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Jesus And The Sabbath(2)
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her? ”When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. (Luke 13:14-17 NIV)
· From the law, Jesus broke the laws, even the commandments of God. Therefore, Jesus was finally crucified on the cross. The Bible says that cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. So when Jesus died, those who were pious in laws and served God in Jerusalem clapped their hands happily.
It was through his death that Jesus rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem. He took his body as a temple, died on the cross, entered the hades, and tasted death for people. On the third day he rose from the dead, was taken to heaven, and the temple was rebuilt. It is through his death the commands and regulations were set aside and his purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace. Purifying the conscience of the people, forgiving the sins of men and strengthening the covenant between God and man by the precious blood flowing from his side.
Jesus was free, and on the Sabbath he saw someone in need of healing and salvation so he saved and set the oppressed free .
· Why God made the Sabbath?
Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath. The law was made for the man. Why set up the Sabbath, is to make people rest in peace. In fact, there is no real rest on the earth, the real rest is in heaven. There is no real rest in the world, the real rest is in Jesus.
We can see that the inhabitants and priests in Jerusalem did not have real rest in their hearts. They tempted people with malice and sin in their heart. Although they complied with the law in the outside while inside they broke the law. How can a law-breaking person enforce the law? How can a sinner judge other sinners?
And how could this patient have a real rest suffering on the Sabbath? Was it not God's good pleasure to set him free so that he can rest in peace on the Sabbath? The purpose of God's establishment of the Sabbath is to make man rest in peace.So Jesus came and brought about a real rest to bring men from the Sabbath under the law to the Sabbath under grace, from the dreadful and trembling Sabbath into a safe, free and happy Sabbath.
· However, Jesus did not abolish the law but to fulfill the law. The Sabbath has not been abolished. This day is still a holy day from other days. Jesus said: It is okay to do good on the Sabbath while doing good is not Sabbath.On the Sabbath we can heal and drive demons, but healing and driving demons is not Sabbath.Gathering in Jesus's name every day is okay, while we can not replace the Sabbath with other days.On the Sabbath we need to gather, however gathering is not Sabbath. The Sabbath is not only gathering but also remembering the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.Jesus also gathered, preached, and worked in other times while on the Sabbath he a preached and did good, but never to work.The same with his disciple.
God empathized weakness of the people, so when he saw someone falling ill on the Sabbath, he healed him, but it dose not mean that he did not keep the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.Also it dose not to mean that the Sabbath was abolished.
If there are students taking college entrance examination on the Sabbath, because of the time conflict, he can still participate in the examination. Because there is no way to avoid it,while he should remembered the Sabbath in his heart. After the College entrance examination, he still has to rest in peace. If we can not be free, we still have to hold our own part. Dear brothers and sisters, let us remember the words of the Lord, "With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible".