Day 261 – Jesus’ Choosing of the 12

• Much of what we read today is building on previous passages about similar events from the other gospels that we have already looked at. I’m not going to repeat the same points, but I do encourage you to try and spot the extra information about Jesus’ prayer time alone, and his calling of the disciples, that we read about today.
• Jesus and his companions did two things on the Sabbath which angered – you guessed it – the Pharisees. The first was picking grain. Deuteronomy says that a person could not harvest grain with a sickle (Deuteronomy 23:24-25) but nothing about using your hands like in this situation. The Pharisees, therefore, were challenging Jesus on one of their own laws, rather than God’s.
• What was Jesus’ retort in Luke 6:3-5?
• The second Sabbath “crime” was to heal a man with a withered hand. How blind do you think the Pharisees were to Jesus divinity (i.e. that He was God) that they ignored a miraculous healing, and instead focused on the legality of doing such a thing on the Sabbath? Does it shock you? It’s worth pointing out Luke 6:7; Jesus’ enemies were watching Him to find reasons to challenge Him.
• Mark 3:10 shows us that Jesus was healing people wherever he went. Why do you think the Pharisees weren’t willing to see this proof, and worship Him?
• Do you think some Christians nowadays can be too “legalistic” about certain things, like the Pharisees? Where do you think the line is between honouring God’s Word, and doing something which is clearly “good”, can be drawn? For example, we might all agree that healing someone on a Sabbath day is better than not doing the healing (and therefore causing more suffering to the person). But are all “dilemmas” such as this as easy to agree on?
• Jesus’ family members thought He was “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21). Why? Some translations use the word “friends” or “people”. Regardless, do you think this would have included Mary and Joseph, knowing the things they knew about Jesus as they did?
• On the subject of friends, think about the relationship that you have with a close friend, as opposed to say a teacher, or the boss of your paper round. What’s different? Think about the relationship that we might expect to have with an eternal, omnipotent God who make the universe and everything in it. Then look at how Jesus refers to us in John 15:12-17. If it doesn’t blow your mind, you’re either not thinking about what you’re reading, or you’ve become too presumptuous about Jesus!
• John 15:16 talks about “election” – the idea that Jesus chose you before you “chose” to follow Him. We’ll discuss this more later in the New Testament.
• John 15:17 commands us to love other people. You clearly will love many people in your life, but what about those that it’s harder to love? Do you make an effort with people who you wouldn’t ordinarily connect with?

There are lots of things that Christians debate (and even argue!) about when it comes to practically live lives that honour Christ. In the knowledge that it is faith that saves, rather than works, questions about following God’s Word, and the extent to which this is done, can be a confusing topic.

Some people feel very strongly, for example, about working or shopping on a Sunday, because they believe it to be biblical to have a day of rest set aside. Others would agree that it’s important to take time to focus on God and spend time with church family, but won’t make a big deal about it when it comes to popping into work or Tesco.

Other similar debates may come into your head. How, for example, can we challenge each other to do good works whilst acknowledging that these works aren’t the thing that saves us?

We’ve thought about relationships today, so let’s link that in to the question about practically following biblical teaching. Have a think about some areas in which you know there are different opinions between you and other members of your family in this regard. It may be gaming, or work, or social time, or the regularity of church attendance. Think about their opinions and yours, and how each party came to those views. Is it possible to differentiate, in these areas, the line between genuinely following the challenges in Scripture, and being too legalistic?