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Scripture Reading: Matthew 12

How many times have you pulled back from loving others because doing so might bring on some unwanted consequences?  Is it OK to pull back sometimes because of the threats?  Or should we always press ahead regardless of the threats?

These are questions Jesus faced on a regular basis.  And it’s encouraging to me to see that He handled different situations differently.

Let’s look at just two of these situations from Matthew 12.  The first deals with whether or not Jesus would heal a man, even though doing so might cost Jesus His life.

“Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’  He said to them, ‘If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’  Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus” (Matthew 12:9-14). 

Jesus was facing a setup, and He could have backed away because of the threat.  But rather than backing down, and leaving the man’s hand shriveled, Jesus put His love for the man ahead of His own life.  He did what was right, even when threatened.  That’s a bold kind of love.

But in the next situation, Jesus takes a different approach:

“Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed Him, and He healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who He was” (Matthew 12:15). 

Matthew says this was to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah said:

“He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory” (Matthew 12:19-20). 

Jesus could have backed off at this point, and stopped healing people all together.  But instead, He continued to heal many, even though it was no longer in the open, and even with a warning telling people not to tell others who He was.  He showed the same bold love, but with a different approach.

There are times when we need to openly challenge irrational thinking.  But there are other times when we need to simply do what’s right in quiet.  In either case, the bottom line is still this:  to  continue loving others and doing what God has called us to do, rather than backing off because of people’s threats.

I faced a dilemma one day when I was asked to lead worship at our church.  In putting together the set of songs for that morning, one song stood out in my mind above all the others.  I knew it would be the song where people would really meet God in the worship time.  But the very next day, I got a note from someone who for some reason felt compelled to tell me there was one song we should never sing in church.  It was the very song I planned to do, but hadn’t even told anyone I was doing!

It wasn’t a life-threatening dilemma, but it was a real one.  Would I continue with the worship set as I had planned, knowing how powerful it could be?  Or would I back down and try to please this person?  I decided to do the song, and it was powerful.

We all face similar dilemmas every day.  Will we give up because of someone’s threats?  Or will be go forth and do what’s right, trusting God to work out the details?  In all cases, I pray we will always put love first, not the threats.

Prayer: Father, help me to always move forward in love, doing what’s right, even when threatened.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.