Matthew 12:1-8

Matthew 12:1-8
English Standard Version (ESV)

   I enjoy watching football, and one thing I've always found odd is the way we celebrate when the opposition misses a field goal.  I understand that they're prevented from getting three points, but it's usually through no good work by the defense -- it's simply a matter of the ball coming off the foot of the kicker wrong.  So while the defense celebrates, they didn't really do anything to prevent the other team from scoring -- they benefited from the mistake of the other team.  The outcome is the same, but I feel much better about the result when the offense manages to score three points than when the other team blunders their way out of three points.
  When Jesus addresses the Pharisees, he's often trying to make a point to them that they're trying to arrive at the endpoint via the wrong path.  Their stated intention is good -- to honor God -- but the convoluted way they're getting their ends up trying to bring honor to themselves and tear down the works of others.  They've got it all backwards, where they spend more time attacking others than trying to do their own good works.  They aren't building up, they're tearing down, and as a result, Jesus confronts their hypocrisy.
  As you can imagine, the Pharisees don't take kindly to this correction.  I also have a hard time hearing correction, because I like to think I'm usually right, and that the intentions of my heart are always pure.  They're not.  I need to hear Jesus confront the idols I have built, and I need to recognize that tearing down someone else doesn't build me up -- it only weakens the community.  We're here together, and wherever I can encourage and lift up, God is honored in that.