trbccoffeebreak

“And they were watching (Jesus) closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.”  Mark 3:2

As I was reading through the first few chapters of Mark’s gospel, an interesting rhythm arose in chapters 2 and 3 as Jesus walked out the start of His earthly ministry. As He taught, healed, and hung out with His disciples, something struck me as weird: the Pharisees and/or Scribes were always there, lurking about with proverbial clipboards in hand. Not sure why, but I envision them sneakily following and then comically popping out from around a corner or amid a crowd like a jack-in-the-box or whack-a-mole. But their allegations were anything but funny.

Throughout all the gospels, we can find these pesky Pharisees around Jesus and His disciples, watching and waiting to pounce. But even just in these five short scenarios in Mark, their intentions are made super clear. (Please go back and read Mark 2:1-3:6 for full context here.) In the first scene, Jesus is teaching in Peter’s house, and it’s packed—too packed for some guys to bring their paralyzed friend to the Lord. So, they tore off the roof and lowered him down. Jesus told him his sins were forgiven. But the Pharisees started at Jesus, clipboard up, glasses at the end of their nose: “Why’s He doing that? That’s wrong!” (Actually, here they were only thinking it, but Jesus could hear their hearts. Mark 2:6-7) Next, Jesus calls Matthew, a Jewish tax collector, to follow Him. He does and then throws a party for Jesus to bring his tax-collector friends (and other “unsavories”) to the table to meet the Lord. And then, “Pop! Goes the weasel!” The Pharisees tap their clipboard: “Why is He doing that—it’s wrong!” (See Mark 2: 14-17.) In the third and fourth situations, the Pharisees saw that Jesus and His disciples were not following the religious rules to the burdensome level set by man (beyond God’s original intent). “Why aren’t you doing this?! And why are you doing that?! Tsk, tsk!” (See Mark 2:18-28.)

In the fifth (but hardly final) scene of Pharisaical sanctimony, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and Mark states the obvious: “And they (the Pharisees) were watching Him closely (or “maliciously”) to see if He would heal (the man with the withered hand) on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him” (Mark 3:2). But this time, Jesus beat them to the punch by asking them if what He was doing was lawful. I see them quickly hiding their clipboards behind their backs, looking at Jesus with wide “I-don’t-know-what-You’re-talking-about” eyes. As they say nothing in response, Jesus healed the man (while likely staring down the Pharisees). Ah, and then they scurried away like cockroaches and began conspiring as to how they could kill Him.

As we all shake our heads in disgust at these Pharisees, let me get that mirror for us. (I know I need one.) How many of us, as followers of Jesus Christ, are Clipboard Christians? Are there certain people at church that we watch, clipboard and pen in hand, waiting for them to say or do something we deem to be pounce-worthy? Maybe it’s that the Lord delivered you from some sin or sinful lifestyle upon your salvation, so you think every other believer should be so sanctified accordingly…and when you see it, you think (or say), “Why are you doing THAT? It’s not right!” You click your tongue and move through the sanctuary, watching and waiting. “Aha! Look at her—that outfit! In church?” Or “Did you see what he did?” And “I can’t believe that language she uses—and she calls herself a Christian.”

Um, ouch. Friend, every believer is a new creation in Christ—having been moved from death to life! Praise the Lord! But there are two important things for us to remember:

• As Jesus says in Mark 2:17, it’s not the healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick—He came to call sinners. And we’re all sinners, on our way Home to glory.
• Each of us is on a unique sanctification journey, according to the will of God, becoming more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18) at our own pace. Your race is not mine, and mine’s not yours.

So, beloved, let’s put down the clipboard. And let’s live, love, and serve like Jesus.

Lord, forgive my “Pharisee tendencies” to judge my brothers and sisters. Help me love more like You.

For His Glory

 Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life