This Sunday's Sermon Info

Matthew 12:9-14

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The sinful heart of mankind has an agenda.  It desires to fulfill its own lusts and wickedly rejects God’s general and special revelatory truth.  The malice of the human heart is on full display in this piece of text as the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus with something to bring an accusation against Him.  Callously using a man in the synagogue who has a withered hand, they ask Jesus a question that would bring embarrassment to that man.  The Pharisees didn’t care a whit about that suffering man.  Their devilish hearts were focused on keeping their power protected and unquestioned.  Jesus was becoming a perceived threat to that power, so they repeatedly tried to catch Him in a circumstance where they could level their false accusations against Him.  They wanted this Rabbi dead.  So, they took an opportunity in this place of worship and the study of the Word of God to use a man who was suffering a terrible malady to try and trick Jesus.  Far be it for them to show any compassion or to attempt to pray for the man or offer ministerial guidance or support!  No, he was simply a tool to use against this One who would claim to be a Rabbi, and maybe even the Messiah.  Their hearts were darkened by sin and selfish desires.  Contrast the wickedness of the diabolical human heart with the holiness and sovereignty of the heart of God.  Jesus came into the synagogue and knew full well the Pharisees were meaning to attempt to trap Him.  He knew they would cruelly use the man with the withered hand for their own selfish reasons.  But with Jesus, the worst machinations of mankind are stymied, and the selfish rantings of the human heart are silenced in the face of the wonderful and matchless grace of God.  The man with the withered hand, facing a heartless Pharisaical manipulation is now face-to-face with the Son of Man, the Great Physician, who heals him and shows him true mercy and grace found in the love of God.  We see the same heartless manipulation of people today with ailments either physical or mental in which their malady is used to try and drag God before mankind’s illicit and hateful kangaroo court of justice—like this example in Scripture, the accusation will not stand and will be answered by the sovereign grace of God.  Jesus Christ makes all the difference in the lives of those who are His sheep, and He will find every one of His lost sheep and restore them.