A TALE OF TWO RESPONSES (2): LEGALISM

(Luke 13:14-17)
October 18, 2015
Read Lu 10-17 Just prior to the text we have read, Jesus has been talking
about the importance of bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. Luke
follows with a dramatic illustration from another occasion showing two
responses to Jesus message one fruitful, one fruitless. One is a response of
grace thru faith. The other is a response of legalism. Luke wants us to choose
grace as seen in the disabled woman. Hopelessly deformed, she responds to
Jesus call and is healed, illustrating physically what Jesus can do spiritually.
But the woman is not the only actor in this drama. After the healing, the ruler
of the synagogue weighs in. And he is not happy. Amazing, isnt it? This guy
is in charge of a place dedicated to the worship of God and benefit of people.
He should have been overjoyed to see the power of God demonstrated in this
extraordinary way in his synagogue, and to the benefit of this poor, helpless
woman. Instead, he is indignant that Jesus would violate his Sabbath rules.
What caused this irrational reaction? I can answer in one word legalism.
This man was a legalist. And his reaction shows us the dramatic contrast
between grace and legalism. One is in submission to Christ and loves Him
wholeheartedly. The other sits in judgment of Christ and hates his call for
repentance. And the question this poses for us is -- which are we?
Now, I mentioned last week that many people think law and grace are at odds
with each other. Competitors! But that is wrong. Law and grace work handin-glove to bring us to Christ. Some think the law was meant to save. It was
not! It has 2 great purposes neither of which was to save anyone. FIRST, it
shows us our need that we are so morally bent that we could never save
ourselves. We need a Savior. SECOND, it shows how to live a fruitful life of
love for God after we are saved. The law condemns us, yes, but it is good in
its purposes to show 1) our need and 2) to light our path after salvation.
The problem isnt law. The problem is legalism which is the misuse of the law.
Legalism is the act of using the law to earn Gods favor instead of accepting
the gift of Gods favor. Legalism is me trying to earn what I can only have as a
gift. Legalism is me playing God instead of submitting to God.

Anyone know what a wine brick is? You were probably drinking during
prohibition if you do! When wine was outlawed, bootleggers began to press
grape concentrate into the form of bricks, which was not against the law. The
label warned, "Do not let this brick sit in a gallon of water for 21 days. It will
ferment and become illegal wine." Wine bricks were a way of circumventing
the law, and thats what legalists do. No one could actually keep the law as
written by God. So the scribes and Pharisees over time added interpretations
they could keep and declared themselves clean. They circumvented the law
by their legalistic tag-ons. BUT God, of course, was not fooled. He saw their
hearts. He knew. They only fooled themselves. They were tragically bound up
in a system of regulations that kept them from true repentance. And the result
is evident in this man. This is where legalism leads. Heres what it looks like.
I.

Its Compassionless

A woman who has been 18 years bent and broken is now standing straight and
tall completely and gloriously healed. And this guy hardly notices. Why?
Because legalism is heartless. It cares nothing for people, only for rules. It is
loveless, joyless and crushing. Legalists gladly condemn anyone who fails to
keep the rules as they understand them. Just like this man would willingly
have consigned this woman to her former brokenness -- for the sake of the
rules as he understood them. He was indignant. Look what he says in v. 14,
There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and
be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. If he could have, hed have bent her
over again and said, Were closed for healing. Come back tomorrow.
It was exactly this kind of legalistic cruelty that led to the Reformation.
Martin Luther was a legalist thinking, because thats what hed been taught
that he must keep the law. He agonized as few people ever over his sin,
sometimes spending 6 hours a day in confession. He wore his confessors out.
One told him, Martin, go out and steal something or kill someone. Do
something worth confessing! Yet Luther despaired of his salvation. He
hated the God who put such demands on him. But when he began to study the
Bible and found among others Rom 1:17, The just shall live by faith it
changed his life. He realized it was not what he did, but what Christ had
already done that mattered. Salvation was a gift to accept, not a position to
earn!
But though Martin Luther got it, he was still living in a society and church that
definitely did not. By the Middle Ages legalism had replaced grace in the
2

message of the church. It now offered salvation by grace through faith PLUS
works first baptism and then ongoing confession and penance to restore
salvation anytime sin intervened. There was no assurance only fear. Last
rites were imposed at death on penalty of losing ones salvation. Purgatory
hung over everyones head. Heartless legalism. The last straw for Luther was
when Friar Johann Tetzel rolled into town selling indulgences get out of
jail free passes for release from purgatory based on excess merit earned by
saints. He had a catchy advertising jingle. As soon as the coin in the coffer
rings, the soul from purgatory springs. The church was fleecing people.
Just as the Pharisees had corrupted the OT by their traditions, the Roman
church had corrupted the gospel message with their heartless, legalistic
traditions. Tradition meant more than Scripture; ritual more than
relationship.
Luther saw through it all as he examined Scripture and found nothing about
grace plus works for salvation, no excess merit, no penance, no last rites, no
purgatory or indulgences. He said, Enough, posted his 95 theses and
refused to back down when threatened with death if he would not recant. But
thats legalism, Beloved. Rules replace relationship, but you can never be
sure when enough is enough. It is a power play with no assurance of anything.
And we do the same when we impose rules not found in Scripture.
II.

Its Truthless

Look at the synagogue ruler in v. 14, There are six days in which work ought
to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.
Ive got a question. If that woman had come on Wednesday, would that guy
have been able to heal her? No way. Shed been around for 18 years with no
healing. Legalism promises what only the power of God can deliver. She
would never have found healing from this man, no matter the day. Legalism
was powerless to heal. And legalism is powerless to save.
But there is a whole world of people out there who believe legalisms lie that
if they are good enough, it can save them. Just keep the rules at least most of
the time. Legalism will do it. They do not believe Jesus when He says, I am
the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except thru me.
They believe legalism when it says, You can come to the Father on your
own. You dont need Jesus. Youre good enough. So who do you believe?

Suppose an edict went out that everyone was going to jail unless they bought
their way out. You start counting your dollars, but pretty soon, you want to
know, How much will it take? You turn on the TV hoping to find out. Thats
when you hear: Breaking news. This just in. Among those picked up just
this morning for inability to buy their way out of jail were Donald Trump,
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. What do you do? Well its for sure youd
quit counting, right? If those guys cant make it, we sure dont have a chance.
Thats legalism. Itll put you into a hole that you cant get out of. In Jesus
parable in Luke 16, it wasnt the rich man who was in paradise with
Abraham? It was Lazarus the beggar. The rich man lifted up his eyes in hell.
Couldnt buy his way out; couldnt earn his way out; couldnt moralize his
way out. Hell wont be mainly populated with really bad people, Beloved. It
will be filled with nice people who thought they were good enough, but
werent! That rich, young ruler, who thought hed kept the whole law wasnt
good enough as Jesus pointed out with one demand. Legalism lies through its
teeth. It says you can earn your way to God or buy your way to God or
moralize your way to God all lies. It is truthless and it is powerless.
III.

Its Characterless

15

Then the Lord answered him, You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the
Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water
it? You hypocrites! Jesus says. Lets take off the masks. Youre just a
bunch of hypocrites. Why? They care more about their livestock than they
do the healing of this poor woman.
There are two plays on words that help our understanding here. Look at v. 12,
Woman, you are freed from your disability. The word freed is literally
loosed. [apoluo]. Jesus loosed this woman from her 18-year captivity to
Satan. Now look at v. 15 where Jesus notes each of you on the Sabbath untie
(same word looses -- luo) his ox to give it water. Now v. 16: And ought
not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years,
be loosed [luo] from this bond on the Sabbath day? You guys give
yourselves a waiver to loose your animals to get water on the Sabbath, but
youve no compassion for my loosing this woman from the bondage to Satan
that has left her a wretched, crippled mess. Youre just a bunch of hypocrites.
And He goes further. The synagogue ruler says in v. 14: There are six days in
which work ought (it is necessary) to be done. Jesus responds in v. 16, And
ought not (is it not necessary) this woman . . . be loosed? So the ruler says,
4

It is necessary not to heal on the Sabbath; Jesus says, You got that all
wrong. Whats necessary is that this woman be loosed (given rest) from
Satans power on the day of rest. This is what Sabbath is all about. You
know rules, but you know nothing of the spirit behind the rules; you know
ritual, but you know nothing of the heart of God. You are hypocrites,
pretending to know what you know nothing about. Legalism is always
hypocritical. It always has one set of rules for self and another set for others. It
is always about compromise and loopholes and rationalization; it knows
nothing of relationship.
A cartoon shows a forlorn looking man standing at the Marriage License
bureau. The clerk says to him, Will you please stop coming in here, sir. Your
license hasnt expired -- and its not going to expire! That guy was looking
for a loophole, not a relationship. Thats what legalists do. How much can I
get away with and still get in? What can I do and God still has to take me? If
that is you, legalism is killing you just like it was this man.
IV.

Its Christless

Thats because it doesnt care about a relationship with Jesus. It only cares
about rules. It just wants to know whats the minimum requirement.
Relationships are demanding. Law-keeping is easy by comparison. This
woman walked away knowing Christ as Savior and Lord. This man walked
away judging Christ. He was Christless.
That doesnt mean he didnt know about Jesus. He did. It doesnt mean he
might not have thought he was a pretty good guy. He probably did. The
problem was, he believed in himself instead of Jesus. He judged Jesus
rather than believing Him. Thats a disease thats epidemic in our own world.
People are happy to acknowledge that Jesus was a pretty good guy a great
prophet, perhaps. Someone to be admired. But God in the flesh. Now way!
May I say that if that is you, you are Christless this morning. To think of Jesus
as anything less than God is to deny His very Person. So you may know a lot
about Him, but you dont know Him. Your refusing to believe He is Lord
does not make it any less true. Paul says in Col 1:19, For in him all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell. This was no ordinary but great man,
Beloved. Not just a fine prophet or wise guru of some kind. This was God in
human form, and until you acknowledge that, you are Christless.
5

One of the great proofs that Jesus is God is the fact that credible Jewish people
believed in Him. Had He been in an Eastern country where they believe God
is all and all is God, it would have easy to accept another deity. But the Jews
believed in the God of the Bible -- a single God who resided outside of
creation a being of infinite greatness, without beginning or end, uncreated
and with infinite power and glory. But the core of Jewish faith is the shema
Deut 6:4-5: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall
love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might. Now here comes a very normal, average looking guy, one who
had no form or majesty that we should look at him (Isa 53:2), saying, I am
God. And many believed. Why? Because when they looked at Him they saw
perfection. They saw grace and truth personified. Never a misstep; never a
slip up. He was tenderness and love and power all rolled into one. And then to
top it off, He died and rose again. Listen, Beloved, if you dont know Christ
as God, you dont know Christ. If you are judging Him rather than believing
Him, you are in line with this synagogue ruler, and you are Christless.
V.

Its Salvationless

Jesus makes this point in a dramatic way here. Look at v. 16 again: And
ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham stop there. In calling her a
daughter of Abraham, Jesus was drawing an intentional contrast. Everyone
there thought they were sons and daughters of Abraham, but Jesus is pointing
to this woman and saying, There there is a true daughter of Abraham.
She was not just Abrahams physical descendent; she was his spiritual
descendant as well, and that makes all the difference. It is not enough to be a
child of Abraham by birth; one must also be a child of Abraham by re-birth.
Throughout the OT, God emphasized this truth. In passages like Deut 10:16,
God challenges, Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no
longer stubborn. You dont rid of sin by some limited degree of outward
connection or obedience. You get rid of sin by turning from sin in your heart.
Paul absolutely nails this truth: Rom 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely
one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one
inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the
letter. His praise is not from man but from God. The Pharisees and this
synagogue ruler were more interested in the praise of man than the praise of
God. But God warned thru David, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psa 51:17). Thats
what the woman had that the ruler did not. And with that she had salvation and
he did not. Legalism is always salvationless.
Conc Let me close with this. The flight attendant came over the intercom
and said, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to Honolulu.
Then as the plane touched ground she added, Id like to welcome you to
Honolulu. Unfortunately, were in Fresno. Now thats funny, sort of. But it
will not be funny when the voice of legalism says one day, I like to welcome
you to heaven. Unfortunately we didnt make it. Dont let that be you,
Beloved. Choose grace. Lets pray.