The Hammer of Condemnation

The Law was set up to protect God’s people – it was never meant to be a ‘hammer’ administered by a few leaders as they sat in judgment over common people. But the Pharisees made it into an unimaginable burden which they used to fling guilt and pain on those who didn’t follow their interpretation of it.

Such was the case when Jesus and His disciples passed through fields of grain on the Sabbath, pulling ripe heads here and there to fill their empty stomachs (Luke 6). A Pharisee stood watching them, eager to accuse Jesus of breaking the Law, ready to step on Jesus and prove his own superior position as an authority over the Him. 

“You don’t understand the Law,” Jesus told the Pharisee. “Don’t you see that God desires mercy, not your rigid misinterpretation of the Law? "Hunger knows no law and God has made provision for the poor to eat instead of faint and be ill" (Deut. 23:25). But this didn’t sway the Pharisees; they continued to follow Jesus to see if He would heal anyone on the Sabbath.

These self-righteous leaders were desperate to find something wrong with Jesus! They craved power so they twisted the Word of God to their liking, putting it on people’s backs like sacks of flour - all the while waiting and watching to see who might drop the sack. Then they condemned those who couldn’t carry the burden, humiliating them publicly. They carried a critical and fault-finding Spirit which sought to condemn people instead of seeing the workings of God. 

The Law and the New Testament are about loving God and serving people. If we walk in constant condemnation of others we will find ourselves at odds with the entire Body of Christ. We are called to be modern day dispensers of grace and truth, carrying God’s word of mercy. Love kindness, be discreet, have pity and compassion, and hold close to God’s motives!