. The group known as the Pharisees.

We’re going to look at an amazing scene that played out between Jesus and the Pharisees in Mathew 12. Let’s pray, and then we’ll get after it.

In Matthew 12, starting in verse 9, the Bible says, “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” (Matthew 12:9-14, NIV)

For this story to make sense, we have to understand the cultural context. At this point in time, the people of God still lived under the Old Testament law. Jesus had not been crucified yet, the church had not been born yet, the New Testament hadn’t been written yet. At this point in time, the Jews, who were the people of God in the Old Testament, still lived under the law that God gave to Moses.

Part of the law was the observance of the Sabbath. In fact, this was #4 on the list of the Ten Commandments. From Exodus 20: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work… (Exodus 20:8-10a, NIV)

The Old Testament Scripture commanded the Jewish people not to work on the Sabbath. But did you notice how vague that is? Do not work on the Sabbath. Well, what constitutes work? What qualifies as work and what doesn’t qualify as work? This actually became a legal question in Old Testament Israel.

A bunch of lawyers got together to discuss the question. Anytime a bunch of lawyers get together, don’t you just know that something bad is going to happen? (And I’m sorry if you’re a lawyer. I’m sure you’re the exception.) Seriously, these legal experts got together to spell out exactly what constituted work, and therefore could and could not be done on the Sabbath.

The actual Old Testament Scripture gave only minimal restrictions for the Sabbath day. You couldn’t build a fire in your house on the Sabbath, according to Exodus 35. You could do no plowing or harvesting, according to Exodus 34. Jeremiah 17 said that you couldn’t carry a large load. And Isaiah 58 prohibited excessive travel on the Sabbath.

But the legal eagles in Jewish culture felt that they needed to expand this definition of work. Eventually, they wound up with 39 different categories, complete with sub-groupings, of activities that were prohibited on the Sabbath day. They obviously went way above and beyond God’s intention for the Sabbath, which is going to become clear in our story.

The Pharisees met Jesus in the synagogue, and there was a man with a paralyzed hand there. In verse 9, Matthew writes, “Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Matthew 12:9b, NIV)

According to their tradition, healing qualified as work. That meant that it could not be done on the Sabbath.

The Bible says that the Pharisees were, “looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.” This whole thing was a trap. It’s even possible that this man with the paralyzed hand was a plant. The Pharisees may have staged this whole thing.

They knew about Jesus compassion and his propensity to heal people. According to their tradition, not according to the Bible but according to their tradition, healing on the Sabbath was illegal. So they thought they had constructed the perfect trap. If they could make the case that Jesus broke one of the commandments in the law, he would lose all his status and credibility. He would be shamed. He could even be charged in a court of law. They could destroy his ministry and retain their own place of influence and power…which really gets to the heart of why the Pharisees rejected Jesus.

Selfishness. This is the core reason why the Pharisees rejected him.

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. They were one of the three major divisions of leadership in Judaism. They were known for their rigid adherence to the Old Testament law, which sounds like a good thing. They were committed to following the Bible. But there were a couple of problems with the Pharisees.

First of all, they were also very committed to obeying their traditions. They believed that their traditions had equal authority as God’s Word. That’s a big time problem.

And secondly, the Pharisees were committed to following the letter of God’s law, to the point where they missed the spirit of God’s law.

That’s why these religious leaders received the harshest criticism that Jesus ever offered. He challenged their view of God, their own morality, and their position in that society.

Not only were the Pharisees the religious leaders, but they were revered by the people. They got the best seat at a banquet. They were honored and revered by the Jewish people. The Pharisees were near the top of the social ladder…and they were not about to let some upstart preacher like Jesus take it all away from them.

Their selfishness for their traditions and for their social position was the major driving force behind their rejection of Jesus. And our story from Matthew 12 puts their selfishness on full display.

Matthew 12 says, “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Matthew 12:9-10, NIV)

Did you notice how Matthew describes the setting for this confrontation between Jesus and Pharisees? Matthew says that Jesus went into “their synagogue.”

The synagogue was the Jewish place of worship. An Old Testament equivalent of the church. The Bible says that this was “their synagogue.” The Pharisees were predominant in this synagogue. There was no doubt about who was in charge here. They called the shots. They ran the show. This was their synagogue.

Actually, when you look at the original Greek language from Matthew, it literally says that Jesus went into “the synagogue of them.” It wasn’t just “their synagogue”…it was “the synagogue of them.” It was all about them…and they weren’t about to let Jesus come in and mess that up.

It takes an extra special selfishness to turn a place of worship into a place that revolves around me. But the Pharisees made it happen. They turned it into a “synagogue of them.”

When you walked in this morning, you walked under an awning that said, “Amelia Church of Christ.” The “of Christ” is the significant part of that name. We are “of Christ.” We are all about Christ. This church belongs to him. That means that selfishness doesn’t fly here. That means that pet projects and personal agendas have no business here.

This church doesn’t exist to cater to any one individual. This church doesn’t exist to please any single group of people. This church exists to pursue the vision that God has given us. This church exists to please Jesus Christ. People may criticize us. People may condemn us. But if Jesus is pleased with us, then none of that matters.

Our church will never be a “synagogue of them.” Sadly, that’s exactly what a lot of churches have become. I’ve got a buddy who used to be a worship minister at another church. After he was hired, the first service he led was actually the Christmas Eve service. He poured everything he had into making this worship experience significant and meaningful.

After the service was over, he was approached by one of the elders. Apparently this elder’s wife had always played the organ at the Christmas Eve service. My friend didn’t know that. But this elder looked at him and said, “If you ever plan a service without my wife again, I’ll have your job.” I’m not kidding. That’s what he said. That church had become a “synagogue of him.”

We are the Amelia Church of Christ. If you’re looking to make this the “Amelia Church of You,” feel free to look elsewhere. If we have to choose between pleasing Jesus and pleasing you, we’re going to choose Jesus.

That doesn’t mean that the church can’t minister to you. It doesn’t mean that the church can’t help you grow. It doesn’t mean that you can’t love this church. I do. I love this church more than you can imagine. There are times when I have a hard time sleeping on Saturday night because I’m anticipating being with my church family the next day. But all of that is just a bonus. I love this church…but that’s not the main purpose of this church. This church doesn’t exist so that you or I will love it. This church exists so Jesus will love it.

What does that mean? It means that you don’t have to like everything about this church. That’s ok. Seriously, it’s ok. I’ve got a news flash for you…I don’t like everything about this church. And that really is ok. You know why? Because this isn’t the “Amelia Church of Me.” And it’s not the “Amelia Church of You.” We are, collectively, the Amelia Church of Christ.

That means that there has to be an uncompromising spirit of unselfishness among us. It means that I can love our church even if I don’t personally like everything about our church. Because it’s not about me. And it’s not about you.

The reason that Jesus was so hyper-critical of the Pharisees was that they existed to please themselves. They created traditions that made themselves comfortable. They enjoyed feeling spiritually superior to anyone else. They relished the positions of prominence and honor that they had achieved for themselves.

And so when Jesus came in and showed them up in “their synagogue,” they were furious. When he came into the “synagogue of them” and demonstrated that it actually wasn’t about them, they were enraged.

How do you know if you’re living with the selfishness of a Pharisee? You get mad when Jesus shows up. When things are done to please Jesus and not you, it really torques you off. When Jesus challenges you or makes you uncomfortable, you get your nighty in a knot.

What every one of us has to realize is that Jesus will not take a backseat to us. He will call the shots. He will run the show. That’s why a hallmark of a true Christ-follower is unselfishness. You can’t be selfish and be a disciple of Jesus. It’s an absolute contradiction.

To accept Christ as your Savior requires humility. It means admitting that you can’t do life on your own. It means owning up to the fact that you’ve created a sinful mess that you can’t get yourself out of.

To live with Jesus as your Lord requires a complete lack of selfishness. If Jesus calls you to do something that makes you uncomfortable, that’s ok because your comfort isn’t important. If it’s a choice between pleasing Jesus and pleasing yourself, you choose Jesus, because your pleasure is always secondary to his pleasure.

This is why the Pharisees rejected Jesus. They were not about to let go of their status, and their comfort, and their pleasure for the sake of Christ.

Let’s keep going in our story. “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” [Remember that the Pharisees believed that it was illegal to heal on the Sabbath because of their own manmade traditions.]

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:9-12, NIV)

The Pharisees thought they had him trapped, but Jesus used it as an opportunity to expose their selfishness. When they asked him if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, Jesus answered them with an illustration about sheep.

He said, “If you had a sheep that fell in a pit on the Sabbath, you’d pull it out, wouldn’t you?”

Now, you have to remember that this was an agricultural society. Sheep meant income. They represented money. If your sheep fell in a pit, it was in your best interests to lift it out…regardless of what day of the week it was.

But people were a different matter. Healing a person meant no financial gain for you. It was strictly for the benefit of the other person, so in the Pharisees’ minds, it could wait another day. Plus, this would allow you to build up your pride. You could avoid getting your hands dirty by helping someone else, tell them that you’re doing it for God, and then go along your merry way feeling holy and sanctimonious.

Jesus’ exposed the incredible selfishness of this way of thinking. He pointed out that people are a lot more valuable than sheep. Sorry PETA, but it’s true. Lifting one of your sheep out of a pit was selfish because you were rescuing your own money. Helping someone else, with no regard to your own interests, is what pleases God.

There is a clear difference in the mindset of the Pharisees versus the mindset of Christ. The Pharisees asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Matthew 12:10b, NIV) According to their tradition, the answer was “no.”

The Pharisees were consumed with the things that they didn’t do. They made an exhaustive list of everything that they didn’t do on the Sabbath, and they thought that somehow, this would make them righteous.

Jesus, on the other hand, was focused on what people actually did. He told the Pharisees, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:12b, NIV) You see the dichotomy here? Jesus was focused on what they did. The Pharisees were focused on what they didn’t do.

Some Christians today seem to believe that they are righteous because of what they don’t do. They don’t say certain words, they don’t do certain things, and that makes them righteous. Being a Christian just means following a list of rules that spell out all the stuff that we can’t do. Following Christ is reduced to nothing more than sin avoidance.

What Jesus is saying is that we are not defined by what we don’t do. We’re defined by what we do. Are there sinful things that we need to steer clear of? Sure. But that is not what defines us as a disciple of Jesus. We are defined by what we do.

Like the Pharisees, a lot of Christians are very content to just avoid certain things. They don’t lift a finger to help anybody. They don’t do anything for the cause of Christ. And they feel just fine about that because they believe that they’re defined by what they don’t do.

And this becomes incredibly selfish, because these Christians get very good at not doing certain things. And then they look down their noses at people who don’t follow the rules as well as they do. Meanwhile, they never do anything to minister to someone in need. They never do anything that advances the work of God’s kingdom. They’re content to just sit around, doing nothing, and feeling incredibly spiritual the entire time. They’re living with the selfishness of a Pharisee.

Now let’s finish up our story. After Jesus told the Pharisees that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath, Jesus turned back toward the man with the paralyzed hand.

Picking it up in verse 13, “Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” (Matthew 12:13-14, NIV)

These two verses are an incredibly clear contrast of the purpose of the Pharisees versus the purpose of Christ.

In verse 13, we see what Jesus was all about. He was going to please God. He was going to heal this man…and he didn’t give a rip about what day it was. He couldn’t have cared less that the Pharisees were offended. He came to bring God into the lives of the people who needed him the most, and that’s exactly what he did.

By contrast, verse 14 shows us the purpose of the Pharisees. Their purpose was to further their own agenda. And when Jesus broke their rules, ignored their traditions, and exposed the selfishness in their hearts, they conspired to kill him.

The tragedy is that they experienced what Jesus can do firsthand. They saw him heal a man. Jesus came to heal, both physically and spiritually. He came to heal broken bodies and broken souls. And that healing was available to the Pharisees too, but their selfishness blinded them from seeing it.

That’s the ultimate danger of living a selfish life. Selfishness will prevent Jesus from healing us. If you want to build a roadblock that will prevent the Lord from working powerfully in your life, there is no better one than selfishness. It will stop him every single time.

In our story, the man with the paralyzed hand was healed because he unselfishly obeyed Jesus. Jesus simply looked at him and said, “Stretch out your hand.” That was probably the last thing this guy wanted to do. Hold up his shriveled, paralyzed hand for everyone to see. It was a pretty degrading, humiliating thing for him to do. But Jesus commanded him to do it, and he did. And it was through that unselfishness obedience that Jesus healed him. He stretched out his hand, only to find that it wasn’t wrangled and paralyzed, but instead it was completely healthy. All because of his unselfish obedience to Jesus.

You want Jesus to heal you? You have to unselfishly obey him.

You want Jesus to heal your marriage? Quit letting your pride and selfishness keep you from the steps you need to take. Do you need to apologize to your spouse? Do it. Do you need marriage counseling? Go. Quit letting your stupid pride get in the way. Start acting unselfishly and allow Jesus to heal your marriage.

You want Jesus to heal your finances? Stop acting selfishly. Quit living above your means. Stop racking up credit card debt. Develop a budget and live by it. Start being generous. Start tithing today. Start using your resources to help others today. If you want God to bless you financially so you can live selfishly, forget it. God doesn’t throw around bailouts to selfish people.

You want God to start blessing your dating relationship? Stop selfishly disobeying his commands. God created sexuality to be expressed in marriage. So don’t expect to have this great, blessed relationship if you’re misusing God’s gift of sex. Don’t tell me, “Yeah, but we love each other and we’re going to get married someday.” I can’t translate that. You know what you’re really saying? “This feels good. I’m having fun. And I’m not going to stop.” Don’t expect God to bless your relationship, because you’re operating out of selfishness instead of obedience.

We could go on like this all day. You name any area of your life. If God is not blessing you, it’s probably because you’re being selfish.

The Bible says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10, NIV)

God honors humility. It sounds backwards, but when we bend low, we rise high. God rewards unselfish humility.

Jesus wants to heal you. He absolutely does. But if you’re committed to a lifestyle of selfishness, you’ll block him from working in your life.

Maybe it’s time to lay your pride aside. Maybe it’s time for you to fall on your knees and finally offer everything you are to God. Come, unselfishly. Come, without a hint of pride. And allow Jesus to heal you.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Matthew 12, pharisee, Rejected, selfishness