The Sabbath
1 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2 And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6 And they could make no reply to this. — Luke 14:1-6
In Luke 14:3, Jesus asks a question: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” Is it? The Sabbath was a major point of conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. But what does the Bible say?
The word “Sabbath” comes from Hebrew for the verb meaning “to cease to do” or “to rest”. That the Sabbath is holy is first alluded to in Genesis 2:3 – “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
The Ten Commandments clearly prohibit work on the Sabbath, in Exodus 20:8-11 relating it to God’s resting after creation, and again in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 relating it to God’s bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Jewish Law clearly took the Sabbath seriously. Three times (Exodus 31:14, 15 and 35:2) the Old Testament calls for the death penalty for anyone who works on the Sabbath, and in Numbers 15:32-36, a man is put to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath.
However, “work” is not clearly defined, so the Jews created 39 categories of work to be avoided on the Sabbath. They were so strict that they accused the Disciples of breaking the Sabbath for picking heads of grain and rubbing them in their hands to eat. And the Pharisees reacted to Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath with anger or silent disproval.
We are no longer under the Law, but under grace. However, the Law still provides wisdom and we should have a day of rest each week, rest that is refreshing and joyful rather than just obedient to rules. Jesus said in Matthew 2:27 – “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
When it came to the Sabbath, Jesus focused on mercy and love and simple common sense. If rescuing an ox that had fallen into a well on the Sabbath was permissible (Luke 14:5), how could it be wrong to heal? God did not prohibit doing good on the Sabbath.
Prayer:
• Do you have a day of rest each week? Is it a day joyfully spent with the Lord?
Pray that God will be with you in a special way as you take your day of rest.