Monday Meditation
August 29, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins
Under the Microscope
“And they watched Him whether He would heal … ” Mark 3:2
“They watched Him” Luke 14:1
“And they watched Him and sent forth spies” Luke 20:20
The Lord Jesus lived His entire life under the eye of God. What God saw brought Him untold pleasure and delight. He lived His public life under the scrutiny of men. It likely began back in Nazareth where He grew up. When He returned to the synagogue, the people were rankled by His preaching. But rather than being able to point to any inconsistency in His life or failure, all they could say is, “Is not this Joseph’s Son?” (Luke 4:22). While His entire life was lived under the microscope of men, there were three occasions when we are told that they were “watching Him.”
Anyone who has lived “under the scope” from unsaved family members can identify in a small measure with the pressure it creates. Anyone who has worked for a company that constantly was watching to find fault can appreciate as well the tension it naturally creates. Few mind performing when the audience is favorable. There are few who enjoy being observed with the sole purpose of finding fault. Yet the Lord Jesus lived before men and demons who sought to find some flaw, some small inconsistency to discredit His claims and His teaching.
The three occasions, which the Spirit of God highlights, are probably only representative of the constant pursuit of the hunters after their prey. Perhaps they represent the areas which marked His life: sympathy over self-preservation, faithfulness over the favor of men, and truth over tradition.
Sympathy over Self-Preservation
The trap had been carefully set. Whether it was the custom for the man with the withered hand to be present in the synagogue, or whether he was commandeered for the purpose that day, the Pharisees were going to use him to ensnare the Lord. They cared little for the man’s condition and disability. They would use it to test the Lord Jesus. Would He heal him and defy the Sabbath ban? Or would He coldly ignore him and prevent their being able to denounce Him?
He not only will show sympathy and heal the man, but He tells him to stand forth so that all can see what is to happen. He is not showcasing His talent in miracle work, He is displaying, for all to see, the heart of His Father. He will try and melt their hard hearts with His touch of kindness. But the result was that they went out and took council to destroy Him.
Self-preservation was never something high on the Lord’s list of priorities; but manifesting the heart of His Father always ways.
Faithfulness over the Favor of Men
In Luke 14, the Lord Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, and again it was a Sabbath day. As He entered every eye was turned to Him. “They watched Him” (Luke 14:1). In their midst was a man suffering from dropsy, possibly a kidney disease or heart failure. Would He be faithful to the needs of the man or would He court the favor of the crowd? Their eyes burned with hatred and evil intent as they watched Him.
After positing the question of doing good or doing evil on the Sabbath, He healed the man. They could not deny that the act in itself was good. Then the Lord asked about an act of goodness done to an animal on the Sabbath (v 5). The remainder of the chapter displays the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus to the guests (vv 7-11), host (vv 12-14), to the guest who opined on the relative benefit of being in the kingdom of God (vv 15-24) and to would-be disciples (vv 25-35). In each instance He chose faithfulness over favor.
Truth over Tradition
In Luke 20:20, it is no longer a test case. His wisdom in refuting their charges and confounding their questions had so enraged them that they resorted to a new strategy. Men referred to as “liers in wait,” were sent to hound His every step and sift His every word, all with a view to finding a flaw or a justifiable cause to deliver Him to the authorities. Wherever He went they hounded Him; each day that final week they milled among the throngs trying to find something of which to accuse Him. But as they sifted the “fine flour,” they could find nothing. He was “in every feature flawless, in every aspect fair.
The microscope of men’s evil eye could find nothing.
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