To Cripple or Restore?

"And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him" (Matt 12:9-14).

Are we out to cripple the body of Christ, or to restore it? Are we set on keeping men bound, broken and needy, or do we really want them to be perfected (Eph 4:11-12)?

I love what my pastor always says: "I'm working myself out of a job!" That should be the desire of every real minister of the Gospel.

How sad that the zeal and energies of the Pharisees were concentrated on strife and accusation rather than on the physical and spiritual needs of the crippled man! This is "religion" at it's core - when void of real life; this is why Jesus despised it as He did: "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work" (Jas 3:16). Religion became a facade, rather than a state of the heart. It quickly came to mean clinging to a pacifying set of rules and regulations, rather than chasing a way of life and pursuing a positive mode of glorious existence! This was the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus came to live that life by example, while the Pharisees were out to destroy Him and His testimony. Jesus came to restore the body, while the religious leaders demanded them to remain lost and crippled, under their control. Jesus came to enter within the veil as a forerunner, while the Pharisees sought to widen the gap between God and man.. How scary!

No wonder Scripture describes such a person as spots in your love feasts, clouds without water, trees with withered fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, wandering stars, raging waves of the sea, (Jd 12-13); casting up mire and dirt (Isa 57:20); wells without water, clouds full of tempest (2 Pet 2:17); men taken in cunning craftiness, lying in wait to deceive (Eph 4:14); mystery Babylon - drunk with the very blood of God's saints (Rev 17:4-6)!

Yet how lovingly opposite this is to the heart of God! What an absolute clash of motive, heart, mission and goal! It's difficult to comprehend how the Lord of glory could be so dramatically different than those who claimed to represent His Father! Is this still the case? Are we out to cripple the body of Christ, or to restore it?