Good Morning Friends,
That we all have the rhythms of a seven-day week is truly amazing for it is not something that is justified by the moon or the sun precisely although the four phases of the moon roughly correspond to seven days. For the believer, we need to consider the Sabbath, and Hebrew word Shabbat in the light and grace of Jesus. Of course, it is related to the fourth commandment that Moses brought down from the mountain. But there is more. Many consider that it has been set in motion by the Word of God though the act of creation itself. Others consider that it developed over time to complement the choice of market days and worship in our culture. Maybe it is both. Regardless, changing a culture on how we think about this is akin to David taking on Goliath and yet that is exactly what Jesus does in today’s scripture. Again, the Pharisees were challenging Jesus. They followed the law better than anyone else could, which can be a good thing. But when Jesus entered the picture, he pointed out that in their pursuit of righteousness they had become distracted from loving each other. Unfortunately, the Pharisees put their adherence to the rules over caring for people. It need not be an either-or proposition, but the rule of love should supersede. Unfortunately, the religious leaders 2000 years ago cared so much about following God’s law, which is doing what the Bible says, that they created extra rules that are not in the Bible just to show how seriously they took it. Now Jesus really upset the Pharisees when he healed a person on the Sabbath and perhaps this is the case because he was saying in a way that there are only nine moral laws in the ten commandments for you cannot have a moral law that is limited to one day. Think about this for a moment and perhaps you can more fully understand why they were so angry and why Jesus was so saddened by their reaction. They did not understand the real purpose of the Sabbath. So, Are You Living Your Life In The Rhythms Of God?
Scripture: Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Exodus 20:8-11 (NRSV)
David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.” When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 (NRSV)
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Mark 3:1-6 (NRSV)
Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17 (NRSV)
Message: The words that Mark uses to describe Jesus in this confrontation are anger and grief. Jesus was distressed by this situation. Think about this for a minute. We understand why he was angry, but Jesus is also grieved. The Pharisees had missed the point, they put their adherence to the rules, which were mostly made up, in front of helping someone in need. We get why Jesus was angry but also hurt. He is grieving that his people, the Pharisees, do not get it. They followed the rules, but they got so distracted by their adherence to the rules that they did not see to what the rules are pointing too. God put the law in place to protect us and to help us love God and love those around us. But the Pharisees had taken the rules and twisted them into something else. Jesus is grieved in this moment not just over the person in need, but for the hardness of heart of the Pharisees. Jesus is legitimately sad. He is sad that his people did not catch the purpose of the law. He is sad that his people are ignoring the needs of others. For us, we need to take note of the reality and purpose of the Sabbath and the reality and purpose of Jesus and apply it. We need to take this emotion Jesus experienced and consider what it means. You see, God is angered by evil. And today’s Gospel passage gives us a unique glimpse about our relationship with God. When we make choices that hurt someone else. God is angered by the sin, but he is grieved that we missed the point of grace and forgiveness and a relationship with God through Jesus. And so too, Jesus is grieved that in our actions we do not show love to others as an expression of our relationship with God. Do not miss this, Jesus did not want to condemn the Pharisees. He could have, but he did not want too. What he desperately wanted was for them to love each other, to care for each other, and to provide for each other. That is true for us today too. And how we relate to the Sabbath in this regard tests the health of our relationship.
And So, Jesus is at it again bending the rules and shaking things up, taking some risk and being radical. In today’s scripture we see him perform miracles on the Sabbath. Over a period of time, Jesus would perform seven miracles on God’s holy Sabbath Day (which ran from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset). Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. Jesus heals the Man with an Unclean Spirit. Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. He heals a woman attending synagogue, who was crippled for eighteen years. At a Pharisee’s house eating a meal with the host and several lawyers, Jesus heals a man with dropsy. Jesus heals a man who is unable to walk at the pool of Bethesda. And Jesus heals a man born blind at the pool of Siloam. When word got out about what Jesus had done for these people there was no big celebration among the religious leaders that they had been healed. You would think this would be cause for great joy. Instead, they were angered that he broke the law by doing “work” on the Sabbath! Instead of being commended for healing, Jesus was instead condemned for acting outside the norm and being just a little too radical. And here in doing it this way Jesus reveals something especially important about whom he was and what his mission on earth was all about. By healing on the Sabbath Jesus shows us that faith is not about following a bunch of rules but in trusting the Son of God. All these healings were to demonstrate his role as Messiah but also the radical concept of grace that Jesus was ushering into existence through his life, death, and resurrection. For some it was breaking the rules, but today it seems more of an affirmation of the sacredness of God expanding in the rhythm of labor pains ushering in the Kingdom of God.
Pray we realize that God has already fought the most difficult of battles for us. Pray
we realize that the ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross with Jesus but that we might want to follow some of them in remembrance of Jesus. Pray that we realize that the Sabbath was made for us to enjoy and still can be. Pray therefore we have a rest in Jesus that never ceases to love others. Pray we benefit from weekly worship but keep everyday Holy. Pray we realize that it is always right to do good. Pray we never cease from worshipping God. Pray we never cease from setting aside time to gather together to study and learn the will of God. Pray that Jesus becomes our Sabbath. Pray we realize that God never prohibits us from loving. Pray we understand that the Law was a foreshadowing of what Christ would be and do. Pray we see Jesus woven throughout the entire scriptures. Pray that when we keep the seventh day Holy, we never consider it a form of bondage and an act of personal works. Pray we do not ignore, avoid, and reason our way around a relationship with God. Pray we remember Jesus as the key to our relationship with the Father. Pray we honor Jesus out of love. Pray we take time to draw closer to our Creator. Pray we pause to remember Jesus who is our Sabbath Rest.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 