“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues.”
Luke 13:10
In Luke 13 we come to a familiar scene. It is the Sabbath and Jesus is teaching the word of God in a synagogue in Israel. The Sabbath is a special day for the Lord to teach God’s word and feed those who desire to hear from God. The Sabbath is also a time when the Lord is under close scrutiny by the Pharisees. The religious establishment attacked the Lord over many issues – their religious traditions, associating with sinners, spiritual authority to tell people what God said. One issue that was a constant source of irritation to the Jewish leaders was the keeping of the Sabbath. Therefore these these leaders constantly monitored what Jesus did on the Sabbath. This daywill be no different.
Why was the Sabbath such a big issue? The fourth commandment Moses received said “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Keeping the Sabbath was a grave matter, for God’s law demanded death if anyone ignored it. In order to make sure no one violated that commandment the Pharisees
established numerous regulations of what they considered acceptable and unacceptable activities. These regulations became as important as God’s law. Jesus condemned these man-made rules because they “teach as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). They hid God’s true intent.
The Lord said the Sabbath is a day of rest. God set that example when He rested on the seventh day after creation. Did God quit all activity? No he still sustained His creation so that everything functioned as he had decreed. We gain an insight into the right Sabbath attitude by looking at what God did do on the seventh day. Genesis 2 said God rested which can also be translated “celebrate”. At the end of the sixth day God looked at all His creation and said it was “very good”. This is an insight into the attitude God was looking for from His people on the Sabbath. They were not to go out and do their jobs to make money. It was not just another day. They were to look back at the work of the week and remember God’s blessing on their work and celebrate all God had done for them – they were to praise Him for all His blessings which were “very good”. Instead of this praise and celebration of God’s goodness the Pharisees turned the day into a legalistic burden which stifled joy and giving glory to God.
When the Pharisees saw the Lord heal on the Sabbath (Scripture records He did that six times), they condemned Him for violating their traditions – manmade regulations. When confronted Jesus told the Pharisees two truths. First, He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He was at the creation, He gave the ten commandments, He has the authority to know and do what is right and proper on that day. Second, the Lord taught that healing a person is not in violation of this commandment. God intended the Sabbath to be a good, restful, and restoring day for His children. Healing was a cause for true celebration and praise to God. The Pharisees transformed this joy from God into a legalistic burden. They were so blind they could not see helping another person to be restored on that day is the essence of praise to God.
What can we learn? As believers we are not under the law of the Old Covenant. At the same time God’s reasoning and principles are still valid for us today. Sundays have become just another day without God for many. The practice of looking back at the past week and meditating on God’s blessing of our work and activities is a form of remembrance and thankfulness that is consistent with New Testament principles. Many go to church and sit through a sermon – that gives God an hour on Sunday but is that hour as important as grateful hearts? By the way that is what our attitudes should be as we sit in our church services – praising God for all He has done for us. Rejoicing in the preaching of His word that He has given to us to know Him and His character. Thanking Him for His goodness, mercy and longsuffering without which none of us would be here. Somehow I think those who sat and heard Jesus expound God’s word rejoiced in God as their hearts burned within them out of thankfulness unlike the Pharisee’s hearts that burned with hate.