Posted on 10/16/2022 1:03:05 PM PDT by metmom
“He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’ For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:17–18).
The Sabbath observance was at the heart of Jewish worship in Jesus’ day. The Lord’s reply to those who persecuted Him for violating it (5:16), “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working,” implies that the Sabbath was not instituted for God’s benefit but for man’s (Mark 2:27).
Jesus’ statement that He worked on the Sabbath just like the Father was nothing less than a claim to full deity and equality with God—that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8). His words also served as a subtle rebuke to the Jewish legalistic system, under which He had been indicted for doing good and showing mercy on the Sabbath. After all, God Himself does good and shows mercy on the Sabbath. Jesus, therefore, maintained that it is right to do good on the Sabbath, since God does.
The hostile Jews instantly grasped the import of Jesus’ words and as a result were continually seeking “all the more to kill Him.” He was not just breaking the Sabbath, but even worse, Jesus “also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” From this time forward they intensified their efforts to take His life, not just for flouting their man-made Sabbath regulations, but even more for asserting His deity.
Ask Yourself
Do you observe any Sabbath distinctions in your usual practice of the Lord’s Day? What are the benefits of these various habits or self-imposed restrictions? Would you say that the church today has a healthy understanding of the Sabbath? How could we lead each other to a better stance on it?
From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.
Studying God’s Word ping
Thank you, Metmom!
The Sabbath was instituted at Creation by God. It was reaffirmed on Mt. Sinai with Moses on the Ten Commandments written in stone. Jesus worshiped on the Sabbath (as was His custom). The Sabbath observance is one of the duties of man to God. It does benefit man in that it reminds him Who the Creator is. It is a command and not a suggestion. Jesus answered the confusion on what is acceptable to do on the Sabbath. It is acceptable to do good for your fellow mans needs. Therefore hospitals, firemen, and utility workers are not under condemnation for doing good on that day. If it is not a need, then abstain from it. Jesus gave us His example on how to live life, we merely have to choose to do it regardless of what society thinks.
From the Religion Moderator’s homepage…….
https://freerepublic.com/~religionmoderator/
Religion Forum threads labeled “Devotional:”
Devotional threads are closed to debate of any kind.
Religion Forum threads labeled “Caucus”
Caucus threads are closed to any poster who is not currently and actively a member of the caucus group.
For instance, if it says “Catholic Caucus” and you are not currently, actively Catholic, then do not post to the thread. However, if the poster of the caucus invites you, I will not boot you from the thread.
The “caucus” article and posts must not compare beliefs or speak in behalf of a belief outside the caucus.
There is little to no tolerance for non-members of a caucus coming onto the caucus thread to challenge whether or not it should be a caucus. Gross disruption usually follows.
****************************************************************
Please respect the Religion Forum posting guidelines found on the RM’S homepage that were copied and pasted above.
I do not like to or wish to file abuse reports on people but for those who continue to violate the posting guidelines, I will.
If you feel strongly enough about a topic that you feel it needs a comment that would cause debate, then by all means feel free to start a thread on it. I have suggested that to others in the past and nobody has done that yet, which indicates to me that the violation of the posting guidelines was not done in good faith. But that’s my take on it.
Do you feel any posts in this thread violate the Protestant Caucus/Devotional guidelines? If so, how? I’m not seeing it.
Debate.
How can this thread be 'devotional' when questions like these are asked?
You left off “Ask Yourself”
Questions for each person’s individual edification.
They can be answered without debate.
This is a Caucus thread for Protestants only.
Do not compare with any other belief systems.
It is a Devotional thread also, so there is no debating permitted.
Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27,28)
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience...Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:9–11,16).
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Interesting!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.