A Sabbath Rest

Luke 14:1-6

Have you been in a situation where someone who knows the answer to the question they put forth, is asking you to give an opinion?   It’s the Sabbath and Jesus is going to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, and all eyes are on Jesus.  And doctor Luke tells us a man was there who had dropsy, it is a condition that involves swollen limbs resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the body's tissues, especially the legs.  When Jesus saw the man with dropsy he ask the lawyers and Pharisees this question; “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”  Many of us are gentiles by birth and by rebirth have entered into the lineage of Abraham, but few of us have a great understanding of the commands of God about the Sabbath.

So shall we look into the commandments on the Sabbath given by God to His chosen?  In Exodus 20:8, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”  In Exodus 34:21, “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest, even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.”  I’ve been blessed to know a few farmers and if it is plowing season they may rest, but when it comes to harvest time, it is 24/7 the crops must be gathered.  What is so strong about this is God is telling each of us, work is of great value, but I’ve also given you a time of needed rest.  But the greater message is our Father who loves and supplies all our needs has both the planting and the gathering covered, and we are to place our faith in His ability to do so.

Going on with God’s rules for the Sabbath, in Exodus 35:3, “Do not light a fire in any of your dwelling on the Sabbath day.”  You may be wondering if God was really serious about the Sabbath day, look at Exodus 35:2, “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.  Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”  Now that does answer that God was serious about a Sabbath day rest.  We find this instruction on the Sabbath in the book of Nehemiah 10:31, “When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.”

Now the Jewish people and their leaders put a spin on what God had said on the Sabbath and came up with all kinds of new rules to do what they wanted to do without breaking their rules, but God is not into spin, and they suffered the results of being law breakers.

So when Jesus asked the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” they did not answer.  These men were the religious leaders and lawyers, and it is amazing that a lawyer was silent.  And so Jesus healed the man and sent him away.  The question Jesus is about to ask should be pondered by each of us,  “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.” (Luke 14:5-6 ESV)

“God presents the Sabbath rest as a shelter we can enter. (Hebrews 4:1-11)”
- Charles R. Swindoll

“On the Sabbath day, we are remembering that my relationship with God did not begin with what I've done, it is not sustained by what I do, and it is not guaranteed to the end by my effort or work. I'm saved from beginning to end by Jesus' work.”
- Mark Driscoll

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice