“Jesus & the Sabbath”

HOPE CHAPEL - Sunday, February 27, 2022

Youtube link... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGKwqvfXFA
 
Teaching Series - “Doing Life with Jesus" 
Weekly Topic - “Jesus & the Sabbath”
Texts – Exodus 20, Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14:4-6, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 13:10-21, Luke 6:6-11
 
I must confess at the outset, as I once again found myself in the office finishing my preparations for Sunday on my day off, that my observance of ‘Sabbath’ needs some work.  However, before any of us can improve in this area, I would like to challenge us today to consider afresh what ‘Sabbath’ is and what it is not, what it was meant for and examine from Jesus’ life how to observe and experience Sabbath in our own.

Let’s begin by reading the fourth of God’s Ten Commandments.
 
“SABBATH VS. THE LORD’S DAY”
Exodus 20:8-11 – “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
 
For those of you who have been Christians for some time, what were you taught concerning the Sabbath as children?  [a day of mandated ‘rest’ = no work, no sports, etc.]  Does, ‘doing nothing but lying on your bed reading your Sunday school paper,’ sound familiar to any?  The church our family attended taught that proper observance of the Sabbath contained far more don’ts than dos.  The only permitted work on a Sunday was taking care of the barn animals (can’t let them starve for the day), but no field work; meal preparation and cleanup, though no housework; reading was fine, and of course the Bible was preferable, but crocheting was not permitted.  I have heard from Donald that in his family, hanging out with friends was okay, but was never to include the playing of sports.  In an attempt to provide guidance, the Church became just as guilty as the Pharisees of missing the point…and to be honest, I’m not sure that we’ve got it right yet.
 
The Lord’s Day is, historically speaking, not the ‘Sabbath.’  Sunday was instituted as an ongoing memorial of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  The New Testament refers to it as the ‘first day of the week,’ but it did not replace the Sabbath for many in the early Church.  It appears that many still continued the tradition of resting on the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday) while also meeting together for worship on the first day of the week for the Lord’s Day (Sunday).  Over time, these two days began to morph.  During Constantine’s reign, Christianity became the state religion.  He created a law on March 7, 321AD, declaring Sunday to be a day of rest for all.  Over the centuries, this movement to view Sunday as the Sabbath gained greater acceptance, but not by all.  While some were willing to permit a weekly sabbath, regardless of the day chosen, others maintained that Saturday was the true Sabbath that God had consecrated and so changing the day brought dishonour to God and was simply not an option. 
 
Even today, the issue is hotly debated in some circles—just do a brief search on the internet and you’ll soon discover what I mean.  Some discount the need to observe ‘Sabbath’ at all as Jesus has provided for us our ‘Sabbath rest.’  They point to Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:4-6 for scriptural support, “16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” and “4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.  5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.” 
 
On the other side, proponents of ‘Saturday as Sabbath’ point out their belief that Paul is supporting the Colossian church in their observance of the Sabbath not telling them to forego the practice and the verses in Romans are about fasting and make no reference to Sabbath.
 
Me? I’m a little divided.  Many of the requirements given by God in the Old Testament, especially with regard to how to worship him, no longer apply.  The Temple as a building no longer exists; we are the Temple—every believer now serves as a place of residence for God.  We are no longer required to make animal sacrifice; Jesus was the greatest and last sacrifice required on our behalf.  We no longer have an earthly high priest to intervene on our behalf; Jesus has become our high priest.  Yet, aside from this fourth of the Ten Commandments, which others would we dare set aside as no longer applicable?
·         You are to have no other gods but God alone.
·         You are not to make any graven images to worship.
·         You are not to misuse God’s name…whether as profanity or to apply God’s authority to your own opinions.
·         Honour your mother and father.
·         Do not murder.
·         Do not commit adultery.
·         Do not steal.
·         Do not lie about another.
·         Do not envy someone else’s stuff.
 
Jesus has told us that he has fulfilled the requirements of these laws, but has not come to abolish them (Matthew 5:17).  So if the other nine are to be left intact, we should be careful about dismissing the commandment concerning God’s having made the seventh day holy.  As I researched, I read one comment that I thought worth sharing.  The Jews had 613 written laws in Torah and fifty times more than that in the Oral Laws.  But the ‘big’ Ten as outlined in Exodus 20, rather than being spoken by God for Moses to write down, were first written directly onto two stone tablets by the finger of God.  They appear to enjoy a unique status among the Laws of God.  Just a thought worth pondering…
 
“Well, Jane, that’s not entirely helpful.  Where do we now go from here?”  To Jesus’ example, where better? 
 
 
“ORAL LAW VS. WRITTEN LAW”
2 Thessalonians 2:15 – “15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
 
To say that Oral Torah—those teachings not written down but shared verbally—were to be considered sacred would be a gross understatement.  Many people lived their lives never learning to read or write and had to depend on others to teach them.  Not only that, but the Written Torah could often be open to interpretation and so it fell to religious teachers to add explanations—the Oral Torah.  In the case of the Sabbath, pains were taken to delineate what sorts of activities were permitted and which were not in order that God would be honoured on this day set apart by him.
 
Jesus never broke any of the Written Torah, but often ran afoul of the Pharisees when he didn’t subscribe to their explanations contained in the Oral Torah.  The Melakha contains the 39 types of creative work prohibited on the Sabbath (see reference for website address):
·         The Order of Bread – planting, plowing, reaping, gathering, threshing/extraction, winnowing, sorting/purification, grinding, sifting, kneading/amalgamation, cooking/baking
·         The Order of Garments – shearing, scouring/laundering, carding/combing wool, dyeing, spinning, warping, making two loops/threading heddles, weaving, separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing, tearing
·         The Order of Hides – trapping, killing, flaying/skinning, curing/preservation, smoothing, scoring, measured cutting
·         The Order of Construction – writing, erasing, construction, demolition, extinguishing a fire, ignition, final completion/fine-tuning/perfection, transferring between domains
 
The only exemption to any of these was in order to save a human life.  Jesus’ miracles, for the Pharisees, did not meet this exemption criteria.  This did not, however, prevent Jesus from healing on the Sabbath, allowing his disciples to pick grain or even stop him from instructing a newly healed man to stand, pick up his mat and go home.  His contempt for the Oral Torah infuriated the religious teachers.  Jesus challenged their explanations and recast the Written Torah in the light of God’s love and grace, shunning their cold hearted and rigid requirements. 
 
 
The Ten Commandments have often been viewed as a list of rules to keep people in line, but that was never their purpose.  Take another look and you will discover that God’s commandments were about nurturing healthy relationships—with him, with family and with others.  Remember the list?  Commandments five through ten contain specific guidance for how to treat family members and others and are covered by Jesus’ command to ‘love others as you love yourselves.’  The first four, which include the commandment about keeping the Sabbath, were meant to guide us in our relationship with God--'to help us love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.’
 
“GOD’S ORIGINAL INTENT FOR SABBATH”
 
Purpose #1 – A day of rest
Matthew 12:1-8 – “At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
 
3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
 
The Sabbath was one of God’s gifts to humanity—a regular opportunity to rest, recalibrate and reconnect with their Creator.  God had rested from his work, not because he was exhausted, but to take time to enjoy what he had made.  He wanted us to take one day a week to set aside the work of making a living to enjoy being alive.  He gave his creation a Sabbath for their good and not to create hardship. 
 
The Pharisees saw strict obedience to the Law as being the means to avoid God’s wrath and so outlined in great detail all the ways that they believed God’s ire could be roused.  Jesus challenged this notion.  God was far more concerned with their demonstrations of mercy than with strict adherence to their rules.  Their assertions that the Oral Torah was equally authoritative to the Written Torah made them guilty of putting their own ideas on par with God’s commands.  They totally missed the point that the Sabbath was a gift of rest and for relationship with the Creator; they treated it as merely an obligation. 
 
Purpose #2 – A day to honour God
Luke 13:10-21 – “10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!
 
14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”
 
15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”
 
17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.”
 
Notice where many of Jesus’ Sabbath day healings occurred…in the synagogue.  Part of Jesus’ weekly routine was to go to the synagogue or the Temple on the Sabbath.  Jesus treated it as a day to honour God, to spend time with his Father and others in worship, to teach and often to heal the faithful.
 
The leader of the synagogue rebuked the crowd and the newly healed woman, “Don’t interrupt.  Come on a day when it doesn’t interfere.”  Jesus calls him and others out on their hypocrisy, “You’re telling me that your ox or donkey’s need for a drink of water surpasses the need of people to experience God’s healing touch?  If your care of your livestock doesn’t dishonour God, how much more does my care for his daughter honour him!” 
 
They may not have liked it, but they got the message loud and clear…they had been shamed. 
 
Purpose #3 – A day to do good
Luke 6:6-11 – “6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
 
Jesus makes no secret concerning what he’s about to do. He sees a man with a withered hand.  He knows what’s in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees.  He decides this is a perfect teachable moment.  Jesus calls to the man and has him stand where everyone can see and hear what is about to happen.  He then poses them with a couple of questions to reconsider what they have deemed ‘lawful’ and ‘unlawful.’   Is it lawful to do good or harm?  The answer is the same no matter what day of the week—to do good of course.  Then he equates his healings with ‘saving life,’ which is by the Pharisees’ own admission the one allowable exception for breaking the Melakha’s long list of forbidden works.  Jesus implies that by not permitting healing on the Sabbath, they are actually guilty of abetting the destruction of a person in need of healing.
 
Jesus’ concern was not simply for the restoration of physical well-being, but with restored relationships between humanity and God.  Those who held up the Oral Torah as a means of delineating how to avoid God’s wrath, were in fact incurring it.  Their manmade requirements for obeying the Written Torah would not deter Jesus from living in obedience to the intent of God’s Laws. 
 
  
So, how are we to understand the Sabbath?  Here’s what we know…
·         We shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the fourth commandment of the ten – God’s concern is for healthy relationships and the Ten Commandments serve as a road map to that end
·         The Sabbath is a gift from God – to give us chances to enjoy life and take a break from making a living
·         It is an opportunity to honour God – to worship him with other believers; to put him first
·         It is a day to do good – to cause us to focus on the needs of others and not our own
·         Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath; its special designation was made to help us not hurt us. 
 
 
References and for further study / inspiration…
“Oral Torah vs. Written Torah” - https://torah.org/learning/basics-primer-torah-oraltorah/ (a defense of Oral Torah as being as authoritative as Written Torah)
 
“BBC Bitesize – Practices in Judaism – Shabbat” - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zbm8jty/revision/3 (check out the other pages for more on the practices of Judaism)
 
“Melakha – 39 Forms of Work Prohibited on the Sabbath” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melakha 
 
Sunday, March 6, 2022 – 2022 Theme - “Doing Life with Jesus – Jesus’ Power to Create” – In-person and Online
___________________________________ 
Pastor Jane Peck, Hope Chapel
(Collingwood EMCC Church)
 
"Learning and Living the Way of Jesus!"