Now Matthew and Mark carry the record right on as though it was the same Sabbath day. Luke's record says it was "on another Sabbath;" but at any rate it seems not to have been later than the next Sabbath. Thus we read:
"And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him." (Mark 3:1-2)
Now notice; they were already persecuting him for keeping the Sabbath,-for breaking the Sabbath as they would have it, -and they were ready to kill him. The next time they have an occasion, they are watching him to see whether he will yield to their demands, and compromise the Sabbath, or compromise himself, in order to please them.
They are watching him now to see whether their attempt to get him to compromise with them and yield to their ideas is succeeding; and so they watch him to see what he is going to do, so that they may accuse him if he does as he has formerly been doing. And if he does not now compromise and yield to their ideas of the Sabbath, they will accuse him, and follow it up in the way which the record shows.
And Jesus knew they were watching him, and what they were thinking about, and what they were watching him for. He knew that their attention was all on him.
And that they might have the fullest evidence possible, he called to the man who had the withered hand, and said to him, "Stand forth in the midst." The man stepped out into the midst of the synagogue. This drew everybody's attention to Jesus, and the man standing there waiting.
Then he asked the Pharisees and those who were accusing him,
"Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?"
They could not say it was lawful to do evil, for that would be contrary to all their own teaching, and they did not dare to say it was lawful to do good, because then they would sanc tion his healing this man on the Sabbath.
"Is it lawful to save life or to kill?"
They did not dare to say it was lawful to kill, and they did not dare to say it was lawful to save life. For he told them to their faces, and they knew it was so, that if one of them had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day, they would pull it out to save its life. Whether they would do this out of mercy to the sheep, or for fear of losing the price of it, matters not, they knew it was so.
Therefore, "they held their peace," and if they had done the same thing oftener, they would have done a good deal better.
"And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said unto the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took coun sel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him." (Mark 3:5-6)
Here is another element which enters in now. The Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians. The Herodians were a sect of the Jews, who stood at the extreme opposite pole from Phariseeism. They derived their title-Herodians-from being the friends, the supporters, and the rigid partisans of Herod and his house in their rule over the nation of Israel.
The Pharisees were the "godly" of the nation, especially in their own estimation. They held themselves to be the righteous ones of the nation, the ones who stood the closest to God, and therefore they stood farthest from Herod and from Rome. They despised Herod; they hated Rome.
The Herodians were the political supporters of Herod, and consequently the friends of Rome and Roman power. Therefore as denominations, as sects, the Pharisees and the Herodians were just as far apart as they could be.
Now Herod was the stranger that sat on the throne of Judah when the prophecy was fulfilled which Jacob had spoken:
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:10)
Herod, a stranger, an Idumean, a heathen, was sitting on the throne of Judah and was lawgiver to Judah by direct appointment of Rome and the Roman Senate; and they all knew that the time was come when the Messiah should appear. For when the wise men came to Jerusalem, and said,
"Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2)
Herod was troubled "and all Jerusalem with him." Why was Herod troubled and all Jerusalem with him when they heard that Christ was born? Because they knew the time was come that he should be born. And therefore they called the scribes and inquired where Christ should be born, and they said,
"...In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And you Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, are not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of you shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." (Matthew 5:6; see Micah 5:2)
Herod was that stranger, and the Pharisees hated him and his family, because he was the one from the Gentiles, from the heathen, that was ruling over the house of God, More than that, they hated Rome, because it was Roman power that not only held them down, but that held up Herod.
By this it is seen also that these Herodians were a political sect,-they were a religious sect too, for that matter, but more political than religious. They were the partisans of Herod and his household, to sustain him among the people, to plead for him, to apologize for him, and set him in the most favorable light all the time; and also, as a consequence, they had to be friendly to Rome, and do the same thing for Rome, because Roman power sustained Herod.
Now when the Pharisees saw that Christ was not going to yield to their ideas of Sabbath-keeping, they, in order to carry out their purpose to kill him,-it was a far-reaching purpose,- joined themselves, not only to their sectarian enemies, but to these particular religio-political sectarian enemies, so that they could get hold upon Herod, and at the last upon Pilate, so that they might have the government on their side, that they might have the civil power under their control, and thus make effectual their purpose to destroy Jesus. So they entered poli tics.
At the last, Herod and Pilate were made friends over this very thing; the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees took Christ to Pilate, and Pilate sent him to Herod for Herod to judge him, and he did. Then they took him again to Pilate, and they afterward, under threats, drove Pilate to judge him also.
Now we can see the far-reaching purpose which the Pharisees had in this counseling with the Herodians. It was to get both Herod's and Rome's power in their hands, to carry out their determined purpose to kill Jesus because he would not yield to their ideas of the Sabbath, and give up God's ideas of the Sabbath.
That is why they joined the Herodians-they wanted political power, and political power, too, which they themselves despised. The Pharisees despised this political power; and were professedly separated from it, and infinitely above it. They despised Herod and hated Rome, but they hated Jesus more than they hated these.
And in order to carry out their purpose against Jesus- which was as really against the Sabbath-they joined themselves to their extremest sectarian enemies, in order to get political power to carry out their wishes; because they could not carry out their wishes without political power.
Well, we may as well carry along the parallel. Haven't we and all the people seen the same thing not only in our day, but within the last five years? Haven't we seen a people professedly and confessedly separated from political power- Protestants, pledged to a total separation from political power, and having nothing whatever to do with it-haven't we seen a professed Protestantism, in plain opposition to the Sabbath of the Lord, joined with politicians and with Rome herself, the chiefest political power on earth, and religio-political also?
Haven't we seen this Protestantism taking counsel with Catholicism, to get possession of the civil power, in order to crush out of existence God's idea of the Sabbath, even the Sabbath of the Lord as he made it and as he has named it, and to set up man's, even the Sunday of the papacy, as the Catholic Church has appointed it?
Then do we not need to consider Christ Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, in his faithfulness to Sabbath- keeping in such a time as that, when we live now in just such a time?
This story of Jesus was written for us. It was written for the people who live in the United States and in the world today. Then let us see that we consider his faithfulness, and draw from him that faithfulness that will keep us as faithful to God's ideas of the Sabbath, as it kept him.
And just here is another important point. The record says:
"They were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6:11-12)
* While they were plotting, he was praying.
* While they were courting political power, he was praying for the power of God.
* While they were putting their dependence upon the power of man and earthly government, he was putting his sole dependence upon the God of heaven and earth. Let it be so now with us, and with all who would be like him.
The next instance is in the seventh chapter of John. This follows on not a great while after the other. Beginning with the first verse:
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." (John 7:1)
And why did they seek to kill him? Because he kept the Sabbath of the Lord according to God's ideas and would not surrender to them, nor their ideas.
"Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you do. For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people con cerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceives the people. Howbeit no man spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught." (John 7:2-14)
And as he was teaching in the temple:
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why go you about to kill me? The people answered and said, You have a devil; who goes about to kill you? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and you on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (John 7:19-24)
What is the controversy still? The Sabbath.
"Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ comes, will he do more miracles than these which this man has done? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him." (John 7:30-32)
But when the officers got there, they heard him speaking, and they stood there charmed, listening to his words. And when Jesus ceased speaking, they turned and went back without him to the Sanhedrin whence they were sent.
"So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spoke like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knows not the law are cursed. Nicodemus said unto them (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them), Does our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he does? They answered and said unto him, Are you also of Galilee? Search, and look; for out of Galilee arises no prophet. And every man went unto his own house." (John 7:43-53)
And in their angry zeal they were about to judge and con demn him right there, without any hearing, and without his presence even, but Nicodemus put a check upon the proceedings by the inquiry,
"Does our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he does?"
The assembly broke up and every man went unto his own house. But Jesus went unto the "Mount of Olives," (John 8:1).
* While they went on with their wicked plotting against him, he himself went to the Mount of Olives to pray, and to pray for them. (Psalm 31:13-15; 69:11-13).
* While they were allying themselves to political power, he was holding fast to God.
* While they were putting their trust in earthly power, he was showing his steadfast trust in God.