Jesus Is The Sabbath. Matthew 12:9-14 NLT

I grew up in a small town and on Sunday, the only business open was a gas station. In 1962 and 1963 the Supreme Court ruled that prayer no longer had a place in school. In 1968, the Supreme Court made another monumental decision. It was ruled that not teaching the theory of evolution enforced the belief in creation therefore public school would start teaching evolution. I remember how confused I was learning evolution at school and creation at church.

Jesus tells the Pharisees it is permissible to do good on the Sabbath. That's usually, with church goers, the easiest day to do good. You leave church feeling relaxed and charitable, take your family to breakfast or lunch, hold the door for strangers, take it easy driving home. But Monday morningcomes and you're late for work, the guy ahead of you is driving way too slow, you got a lousy assignment at work and your boss is unreasonable. The rest of the week only gets worse.

What happened to Mr. Relaxed and Charitable? A Sabbath was not observed. The Sabbath isn't a day of the week, it's an action. A Sabbath isn't a time of inaction, it's a time of rest with Jesus. Rest with Jesus. Spending time with Jesus. Spending time studying scripture, spending time in prayer, spending time in fellowship with other believers. The Sabbath doesn't need to be observed one day a week, it needs to be observed every day.

Have you spent time with Jesus today? He is your Sabbath, He is your rest. 

Matthew 12:9-14 NLT

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where He noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping He would say yes, so they could bring charges against Him.)

11 And He answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12  And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”

13Then He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.

Blessings, Cecila