On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him. [Luke 6.6-11]
People today still want to fuss over the Sabbath. The Sabbath remains a big deal, and justifiably so. God included it in the Ten Commandments!
Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. [Exodus 20.8]
Question: What could be more holy on the Sabbath day than to witness the goodness of God miraculously heal a man's withered hand?
Now, before we get all tunnel-visioned about miracles on the Sabbath being an exception to the rule, we need to recall another scripture read in today's OYCB reading.
At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” [Matthew 12.1-2]
The passage above records a simple act of picking enough grain on the spot to eat (Luke's account included them rubbing the husks off in their hands). No miracle here! The key to understanding what is going on is to understand what is going on! In response to the Pharisee's accusation regarding Jesus' treatment of the Sabbath, Jesus said:
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” [Mark 2.27-28]
Whatever it was the Pharisees believed about the Sabbath, they had missed it. Jesus did not deny the importance of the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus better defined the purpose of the Sabbath - something the plethora of rules that had evolved since the original Commandment was given had missed altogether: "the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people."
Jesus did not deny to rule of the Sabbath. Instead, He demonstrated God's heart toward mankind through it. In Heather Cherry's Jan 15, 2021 article published by Forbes.com, rest is described from an innocently secular point of view as an essential element to human health. Who, however, has ever demonstrated more goodwill toward man's overall health and well-being than Almighty God? The Sabbath proves it!
A legalistic approach to the Sabbath is counterintuitive to the very purpose of the Sabbath! Jesus pointed this out clearly, but consequently, His revelation on the subject of the Sabbath was the main basis of the Pharisees' hatred of Him.
It is worth pointing out that John 5.39 was also part of today's OYCB reading:
You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]
If we take Jesus' words above to the Sabbath Commandment, we see an amazing prophecy of not only physical rest, but more importantly, spiritual rest!
Father, thank You for the Sabbath! May all who profess Christ see it for it's full intended meaning! So be it!
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