Wednesday: Healing on the Sabbath
It is very interesting to read through the Gospels and to see all the times that the writers recorded the Sabbath incidents between Jesus and the religious leaders. Why would all four Gospel writers include, in some cases numerous accounts, of the struggle that Jesus had with the leaders over Sabbath keeping if the Sabbath were about to be abolished? This point becomes even more salient when we remember that the Gospels were written down many years after the ministry of Jesus.
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Though scholars are divided over the exact dates, most place them at least 20 to 30 years after the death of Jesus. Thus, by then, if the seventh-day Sabbath had been replaced by Sunday (one common argument), this change is certainly not hinted at in any of the inspired accounts of Jesus’ life. Thus, we have powerful evidence that the seventh-day Sabbath was not abolished, changed, or superseded, at least certainly not by any example or command of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels. On the contrary, if we focus on Jesus’ commands and example, the Gospels show us the continued validity of the seventh-day Sabbath.
Read Matthew 12:9-14. What is the issue here, and why would that be another cause for contention?
“Upon another Sabbath, as Jesus entered a synagogue, He saw there a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Him, eager to see what He would do. The Saviour well knew that in healing on the Sabbath He would be regarded as a transgressor, but He did not hesitate to break down the wall of traditional requirements that barricaded the Sabbath … It was a maxim among the Jews that a failure to do good, when one had opportunity, was to do evil; to neglect to save life was to kill. Thus Jesus met the rabbis on their own ground.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 286.
Again, as in the previous Sabbath incident, Jesus was seeking to point people to the higher purpose of the law, to the higher purpose of what the life of faith is all about. These men would have been content to leave that man with his pain and suffering rather than violate their own man-made rules regarding the Sabbath, which had gotten so twisted that—though they would have pulled an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath—they would not relieve a fellow human being’s suffering.
How careful we need to be in making sure that our practice of faith does not get in the way of living our faith in the ways that God has called us to.
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"Though scholars are divided over the exact dates, most place them at least 20 to 30 years after the death of Jesus. Thus, by then, if the seventh-day Sabbath had been replaced by Sunday (one common argument), this change is certainly not hinted at in any of the inspired accounts of Jesus’ life."
FYI. Some Sabbath cessationists will argue that this is an "argument from silence." So they discount it, however it is a very valid and logical argument. What is even better is using the gospel of John (John 5, John 7 and John 9) John was supposedly written from 80-110 AD which is even further into the new testament era...when many claim that Sabbath observance had ceased. John mentions at the end of his gospel that there were many things that Jesus did......So if the Sabbath was abolished, why would he be so clueless to include Sabbath encounters...or better yet.. John puts editing comments in his gospel to explain chronology segments and yet gives ZERO input as to the change in Sabbath 50 or more years after Jesus went back to heaven!
Note:99% of Christians are deceived about the 4th commandment.
If possible, even the every elect.
If what ever percentage are deceived about the fourth commandment, why would we make this assumption? I would speculate that a large percentage do not care one way or another. Decieved, perhaps more disinterested unknowingly.
Is the purpose, to win an argument or win a soul to the Kingdom?
Another issue involved in this Sabbath conflict is the implied insult aimed at Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all 4 inspired gospel authors regarding redundant Sabbath texts
It is implied that Jesus is wasting time, since He should know that the Sabbath was going to be a shadow that was fading away..So why bring up correction about it? Why upset the Jewish clergy and make them want to kill him over a day to be abrogated?
Why did the Holy Spirit inspire all gospel authors to include the redundant texts? ( Matt 12, Mark 2 & 3, Luke 6, 13, 14..John 5, 7, 9... totaling 70-100 verses.) What is involved here is Great Controversy war tactics to get Christians to NOT keep law and thus get gypped on the abundant life Jesus offers.
The clergy/preachers today follow in the footsteps of those 2000 years ago.
life is so precious,GOD wanting his creation to be with him eternally. Released from suffering of choice which made by our great grand parents.
The opportunity for the Pharisees to achieve their goal. Their main objective: getting rid of Jesus. All the ingredients were in place. There was a man, and that man needed healing. There was Jesus. And of all days, it was the Sabbath!
Apparently Jesus had good reasons. He wanted to say something through these actions. It seems obvious that Jesus Sabbath healing was purposeful. And we're going to look at three things that point to this purpose.
Each of these healing miracles were performed on Sabbath were not life threatening cases:
* A withered hand was not life-threatening.
* Certainly a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years could wait one more day.
* The man with dropsy was evidently in no immediate danger. He was attending a banquet.
* If a man had lain in the same spot by the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years, what's a few more hours?
* The man who had been born blind wouldn't even know what he was missing if Jesus had waited till the first day of the week.
Jesus seems purposefully to have chosen cases that would require the most flagrant violations possible. Again, it appears that Jesus has something important that He is trying to get across.
In the Sabbath-healing miracles, Jesus showed that the Sabbath is not a day for legalistic rules and rituals. Jesus challenged specifically the rules that most directly affected the health, welfare, and happiness of people.
By doing this, Jesus ties His ministry of healing with the Sabbath, thus showing us what the Sabbath is all about. It's not about rules, but it's about relationships and demonstrating His creative power by caring for others.
After reading Christ miracles of healing, we find that the majority were on the Sabbath. I believe another one of Christ missions was to teach us that it is ok to do good for others on the Sabbath, and for ourselves, if our 5.7 hemi runs in the ditch on the Sabbath. Now days we would have to clairfiy if we were talking about Saturday or Sunday. The Bible did not, because it was assumed that you knew that the Sabbath was Saturday, in Biblical times. Constantine's first Sunday law played a key part in the final change of the Seventh-day-Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday,(the sixth day sabbath),in the 4th Centurary AD.
The Joke, The Yoke, and the Yolk
The rules imposed by the leaders in Jesus' time, are nothing else but a Yoke, that Jesus got upset with them at one point by telling them this:
“And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them"
Luke 11:46
On the other hand, sometimes their rules are so ridiculous that in this time we see them as a Joke.
If someone would try to push those things on us we would say: Are you kidding?
Finally, I use the analogy of a Yolk in regards the delicacy that represents enjoying a true Sabbath.
The taste of the Sabbath may be repugnant to some people, but there is indeed a joyful companionship, a taste of heaven by keeping the Sabbath as it was intended to be.
As much controversy over circumcision with the Jewish leaders and the new church as there was, it would seem there would be even more contentions over a new church teaching the 4th commandment had been abolished.
The attitudes, thinking and practices of the Jewish leaders of Jesus' time are the perfect example of this passage. Can you imagine Jesus here on earth in our time, going from place to place healing people of HIV/Aids, cancer, heart disease and every other malady imaginable, that our church pastors, elders, conference presidents etc., would be going after Him with malicious, vigorous pursuit every single day, attacking and accusing and plotting to kill Him? It's sort of hard to imagine, for me, but that is precisely what was happening to Jesus and for what? For doing ONLY good to save and bring relief to the sick of soul and body among God's children and give them "rest", on the Sabbath.
Such is the ugliness of the scourge of sin. It has twisted and distorted God's image in man, man's image of God, and His laws, the transcript of His character but Jesus' is still as powerful now as He was then and His sacrifice is still effective today, as the the day He died upon that cross at Calvary. Hence, the controversy still wages because God is calling men and women out of the bondage of sin that the enemy has enslaved us with, and thousands are being liberated and healed in Jesus' name.
Good will overcome evil, ultimately and God will win. Those who choose the winning team by surrendering their will to God's, living in obedience thereby, through His strength alone, will be perfectly restored to His image as our fore-parents were before the fall. This is the reason Christ came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
The lesson's author asked the following important question:
"Why would all four Gospel writers include, in some cases numerous accounts, of the struggle that Jesus had with the leaders over Sabbath keeping if the Sabbath were about to be abolished? This point becomes even more salient when we remember that the Gospels were written down many years after the ministry of Jesus."
This argument is especially relevant considering that the Gospel of John was written near the end of the first century--almost seven decades after the crucifixion.
If by then, according to the Sunday keepers, the Sabbath had been replaced by Sunday observance, why would John dedicate three chapters of his Gospel-- John 5, John 7, and John 9-- to the topic of Jesus' healing on the Sabbath day?
Nontu,
You made a very important observation:
"Each of these healing miracles were performed on Sabbath were not life threatening cases: ..."
Evidently, Jesus must have performed those healings on the Sabbath day on purpose in order to emphasize the fact that the Jewish religious leaders had distorted the divine purpose of said Holy Day.
You know I'm thinking, in many ways the sabbath is a day of healing for us as we enter into it weekly. Many a time as we go through the week we go through experiences that leave us bruised and battered, anxious and even depressed. However on the sabbath as we enter into God's house, I find that we get to put aside these things relating to our toil and hardship and actually take time to be spiritually recharged and revitalized.
Now I am not here saying that the sabbath is the only day where we can experience healing from the great Physician instead I am saying that in light with Wednesday's theme 'Healing on the sabbath', on sabbath we ideally should be experiencing healing and that in a spiritual sense as we turn to our loving Lord in the special focus activity called worship.
Even in the earth made new the experience of healing will continue as Revelation 22:1-7:
"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book."
I believe sin has so damaged us it will take time for us to be restored even in the earth made new. I recall Sr White speaking of how our height will be restored gradually to be akin to the height of Adam or rather the proper height we were meant to be aside from the degeneration and degradation that sin has resulted in.
So to sum it all up, I see the sabbath as a beacon of our deliverance (see Deut 5:12-15) from the power of sin (ultimately!!!) and rejoice that soon and very soon, we are going to see the King!
For us Seventh Day Adventist looking at and studying this lesson has cause me to take a different approach on how we do keep Sabbath. I will base my premis on the final paragraph on Wednesday's lesson.
'How careful we need to be in making sure that our practice of faith does not get in the way of living our faith in the ways that God has called us to'. Here is my two questions.
First, How well would we accept this move to lock up the church one Sabbath and do a health seminar and ask people to come in and do BP checks, dietary advise and exercise, advises on career plannings would this be a part of Sabbath keeping?
Finally, if someone walked in our church door and tells us that their house is going into foreclosure would that be a good time to help the person or put it off until the next day?
Perhaps the Pharisees would save the ox, and not the human suffering, because the ox represented their own selfishness? That ox 'belonged' to them. It maybe represented a profit of some type.
In contrast, what would the Pharisees have gained by a miraculous event happening to someone else, performed by Someone else? No profit for them and no glory to them.
Self worship is the basis of all evil?
Marie, The glory and profit for the Pharisees was two fold. The profit and the glory was the control of the people and the leadership was reinforcement of that control. The contention between Jesus and the establishment was continual throughout His Ministry.