“The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27, Message)
Jesus, who spent his entire life on earth living in the old covenant, trying to explain to believers, in no uncertain terms, how the new covenant differs completely from the old covenant, has been the topic of discussion over the course of the last couple of teachings. The broader concept of the sabbath, also in the symbolic thousand year reign of peace, has also been thoroughly covered. We found that the anointing of Christ deals with all “works” of Satan through the Bride’s “first works”, and when this happens it is the sabbath, or the thousand years of peace, where Christ “is all and in all” (Col. 3:11). We came to the conclusion that this perspective is very far removed from the view of the sabbath as a law to be adhered to. Indeed: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” (Matt. 12:8). Jesus’ sabbath revelation unequivocally demonstrates the perfect law of freedom!
It is important that we return to the broader argument, but perhaps we should first conclude with the events surrounding Jesus and the sabbath in the gospels, and then in the next teaching unpack a few explicit New Testament Scriptures about this issue.
Earlier we noted that there are two events in the gospel of Luke that illustrate the perspective Jesus held on the sabbath. The first concerned the woman, the “daughter of Abraham” who was healed on the sabbath. The second event is found in Luke 14:1-6: “Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”
The fact that the Jews could not answer is in itself an answer. Of course they would immediately aid a helpless animal, or perhaps even a child, who had fallen into the pit. If this does then not qualify as “working” on the sabbath, how can healing be disqualified? Clearly the “advantages” of the sabbath are for the benefit of man – it is not instated to limit man or cause him discomfort! In Mark 2:27 Jesus makes it clear: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”. The Message spells it out: “The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.”
The perspective on the sabbath Jesus offers is becoming increasingly clear, in the words of Heb. 13:14 in the Mirror Word-paraphrase: “We are not finding our identity or security in the walled city of legalistic religious opinions.” Amen.
- Selah: Is this last quote perhaps true of you?
- Read: 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51.
- Memorise: John 1:17 – “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
