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First thoughts...
The bible is very clear... one of the Ten Commandants in Exodus is very
clear that we are to rest on the 7th day! But, lets
look at the scriptures and see further details.
Biblical References...
Exodus 20:8...
"Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (the 4th commandant)
Mark 2:23-28...
"And
it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His
disciples began to make their way along while
picking the heads of
grain.
The
Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on
the Sabbath?”
And He
*said to them, “Have
you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions
became hungry; how
he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high
priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to
eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”
Jesus said
to them, "The
Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath."
Matthew 12:1-8...
"At
that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples
became hungry and began to pick the heads of
grain and
eat.
Now when
the Pharisees saw this, they
said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a
Sabbath!”
But He said
to them, "Have
you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions...
how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated
bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the
priests alone?
Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests
in the temple violate the Sabbath, and yet are
innocent?
But I say to you that something greater
than the temple is here.
But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather
than sacrifice,’
you would not have condemned the innocent.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Luke 4:16...
"And
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He
entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read."
Mark 1:21...
"They
went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered
the synagogue and began to
teach."
Luke 13:10-16...
"Now Jesus was
teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And there
was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and
she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus
saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman,
you are freed from your sickness.”
And He laid
His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began glorifying
God.
But the
synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying
to the crowd in response, “There are six days during which work should be done;
so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
But the
Lord answered him and said, “You
hypocrites, does each of you on the Sabbath not untie his ox or donkey from the
stall and lead it away to water it?
And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has
bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this
restraint on the Sabbath day?”
Luke
14:1-6...
"It
happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees
on the Sabbath
to eat bread, they were watching Him closely.
And there
in front of Him was a man suffering from edema.
And Jesus
responded and said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
But they
kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
And He said
to them, “Which
one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately
pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
And they
could offer no reply to this.
John 5:2-9
and 14-17...
"2-9
Now in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, there
is a pool which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porticoes.
In these porticoes lay
a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or paralyzed.
Now a man
was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
Jesus, upon
seeing this man lying there and
knowing that he had already been in
that condition for
a long time, *said to him, “Do
you want to get well?”
The sick
man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is
stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus *said
to him, “Get
up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
Immediately
the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to
walk.
Now it was a Sabbath on that day.
14-17
Afterward,
Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold,
you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
The man
went away, and informed the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
For this
reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on a
Sabbath.
But He
answered them, “My
Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 7:21-23...
"Jesus
answered them, “I
did one deed, and you all are astonished.
For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is
from Moses, but from the fathers), and even on
a Sabbath you circumcise a man.
If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of
Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well
on a Sabbath?
John 9:1-14...
"As Jesus passed
by, He saw a man who
had been blind
from birth.
And His
disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would
be born blind?” Jesus
answered, “It
was neither that this
man sinned, nor his parents; but it
was so
that the works of God might be displayed in him.
We must carry out the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is
day; night is coming, when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
When He had
said this, He spit on the ground, and made mud from the saliva, and applied the
mud to his eyes,
and said to
him, “Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam” (which
is translated, Sent). So he left and washed, and came back seeing.
So the
neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is this
not the one who used to sit and beg?”
Others were
saying, “This is he,” still others
were saying, “No, but he is like him.” The man himself kept saying, “I am the
one.”
So they
were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
He
answered, “The man who is called Jesus made mud, and spread it on
my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go
to Siloam and wash’;
so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
And they
said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.”
Discussion thoughts...
As explained in scriptures above... Jesus taught and healed on the Sabbath...
his disciples picked grain to eat on the Sabbath... Jesus explained that if a
persons son or ox fell into a well it is OK to pull them out... if your donkey
needs water it is OK to provide it water!!! Obviously some "work" things
are OK to do on the Sabbath! Personally, I don't mow the yard on Sunday, I
don't go shopping or do any "work" that cannot be done on a day other than the
Sabbath... my wife cooks meals but does not do "other" chores that cannot be
done on a day other than the Sabbath. My thoughts are that it is OK to do
"anything" on the Sabbath that cannot be put off to be done on another day!
My Beliefs...
Many people are required to work on the Sabbath... ministers and all those who
help with church procedures is "work"... many other people have occupations
(doctors, police, 911 operators, etc.) require that they "work" on the
Sabbath... some occupations require that the person must work EVERY day (a dairy
farmer must milk the cows EVERY day... there is no way they can take a day off).
The 4th commandant as written in Exodus 20:8 states clearly "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy". As explained above in "Discussion
thoughts" it seems clear to me that "work" required by occupation, duty, law,
etc. is OK... what is important is to keep the Sabbath holy!
My personal beliefs is that it is entirely possible to "work" and "keep the
Sabbath holy" at the same time!!! --- whatever day you decide to make "your
Sabbath" you must not do any work that can be done on some other day!!!
Also read our other study "When is the Sabbath -
Saturday or Sunday". |