Jesus’ Understanding of Man

Matthew 12:9-21

GOLDEN TEXT: “He needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man.”—John 2:25

THE understanding which Jesus had of man, an understanding which was His because of His ability to read the human heart, was far from complimentary. Man, judging himself by the standards of men, and basing his judgment solely upon outward appearances, is quite likely to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Indeed, human appraisal of man usually tends toward pride, boastfulness and arrogance. It has been said by those who fail to discern the fallen condition of the human race, that the greatest study of man is man. Little do the wise of this world realize that a study of man, leading to a discovery of his true condition, would be most humiliating, and, apart from the provisions of divine grace through Christ, most discouraging.

The wondrous love of God and of Jesus is emphasized by the fact that they understand the real fallen state of the human race, yet continue to love them. Jesus being able to read human nature, would surely know the truthfulness of the prophet’s words that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jer. 17:9) How utterly wicked, indeed, were the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who continued to persecute Him until they succeeded in killing Him upon the cross, although He had done naught but good.

Today’s lesson reveals fallen man in a most hideous light. While the scribes and Pharisees in this instance are the object lesson, yet who can say that the hearts of many of those directly benefited by the Master’s ministry were any more lovable than were those of the Pharisees? In some few instances those whom He miraculously healed came back to give thanks. Some of them became His disciples, but it is quite possible that many did no more about it, perhaps, than to refrain from joining the persecutors.

We are not to suppose that the scribes and Pharisees were so degraded that they deplored the thought of some of their fellow men being helped. Their selfish jealousy flamed into bitter action against the Master, not because He did good, but because the goodness of what He did on behalf of the people tended to weaken their own hold upon them. The empty shell of their glory was collapsing under the weight of public opinion as the people of Israel compared the little the Pharisees did for them and the big show made in doing this little, with the genuine blessings Jesus was dispensing unselfishly and without vainglory.

Comparisons, it is said, are odious, and they surely must have been for the Pharisees. It was this, largely, that lay at the root of their intense hatred for the Master. There is nothing more blinding to reason than hatred and jealousy. Anyone who views facts through glasses stained and distorted by these elements of selfishness is sure to see things wrongly. It was so with the Pharisees; it is still true today. Jealousy is an insidious disease against which we should all be on guard. Once its venom poisons the spiritual bloodstream of a Christian it is difficult to effect a cure.

If, when our hearts are pure, we rejoice in the good works of others, and then later find ourselves criticizing and condemning that in which we once rejoiced, we should arouse ourselves and examine our hearts in the light of the Great Physician’s Word, with the view of applying a suitable remedy to destroy the small beginnings of infection which, if left alone, might prove fatal. It is well that we pray, “Cleanse Thou me from secret faults,” (Psa. 19:12) but we should remember that the keeping of our hearts is our own responsibility. And we are to keep our hearts “with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”—Prov. 4:23

The manner in which jealousy distorted the reasoning of the scribes and the Pharisees is clearly shown in our lesson. Jesus entered into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, a day of rest for Israel. According to the law no work was to he done on this day. They should have known that this provision of the law applied primarily to work which ordinarily they would consider necessary to their sustenance and life. To rest from such labor, therefore, exemplified their faith in God’s ability to care for them. It was illustrative of the Christian’s rest of faith in the finished work of Christ.

There was nothing either in the letter or in the spirit of this commandment to make sinful a work of healing the sick on the Sabbath. In their saner moments doubtless the Pharisees knew this, but when jealousy and pride seize control of men’s minds and hearts they are no longer wholly sane. They lose their sense of values. Nothing longer appears in its true light. Jesus’ own reasoning on the subject (John 7:23,24) may have convinced some of His hearers, but the scribes and Pharisees did not want to be convinced. All they wanted was an excuse to get rid of the one who was taking away their glory. Selfishness, therefore, not love, was interpreting the Scriptures for them and the interpretation was wrong. It usually is under such circumstances.

QUESTIONS:

Upon what did Jesus base His judgment of the moral qualities of man?

Is it possible for Christians today to become infected with the venom of jealousy?

Do selfish motives lead to true interpretations of the Bible?

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