And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. ² And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ³ And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. ⁴ And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ⁵ And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. ⁶ And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. (Mark 3:1-6 KJV)

 Yeshua taught,

 If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15 KJV)

 In our zeal to demonstrate our love for our Master, and the Father, we must guard ourselves against spiritual pride and legalism.  When the Spirit of the Holy One stirs the heart of the believer, it is not uncommon for the believer to respond with zeal and fervor.  The sinner who genuinely feels the conviction of the Spirit repents of the old way of life and enthusiastically embraces a new transformed life and becomes an advocate and warrior for the new life of faith.  The same may also be said for those who have been stirred and convicted concerning the Torah observant life.  

 When a believer comes to understand the depth of YHWH’s love for them, as is given evidence in the provision of Yeshua the Messiah’s life, death, and resurrection, profound gratitude is the spontaneous and appropriate response.  Our Master, Yeshua, taught,

 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. (Luke 7:47 KJV)

 We may summarize this teaching simply as, “Those who have been forgiven little love little, and those that have been forgiven much love much.”  If we truly love YHWH we shall indeed keep his commandments with zeal and enthusiasm. 

 However, we must guard against spiritual pride and legalism.  In the story above, the Pharisees genuinely desired to keep the commandments of YHWH to the nth degree.  While we often demonize them and characterize the Pharisees as being completely vain in their piety, the truth is that their behavior was motivated by a genuine desire to keep the commandments perfectly.  The problem was not in their desire to keep the commandments perfectly.  The problem was that in their genuine desire to keep the absolute letter of the law—they lost sight of the Spirit of the Torah.  The Pharisees in the story above understood the letter of the law concerning the Sabbath.  No work could be done.  While the Torah does indeed command that we abstain from mundane labor on the Sabbath, the cessation of labor is not the point of the Sabbath.  The point of the Sabbath is that all mundane distractions and demands that draw our hearts and minds away from the Creator are removed that we may have full, undivided fellowship with the our Heavenly Father.  Healing a man with a withered hand and freeing him from the burden of his disability, even on the Sabbath, allowed the man to keep the Sabbath.  Being touched by the great love and power of YHWH in a most miraculous way, did not distract the man from YHWH but drew him even closer to the Father—the fulfilling the Torah.  Yeshua was grieved by the hardness of heart of those who would condemn him, or the man with the withered hand, for violating their well intentioned, though shallow, zeal to keep the letter of the law. 

 It is important that we remember that we all started our journey of faith somewhere else.  We all have grown in knowledge, wisdom and understanding over the years. We should also remember that keeping the Torah is a response to salvation and not the means to salvation.  It is unfortunate that so many of the brethren are quick to condemn another brother or sister to eternal damnation in the fires of hell because they do not keep the letter of the law perfectly.  We must allow for people’s love of YHWH and his Messiah to grow and lead them to a genuine faith and life.  Yeshua repeatedly rebuked the zealous Pharisees, for their judgmental, prideful, and callused attitude toward others.  You may indeed keep the letter of the law perfectly, and yet still not have kept the Torah.  The Torah is about life and love. The Torah is living.

 For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)

 It is the spirit that maketh alive; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63 KJV)

 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. (John 12:50 KJV)

 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. ⁴⁷ For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. (Deuteronomy 32:46-47 KJV)

 Our obedience must come from a genuine heart. Obedience must be the fruit of the Spirit of the Holy One working within the hearts, minds, and souls of the redeemed.  We cannot force another into genuine, heartfelt obedience; we can only inspire them and encourage them in their faith walk.  It would be wise, for all of us, to leave the judging to YHWH.  Instead we should address one another, and especially the new convert or believer, with grace, support, and loving encouragement, not legalistic demands for conformity to a dead letter.  It was through the love and mercy of YHWH as administered by Yeshua that the man with the withered hand was restored and drawn closer to YHWH, not by rigid legalistic demands.