1) He is Lord of the Sabbath: Jesus went to an unnamed, but obligatory, feast. Jesus went to church habitually, Luke 4:16 “and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath.” His habit was to go to synagogue on the Sabbath. Worship on Sunday should be our habit as it was Jesus’. The acid test was what He did; what is your habit?
· 38 years the man had waited, why wait any more? Jesus healed him then pointed him to God, not a pool of water or to angels.
· Jesus told him to do something and he did it. More important than healing faith was faith to obey. God cares about our obedience to His commands.
· Jesus said his sickness was caused by sin, quit sinning lest something worse than sickness happens to you!
2) "You can’t do that on Sabbath!" Jesus told him to break the Sabbath tradition. Sinless Jesus told him to “sin.” Sabbath keeping was 1 of 2 convenent signs, circumcision was the other sign. It was proof of love of God, identity with Him.
· In every case where Jesus commanded Sabbath breaking except 1, the event was healing. That 1 other was harvesting and food preperation on Sabbath.
· Lord over the Sabbath, as He is of everything else. Was it a sin to carry a sleeping mat? Exodus 20:8-11; Jeremiah 17:22; the intent was anti-trade, not anti-necessity; Luke 13:15,14:5; Matthew 9:13; 12:7: Hosea 6:6, loving kindness, covenant love, is the key.
· V. 17 Jesus said: "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." God rested from creation, but never from sustaining the creation. Colossians 1:17 “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” What if God “rested” from holding everything together?
3) The Jews main dispute with Jesuswas the Sabbath.
· Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mark 2:27 “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Hebrews 4 is about entering this “rest.”
· Romans 3:31, Matthew 5:17: Jesus fulfilled the law, Paul affirmed the law. Hebrews 10:23-31
. Do you affirm the law of the Sabbath? Rest? Do you have saving faith? Do you have faith to trust in Jesus?
