sabbath

Luke 13:12
“Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

I imagine what the scene must have been like in the Synagogue that day. The crowd had gathered like they did every Sabbath. For some it was no more than a religious duty, for others, it was how they expressed their devotion to God. The scene suddenly shifts from the normal activities of prayer and Bible reading to a woman with a serious medical condition. She had been suffering for eighteen years and nothing could be done for her. Without hesitation, Jesus called her to Himself, and when she responded to the call, He healed her. Imagine being there! Imagine the joy that would fill her, perhaps like the lame man in Acts 3, she leaped with joy, celebrating what Jesus had done for her. I would expect to read that the service changed that morning, as the people broke out in unrestrained praise. Sadly however, rather than hearing praise, we hear the sound of objection.

“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Sometimes the only response I can muster is WOW! I am amazed. Jesus changed the life of a woman in agony, but instead of people flocking to Him with praise, they objected to what He had done. Why were they so angry? I think it was because He violated the culture of the day. The religious leaders had developed a whole system of what was allowed on the Sabbath. Healing of the sick was not included. They might have been happy with Jesus making people’s lives better, but when He began to mess with the culture, they were infuriated. We read later, it was his changing of the cultural norm that motivated the religious leaders to make a deal with Rome and have Him crucified.

Things are not so different today.

For the past 2000 years the earth has been filled with people like this woman, who have responded to Jesus and have been transformed by Him. He has taken those who society has neglected, even rejected, and has made them heroes of faith. Yet, many still object to Him. Jesus is not rejected because He has not changed lives, but because He changes culture, because He dares to declare what man tolerates is often abominable to God. Much of what Jesus said and did is contrary to our culture. Rather than falling down before Him in worship for who He is and what He does, many raise up their fists in objection. “How can He say He is the only way?” “How can He say that my lifestyle is wrong, I was born this way, it’s hereditary, we are in love…”

Let us not object to His ways, but praise Him for the lives He has changed, and will change.

Pastor Jim

Leviticus 25:2
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord.’”

Moses refers to the Sabbath over twenty times in Leviticus; instructing Israel how to worship the Lord. The Sabbath was a very important facet in the life of the children of Israel. God designated a weekly Sabbath day, then every seven years was a Sabbath year, and every forty-nine years, a special Sabbath year, called the year of Jubilee. One of the Ten Laws written by the finger of God, stated, the Sabbath day was dedicated, above all the others, as a day of rest. The driving force behind this command, was the example God had set in Creation.

Exodus 20:11
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

The Sabbath would serve a number of valuable purposes in the life of the believer. First, God wanted His people to rest. Since He designed our bodies, He knows what is best for them, and wants us to learn to take a break. It would do us good to set aside times to rest from our labors and concerns, simply focusing on the goodness of the Lord. Second, the Sabbath was designed to build faith. Israel was an agrarian society, whose existence depended upon the harvest. Yet, in the midst of harvesting the grain, they would be required to stop and rest for a day. Every seven years, they were required to let the land rest, and not plant crops. All of this was designed to cause Israel to trust in the provision that would come from the Lord. God wants us to realize, although we must work hard and apply the principles of the Word to our daily living, we must also learn to trust in His grace. Finally, the Sabbath would set Israel apart from all other nations. As the nation grew and developed trade with surrounding countries, they would stand out because of their refusal to do work on the Sabbath. Much of God’s law was designed with that purpose. He wanted His people to stand out. It was never the desire of God that we be hidden away in the crowd, but like Shadrach and his friends (Daniel 1-3), we stand above the culture and point the way to God.

While we are no longer under the law of the Sabbath, the principles remain. Much of what God is doing in your life, is so you might learn to rest in Him and trust Him. Rather than looking at our daunting circumstances, we should look to the promises of His Word. He is also seeking to make us stand out. Not in a weird way, but because we are a people who are trusting Him, and living according to His Word. Like a city set on a hill, we will become the light of the world, pointing people to the Savior.

Pastor Jim