SCRIPTURE UNION DAILY GUIDE DEVOTIONAL FOR JANUARY 6, 2023 (THE LETTER OF THE LAW AND TYE SPIRIT OF THE LAW)
TOPIC : THE LETTER OF THE LAW AND TYE SPIRIT OF THE LAW
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, grant me understanding and illumination as I ponder on your word in Jesus name.
SCRIPTURE: MARK 2: 23-3:6
Question(s) for Reflection
• Q 5: Is there any warning for me to heed?
MESSAGE
The Pharisees were very keen to keep the letter of the Law, but Jesus Christ was much more concerned with the spirit of the Law. The Law instructed farmers to leave some standing grains in their fields for the benefit of those in need (Leviticus 19:9-10).
By picking the ears of corn to eat in these verses, the disciples of Jesus Christ were doing what the Law allowed.
However, as one Yoruba proverb says, ‘the throat does not know Sunday’; and these disciples were trying to satisfy their hunger on the Sabbath.
Using a biblical example which the Pharisees could not contradict, Jesus Christ explained that what they did was perfectly legitimate (vs.25-26).
These teachers of the Law evidently failed to understand what Jesus said about the purpose of the Law and His own authority in vs.27-28.
The healing in the synagogue on a Sabbath explained it in an unmistakable manner (3:5). Out of their concern for the letter of the Law, their reaction was a deliberate plan to break both the letter and the spirit of the Law (v.6; Exodus 20:13)!
• Any new insight or reinforcement of what you already know?
Closing Prayer
Father, please help us as your Church today to care more about the spirit rather than the letter of the Law, through Jesus Christ who is the fulfilment of the Law.
Offer a prayer of faith in line with Isaiah 43:2
One Year Bible Reading Plan
Genesis 9, Psalms 8.
