Jesus’ Sabbath

And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: Matthew 12:9-16

Steps: 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 ,12

Jesus went to church on the Sabbath, as His custom was, and fellowshipped with the Jewish people. They had a person in their midst who had a withered hand and they asked Jesus if was OK to heal someone on the Sabbath? Jesus told them a practical story and asked them if they would take care of an animal that fell in the pit, simply for financial benefit, but if a man were to fall into a pit they would tell the man to wait until after the Sabbath before they received any help at all. Jesus said that in the eyes of God, Himself, that a man is better than a sheep. Thus if one would find a man in a pit on the 7th day of the week, that it is ok to help that person even if were to fall on the Sabbath day. Jesus then tells the man to stretch out his hand and it was healed. The Pharisees, the Jewish leadership, were angry that Jesus would put the healing of a man as something worthy to be done even on the Sabbath day and they were so angry that they wanted to destroy Him. Thus in their heart and in their actions they showed that they were breaking the Sabbath day because they wanted to harm instead of heal.

Prayer for Today: What a story that is God to think that people wanted to kill on the Sabbath day while stating that they wanted to know the truth. These people were out to take care of themselves and did not want to know the Truth, for the Truth was standing in front of them trying to teach them. Please help us to not turn away from the Truth but to accept Him and His Sabbath days, and His healing in our own lives. Thank You for Your blessings to us.