DEARLY
BELOVED
Sixth
of twelve devotions in Advent Parallel
Bible Study series
Isaiah
42:1-4, Matthew 12:16-21
Isaiah
42:1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit in Him and He will bring
justice to the nations.”
Advent introduces Jesus, here named God’s
servant.
Just like human parents love their
children, God the Father loves His Son Jesus. Jesus fulfilled every Law, and finished
everything the Father sent Him to do. He
obeyed every command, living out the Father’s will without ever sinning. Jesus mirrors the Father.
Matthew 12 shows Jesus and His
disciples walking through grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began picking
heads of grain to munch on. The
Pharisees—teachers of the Law—saw this.
They attacked Jesus for breaking the Sabbath Law of doing no work.
Jesus defended His disciples, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions
were hungry? He entered the house of
God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful
for them to do, but only for the priests.
Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the
temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is
here. If you had known what these words
mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the
innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of
the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:3-8).
A
man with a shriveled hand was at the synagogue. Again, the Pharisees confronted Jesus. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” they
asked.
Jesus patiently illustrated, “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 Jesus said
to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched out his hand. It was miraculously restored. (Matthew 12:11-13).
Jesus only did the Father’s will.
Take
Home Nugget
Ten year old Jeremy followed
his dad’s instructions when washing the family’s car. When the job was done, his dad checked it
out. “Good job, son” he said. “I’m very proud of you!”
Matthew 12:18 shows God’s praise of
His Son, (parallel to the opening Scripture), “Here is My servant whom I have
chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He
will proclaim justice to the nations.” Check the lesson linked below, for more parallel
Scripture.
Everyone who believes in Jesus is also dearly beloved by the Father.
J.D. Griffith
A
personal, private lesson experience with our staff
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