Matthew 12:9-12—Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “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.”
Orthodox Jews understand that 39 kinds of work are forbidden on the Sabbath under prevailing Halakah. The Pharisees were experts in the law. Today we would consider them legalists. We recognize them as the black and white thinkers among our friends, co-workers and relatives. In fact we ourselves may be wired as such. Every society needs law-proponents. But if taken to the extreme, legalism may spawn five serious problems.
1. Legalism is burdensome and a joy-killer. When Jesus offered to give rest to those weary and burdened in Mat.11:28, part of the load the people were carrying was trying to live up to a multitude of laws. For example, M Hagigah 1:8 says, “the rules about the Sabbath . . . are as mountains hanging by a hair, for [teaching of] Scripture [thereon] is scanty and the rules many” M Hagigah 1:8. I don’t know about you, but whenever I am around unbalanced legalists I find my joy sapped by the ever-flowing stream of attention to the nit nat and nit noid.
2. Legalism draws attention to its possessor. Jesus said of the religious leaders—“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi’” (Mat.23:5-7).
3. Legalism preserves the tree at the expense of the forest. It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive--Earl Warren. Those who focus on the letter of the law often miss the intent for which the law originated.
4. Legalism is often symptomatic of a deeper issue: jealousy, insecurity, fear, unbelief.
In my opinion, unbelief is the root cause of all legalism. How? It refuses to accept God’s covenant promises—that His Spirit will subdue our sins, empower us to obey, instill His fear in us, cause us to walk uprightly, give us a hatred for sin. When we depart from the truth of God’s covenant, no longer trusting and waiting on Him to do the work, we turn to legalism. We construct our own set of rigid rules devoid of the Spirit’s power—David Wilkerson
5. Legalism is often fraught with muddy thinking and double standards. After Jesus healed the man’s shriveled hand in the synagogue, the Pharisees went out and plotted killing Him. How could men passionate to preserve the Sabbath conspire to murder?! They were not infuriated by Jesus breaking Sabbath rules. They were angry because of His claims of authority (Mat.12:6,8). Jesus taught: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them . . . The greatest among you will be your servant” (Mat. 23:2-4, 11).
Does this mean we have the freedom to chuck the law or think less of legalists? No! For Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mat.
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