Mark 3, Luke 6, Matt 12:1-21 As Jesus went through Israel, he met those who were seeking help in many areas: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Some who followed Jesus were without hope, but some who followed Him were seeking to destroy Him for this reason: he “worked” on the Sabbath. As he entered the synagogue, he was confronted with a man with a withered hand. Would he heal, their definition of work was the question in the minds of the religious leaders, so they asked Him pointedly, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ Being the legalists of the day, they had the Torah memorized and checked every jot and tittle to be sure people were obeying to keep the Sabbath holy. Is this what God desired?

So Jesus tested them to see if they could or would put aside rules to do God’s work, which was to help another on the Sabbath just as they would help a donkey who had fallen into the ditch. Which was more important, the man or the donkey? The religious leaders had misconstrued the most important thing. Healing of a man then, constituted “work,” according to their rule book. How about us, do we cling so tightly to the rule book that we miss the importance of meeting the needs of the moment?

Today, let us seek the kingdom needs that God presents to us, regardless of the day of the week.