Here’s a contrast for you. Both Mark 3:1-6 and Luke 6:6-11 talk about how Jesus went into a synagogue on the Sabbath and saw a man with a withered hand. At once the Pharisees perk up. Maybe here was their chance to get something on Jesus! Of course Jesus knew their mind and at once tells the man with the injured hand to stand up. Then Jesus asks “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” When no one has the courage to answer, Jesus becomes angry because of “the hardness of their hearts,” and at once commands the man, who was probably trembling at this point, to stretch out his poor withered hand. And as soon as he does, his hand is healed.  And how did the Pharisees react? They left and took counsel on how to kill Jesus.

What? Kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath when He had already told them He was Lord of the Sabbath?  Not exactly. Then kill Jesus out of jealousy and use this perceived violation of the Sabbath as an excuse? Yes, and that’s exactly what they try to do.

Where does such jealousy come from? The answer is simple: Satan. He used these men to try to prevent Jesus from blessing the man with the withered hand. Jesus had already told these types of Pharisees in John 8:44 that they were of their “father the devil.” And these Pharisees were just acting like their “father.” The truth is, Satan doesn’t want any of us blessed by God. He doesn't want us to have what he cannot. And he'll do all in his powered to keep us from our blessings. He doesn’t want us saved or healed or delivered or prospering in any way. He would prefer to see us lost, sick, tormented and poor in mind and spirit as well as in material matters.

On the other hand, God is jealous, too.  In Exodus 20:5 God says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them (graven images), nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.”  It even carries a severe penalty because if you continue reading that same passage, it says “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” But it’s also followed by a promise in verse 6, “and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

God is serious about our relationship with Him. And He wants that relationship to be exclusive, intimate, and deep so He can freely pour out His blessings on us, which are many; the chief among them being His loving presence and fellowship.

Make no mistake. In this life we will be touched by the first type of jealousy or the second. For my part I prefer the second.

Until next time,

Sylvia

In both Mark 2:23-28 and Luke 6:1-5 we see Jesus’ disciples picking grain from a field because they’re hungry. Only problem, it was the Sabbath, and no labor was to be done on that day. And weren’t the Pharisees quick to point that out! “What you are doing is not permitted or lawful on the Sabbath,” they said. Jesus squelched the controversy by reminding them how David and his men ate the sacred bread in the Temple when they were hungry. Then Jesus ended by saying the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath and that He, Jesus, the Son of Man, was “Lord even of the Sabbath.”

I love the Sabbath. It’s a day made for us by God. A day set aside. A day for fellowshipping with our Creator as well as other believers. It’s also a day of rest, for recharging our batteries, and a time for enjoying family and loved ones. But as is the case so often in the Bible, it speaks of deeper things, too.

The Sabbath is symbolic for entering God’s rest and ceasing from our efforts at “good works.” It is the picture of the atonement and how all was accomplished by God with the only thing needing to be done is acceptance of that finished work. Indeed, Jesus is the very Lord of the Sabbath. He is our Sabbath rest. And when we accept Him, we enter into that rest, which is a place of peace and contentment and safety. It is a place where we are enfolded in the very arms of God; a place where nothing more needs to be done by us. It has all been taken care of. 

But the Sabbath means something else, too. Many Bible scholars believe that the very age (aion) we live in is entering its seven thousandth year. They base this on the scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 that states, “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” They also base it on the creation account where everything God did took six days, and on the seventh day He rested. Please note that no where did I say I believe the earth is six thousand years old. Rather, I subscribe to the gap theory where there is a huge span of time, probably millions of years, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post God doesn’t create anything void and His instructions to Adam and Eve were to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” God gave these exact same instructions to Noah in Genesis 9:1 after He destroyed the world with a flood. He told Noah to, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” So it leaves one to assume the world, prior to Adam, was destroyed, perhaps during the cosmic battle when Satan caused one-third of the angels to rebel against God.

So if this age, this aion, this time from Adam to now is currently at the beginning of seven thousand years, it means we are nearing the final Sabbath, the one thousand year reign of Jesus—the time of rest not only for the earth, but for all past and present who are God’s.  But it also means that the rapture and the tribulation are not far off and we need to be ready.

Now is the time to enter God’s rest. Now is the time to make Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath. If we do, we will be ready for that final Sabbath that is coming.

Until next time,

Sylvia