Based upon Mark 3: 1-6
Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2025
Offered by Mel Prestamo, Ruling Elder PCUSA to the congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Bound Brook, NJ
So, I will begin today by asking you the same question that Jesus asked the religious leaders of the synagogue. “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil?” Consider the question. Is it lawful to do good or is it lawful to do evil?
As Jesus entered the synagogue that Sabbath day standing around him were the religious leaders and the deputies of the Sanhedrin. They were watching his every move – listening to his every word hoping only to find an opportunity to accuse him of breaking the law – that’s their own Jewish law with a small “l”, not God’s Law with a capital “L”. They were looking for grounds so that they could arrest him.
Jesus was gaining a reputation as a troublesome teacher. The word was out that he should not be allowed to teach in the synagogues. Those doors were closing to him. That is why we have gospel stories of his teaching on the hill sides and from boats on the shorelines. And if he showed up, he was to be watched carefully for infractions of their law. It was actually a great show of courage for him to confront this danger and to go and teach inside a synagogue. But Jesus’ trust was in the Lord.
Proverbs 3: verses 5-6 teach us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Being barred access to synagogues and teaching centers were now the circumstances Jesus was finding himself in. It was dangerous for him to enter them. The orthodox leaders of the religious community were aware of his controversial teachings and were at odds with him. He wasn’t keeping the law. Specifically, he was healing people on the Sabbath. That is why they were there. Would he break the law, yet again? If he did, then they could pounce. They were ready. The deputies of the Sanhedrin were the policing agents authorized to arrest and take him in for trial.
That is the backdrop for what is happening in the Synagogue that day.
This is the scene. There was a man standing in the congregation. According to writings called the Gospel of the Hebrews, he was a stone mason. We have limited fragments of these writings, and I referenced them here because I believe it helps us to understand what is happening. His hand and arm had been injured in an accident, and he was no longer able to work at his trade. I would suggest that he may have come to the synagogue that day hoping that this miracle working Rabbi might see him, have mercy on him and heal his injury. Make him whole again.
Jesus calls him to the center of the congregation. Jesus turns to the synagogue leaders and the deputies of the Sanhedrin and asks them the question, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or evil?”
Now I have asked you this same question already and I can hear you thinking out loud in your heads. Dah! Of course. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Of course we should do good on the Sabbath. Why would you ask such a question?
Well, for the orthodox leaders of the synagogue and the deputies of the Sanhedrin, the answer to that question wasn’t so simple. You see they had a law – again that’s law with a small “l” – and they ardently followed that law. Their law was the foundation of their religious rituals. And that law told them that work on the Sabbath was forbidden. And healing, according to their law, was work. You see Jewish law was very detailed on this matter.
According to Jewish law, medical attention on the Sabbath could only be given if a life was in danger. And healing someone on the Sabbath whose life was not threatened was forbidden work.
Bible scholar William Barclay explains some of the details of the law regarding work on the Sabbath. For instance, you could help a woman in childbirth because her life might be in danger. But if a wall fell on someone, you could only clear enough of the wall to see if he was alive. If he was alive, you could help him but only to the point that he was stabilized. But if he was dead, the body had to be left for the next day to clear away. If the family wanted to remove the body, they could not. That is how detailed the law was in limiting what work you were allowed to do on the Sabbath and specifying what you were not allowed to do. This man who Jesus called to the center of the congregation was not in danger of losing his life. His arm was injured in an accident, but it was not life threatening. According to the law, a fracture could not be attended to. You could keep it from getting worse, but you could not make it better or heal it.
So, for these believers in the orthodoxy of their law, this was not a simple question to answer. Everything they believed – that their religious law told them was that healing was work and work on the Sabbath was unlawful. It was a crime. When Jesus healed that was work and on the Sabbath that work was a crime. By their definition, Jesus was evil.
But the question Jesus asked them was, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or to do evil?” He didn’t ask if it was lawful to heal which was all they were there to determine. Their myopic focus on their law prevented them from hearing and seeing the Word of God.
Jesus knew the Jewish law, but he also knew God’s Law and more importantly God’s Will and by that, I mean that Jesus understood the spirit of God’s Law. The spirit of God’s Law and God’s Will is that we be compassionate and to do the work of healing the brokenness of Creation. Jesus is telling them that God’s Will is that we do good on any and every day and that includes the Sabbath.
Now, be alert to also hear the flip side of Jesus’ question. What Jesus is suggesting in his question is that if is unlawful to do good, does it become lawful to do evil. Because in Jesus’ mind leaving this man broken as he is – without showing love and compassion – is the same thing as doing evil. That is the conundrum Jesus is presenting to them. That is the conclusion that their Jewish law would point them to.
Jesus’ question challenged the very foundation stones of Jewish law and its religious rituals. And to that challenge, the religious leaders had no answer.
Jesus called this man to the center of the congregation hoping that the religious leaders would see him and have sympathy for his plight. But they did not. As shepherds of God’s fold, they were failing in their charge. Their rituals and law had become more important to them than the welfare of the people.
So, they didn’t answer. They stood there silent. The gospel text tells us that Jesus became angry. The text tells us that “he was grieved at the obtrusiveness of their hearts.” Jesus became angry that when these shepherds of God’s fold were faced with the question of whether the law allowed them to do good or if it required them to do evil, the religious leaders stood fast and remained silent. They knew the people there would want the man to be healed. The man wanted to be healed. But their law didn’t allow it. So, they didn’t answer him.
Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand for all to see. And there before them all, his hand was restored.
Now there is some fine print in this story probably more important than the miracle that Jesus performed. Come with me to dig deeper into its meaning. This incident was a head on clash of two very fundamental ideas of what religion is.
Bible scholar William Barclay breaks it down this way. For the Pharisees, synagogue leaders, and the Sanhedrin, religion was ritual. For them the practice of their religion meant obeying rules and regulations. But their rules provided them with only rituals to follow in their practice of religion. And by obtrusively following their rules, they were closing their hearts from seeing the needs of God’s children. Those were their rules, and Jesus broke their rules, and then because Jesus broke the rules they were convinced he was evil. He was evil and he needed to be eliminated.
That brings us to Jesus’ second question that were heard later in the text. “Is it lawful to save a life, or to kill it?”
The final verse in our reading today tells us that the Pharisees immediately met with the Herodians [agents of Herod] to concoct a plot against Jesus. Their intention was to eliminate him – to kill him.
Jesus’ second question struck at the very heart of their intentions. These religious leaders cared nothing about the Law – that’s God’s Law with a capital “L”. God’s Law stated quite clearly that “…thou shall not commit murder.” Yet that is exactly what they were plotting to do. They were going to break a core commandment of God’s Law in order that they could protect the integrity of their law – again that is law with a lower case “l”. Their rituals were more important to them than opening their hearts to the Word of God standing before them.
Jesus, on the other hand has a different notion of what religious practices should be. Jesus’ idea of religion was service. For Jesus religion meant love of God AND love of neighbor. Being a servant that brings God’s love and compassion to our neighbors and to others was the most important thing he could teach them. Barclay writes, “Rituals were irrelevant when compared to love in action.” But their hearts were obtuse. They were hardened and could not see what it was that God’s Law required of them. They could not see how love would enter into the fray. To quote from Tina Turners’s lyrics, “What’s love got to do with it?”
But that’s exactly what Jesus was all about – service borne out of love. This is his message. This is his good news. And they – the religious leaders – didn’t get it. They couldn’t see it. They couldn’t understand it. Their rituals and their law didn’t allow for it. When confronted with the needs of the people, they did not act. They remained silent.
And that my friends is the lesson we have to grapple with today. When confronted with the needs of our neighbors and others around us, how do we act? Do we reflect God’s love and compassion?
There is hunger in our communities. There is homelessness. There are people living in fear. Like Jesus’ disciples, they are hiding behind closed doors living in fear of the authorities. How do we respond to the cry of human need from our neighbors and others?
We are here today to worship God. But if all this is only ritual and not a call to service, then what are we doing? We can go through the motions – sing hymns, say prayers, participate in Communion – and we can look like a good and priestly people but that’s not the same as being a servant people.
That is what Jesus was trying to explain to the religious leaders in the synagogue that day and it is also what Jesus wants to say to us. Don’t let the practice of religion become ritual. Don’t let your minds and hearts fall into that trap of doing things and thinking that is what God desires of you. Jesus wants us to approach God with a heart yearning to serve God by sharing God’s love and compassion with everyone who needs to be comforted.
Remember at the end times, the Son of Man will gather all the nations before him. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”
Then perhaps without thinking you might respond, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothed you?When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
Then our Lord will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”
Jesus is telling us that sharing God’s love and compassion with our neighbors and with the others who are hungry, homeless, hurting and in need of healing is what Jesus calls his servant people to do.
My friends, during this Advent Season as you prepare for the day of the coming of the Christ child don’t let rituals decorate your path. Let your prayers be heartfelt and intentional. Sing your hymns with praiseful fervor. When you share Communion celebrate it knowing Jesus gave us this meal to do it in remembrance of him. But not only remembering his sacrifice on the Cross but also to remember his love and compassion for us.
As Christmas Day [the coming of the Christ] approaches, prepare for it knowing that your redeemer came to walk and live among us. Know that he came to show us what a life of love, compassion and service looks like. The life of a servant people is what we are called to. Sharing God’s message of love and compassion and healing with your friends, your neighbors and the others you do not know is the service life we are called to. This is the Sabbath work that is good and that we are called to do.
Charge to Congregation:
My friends, my charge to you this week is this. As you journey through this Advent Season examine your rituals: the lighting of the Advent candles, the hymns you sing, the prayers you recite, and the your devotions each day and make sure you do them with a desire to be God’s servant people to the world infusing everything you do with God’s love and compassion for all God’s children.
