“Jesus answered them. Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were Hungry? Then Jesus said to them. I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
Luke 6:3 & 9 (NIV)
It began with a simple statement, “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:3). It becomes a command in Exodus 20 as part of the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:8-11). It was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, a call to rest and worship, to trust God. A couple of bumps down the God’s instructions road to Exodus 31 the command to keep the Sabbath holy now comes with a punishment and a severe one at that. Exodus 31:14 says, “Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people”. Exodus 31:15 makes it clear what the punishment is.
In the ancient world and still today, Sabbath is observed primarily on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Sabbath actually begins Friday at sunset and ends Saturday evening with the appearance of the first three stars in the night sky. Modern day, Sabbath observant Jews still follow many of the ancient rules, though it does appear they have found some modern work arounds for somethings and the penalty for making a mistake isn’t death. The roughly 25 hours of Sabbath are spent enjoying family meals, worship, studying the Torah, walking to the synagogue, a shared community meal, and rest.
Then Jesus arrives in the scene and makes some waves. In the lead up to the questions Jesus asked this devotion is built on, Jesus and the guys were walking through a grain field, some of the guys picked some heads of grain and were eating the kernels as a snack. I guess the Pharisees were out and about making sure no one was breaking Sabbath rules, cause they get called out for “working” on the Sabbath. The Pharisees ask, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (Luke 6:1-2). Jesus, being Jesus responds with a question of His own – don’t you remember reading about what David and his crew did when they were hungry (my paraphrase)? Jesus, just give them the answer (see Luke 6:4). Then Jesus adds, for good measure – “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). The Sabbath discussion doesn’t end there though. On another Sabbath, Jesus is at the synagogue, teaching and a man is there with a deformed hand. The Pharisee are looking to catch Jesus “working” on the Sabbath again (isn’t teaching work)? Jesus always seems to know what those guys are thinking and so we arrive at the second question Jesus asks. Jesus asks the man with the bad hand to stand up. Then Jesus standing nearby asks the crowd, especially the Pharisees “What is lawful to do on the Sabbath, to do good or evil, to save a life or destroy it” (Luke 6:9)? Jesus looked around, no one seemed willing to answer the question, so Jesus healed the man’s hand with his words.
As followers of Jesus, we are no longer under the Law with its legalistic rules and punishments. The Ten Commandments however still apply. Taking a day of rest each week, honors God and is good for our physical, emotional and spiritual health. Many of us use the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day we rest. We go to church, on Sundays in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection. We worship, we hear the Word, we don’t do our regular work – though for many of us that doesn’t mean we don’t do any work. Sundays also seem to be a get some chores done around the house day. Some people, like first responders and people who work in the service industry often have to work on Sunday, and that’s ok – but are they actually taking a real day of rest somewhere else in the week?
The day of rest whether, Saturday, Sunday or one of the other days in the week should be filled with things that honor God. Turn up your favorite worship music, spend time reading and studying God’s Word, Go for a walk, a bike ride or a drive in the country to enjoy God’s creation, spend time with family – play board games, watch some movies, eat some great food (prepare it the day before or splurge and get take out), most importantly acknowledge God for His goodness, His faithfulness, and His provisions.
How do you take a day of rest each week? Sabbath is meant to be a gift to us from the Creator of the universe, accept it, embrace it and share it.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – remember God commanded we take a day of rest because He knew we would need it.
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