Is Sabbath about taking off a day and doing nothing? There may be
times when that is the case, but Jesus offers a larger view. In
today’s focal text (John 5:1-18), Jesus shows that sometimes Sabbath
is about reaching out to help others.
Jesus does not do this healing in order to get attention or gratitude.
In fact, He disappeared back into the crowd and the man who was healed
did not even know who had healed him (v. 13). Only later (vv. 14-15)
does this man understand who it was who healed him.
One of the things that upset some of the religious observers was that
Jesus not only broke the Sabbath, but He did it and made it seem as if
this was the action of God (John 5:17), thus making Himself equal to
God. The writer John has already made that point: “It is God
the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him
known.” (John 1`:14, 18) Breaking the Sabbath law for the healing
was a sign that God was still at work.
The other day I went to the burial of the ashes of a friend. As we
stood around after the service, his widow asked those of us there to
offer some memory of Bill. I had to laugh as I recalled something
that happened on a Sunday during General Conference. Bill and I were
rooming together and at the halfway point of General Conference, I
realized that I had not packed enough clothes for the two weeks. “I
need these shirts and underwear cleaned. I’ll never have time to do
it tomorrow when we crank up full tilt again.”
Bill replied, “I know it is Sunday, but you need those things for the
next week. I’ll go and find a laundromat and wash them for you.”
“But, Bill,” I protested. “That would mean you would miss the special
afternoon worship program.” We debated as to whether washing clothes
would violate the Sabbath. I think Bill had a better understanding of
Sabbath than I did. When I got back from the worship, Bill was
walking into our hotel room with a bag of my newly cleaned clothes.
Amen.
What Someone Else Has Said:
In Everyday Matters (Abingdon Press), L.
Gregory Jones wrote: “Instead of trying to cram time for sabbath-
keeping into my schedule, or even adding ‘rest’ at the end of my ‘to
do’ list, I discovered a need and a desire to cultivate practices for
‘opening the gift of time.’ Could I refocus my life in a way that
keeps the gospel’s sense of time at the heart of my life, in the core
of my imagination?”
Prayer:
As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Lord
Jesus, You have shown me the way to keep Sabbath...”
