20th Day of Lent, March 27, 2025

John 7:14-24 <- Click to read now

“Gaslighting” is a fairly new phrase that comes to mind with today’s passage.  “You’re demon possessed!  Who’s trying to kill you?”  Each time Jesus healed on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders angled for new ways to get rid of him.  Just two chapters back in John 5, we see evidence of this.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke all show the same.  They knew what they planned, and Jesus knew, too.

The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because of the things he did.  It got so bad, he left Judea to avoid them trying to kill him before it was his time.  What’s interesting is that what Jesus did, was heal people.  He brought hope and life to those who were suffering.  And even though all these leaders “worked on the Sabbath” too, they decided what Jesus was doing was deserving of death.  “It’s OK for us to do this, but it’s not OK for you to do this.”  In this case, what they did on the Sabbath was by no means as urgent as the healing Jesus gave; yet it seemed ok for them, but punishable by death for Jesus 

This is a kind of thing Jesus spoke against often.  Hypocrisy is what it’s referred to.  It’s lumped right up there with some of the worst actions we can be a part of.  They acted this out regarding their concept of working on the Sabbath.  With our hypocrisy, it generally revolves around sin, not our activity on a certain day.  As we continue to look inward during this season of Lent, let’s root out the places in life where we target someone else’s actions yet shrug off our own.  As we are a people of Christ, let’s be honest with Jesus in our struggles and work those out through God’s grace.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we all want to put on a good face at times.  Even when we struggle, there are times we act like there is no problem.  Yet, we so often see someone else’s struggle as deserving of judgment.  Help us to realize the depths of our need for Your mercy and help us to realize Your mercy through Jesus.  May we always remember Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  Help us follow him all the way, help us to know the truth will set us free, and help us to live in the new life You give us through Jesus.  Amen.