Reboot!

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” ⁵ And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶ On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand. ”And he did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. – Luke 6:1-11 [ESV]

It has become a lot less frequent over the years. But you may recall the days when rebooting your computer was nearly a daily necessity. Some program would clash with another. Or maybe you just wanted to switch programs. Shut down one. Open another. But even then there was sometimes that stray electron, a missed switch on a transistor, or a corrupt file. Reboot!

Jesus’ ministry required a reboot for many people of his day. In fact it calls for a constant and complete reboots for everyone. Even today. 

The Pharisees needed a reboot in their understanding of God’s Law. They knew it well. But they had turned it on its head. They made the Law their master – and not in the manner that Paul speaks of in Galatians 3:24. God’s intent for the Law was to guide us to Christ. They thought the Law was a means only to set themselves apart as God’s people. It was that and more. More importantly it was God’s way of showing their need for a Savior from Sin. They worked as hard as they could to avoid needing such a Savior. 

But here comes Jesus. Turning things right-side-up again. The Sabbath was made for man. Man is lord of the sabbath. Of course when Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man, he is invoking his identity as the messiah. This is not a self-deprecating reference. He will approach the Ancient of Days,

And to him was given dominion
    and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
    that shall not be destroyed.  – Daniel 7:13-14

Now they must reboot twice! Jesus is claiming to be the Son of Man. They will bow down to him. They will submit to his authority. That is quite a reboot! Not a happy one. One they will strongly resist. 

But they’re not the only ones who will need to reboot. And those will be happier for it. Some will need to reboot their life of disease, fear, subjugation, grovelling, and obiescence. They will see their lives changed remarkably for the better. Their sins will be forgiven. Their diseases will be healed. Their hearts will be cleansed. O happy day!

But for those who have had that second kind of reboot realize it’s not a one and done deal. Scripture talks about the need to repent and believe the Good News. But that’s not a one time event. Daily we are to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Daily we are to turn away from sin. Daily we are to reboot.

It does get old. We quickly wish we didn’t have to turn off the computer and start it up again. But when we do, the machine runs far better. So too for us. When we do repent, shut down the old programs of deceit, lust, sloth, angert, pride, envy, avarice, fear, and gluttony, (the seven deadly sins plus two), and start anew, we are the better for it. That’s no guarantee of success, diamond rings, yachts, and mansions. But it is the way of peace of heart and soul, hope and joy, love and peace. That’s a reboot we can all beenfit from!