| December
26
Lord of the Sabbath
There is a lot of controversy over whether it is
appropriate or required to rest on the Sabbath
day. Indeed, there is even controversy
over what day should celebrated as the Sabbath
as most Christians celebrate on the first day of
the week in honor of Christ's resurrection
instead of the seventh day as the Jews were
instructed.
Jesus was criticized for healing on the Sabbath
and for not following the man made rules that
the Jewish leaders had constructed - well
meaning but often foolish laws.
Jesus did not break any law that God had given
to man. He also doesn't supersede any law
- that is to decide that He is above it and it
doesn't apply to Him. Instead He offers
clarification to the legalistic ways that the
law had been incorrectly interpreted.
The Sabbath was intended for man to rest.
The example given was that God rested on the
seventh day, so should man. God obviously
did not need to rest because He was tired but He
did so as an example for us.
Jesus is the Lord of rest. We jam too many
activities into our day and are exhausted at
night. Then we reschedule more into the
next day because we missed something the day
before. Instead of a day of rest, Sunday
has become a day to catch up on things we didn't
have time to do the rest of the week.
Jesus is the Lord of rest. Take a day off
to follow that example. It will be of
benefit both physically and spiritually. |
