After Luke records Jesus’ dealing with temptations, he proceeds into a compilation of events and sayings. Luke was a physician, and you’ll see more healing stories in his book than anywhere else. Significant among the early healings and other stories was the way Jesus dealt with the Sabboth. I was taught (and have never seen anything to contradict it) that Jewish Sabboth observance really caught on during the Babylonian Captivity as a way to keep their heritage alive. Over time, thinkers kept trying to define what it meant to “keep the Sabboth holy.” If you are to do no work, then what is work? So began a long process of writing definitions–otherwise known as laws or rules–about how to keep the day holy.
Jesus realized that the problem with rules is that they become a burden on the people. They forgot about concentrating on being holy and started concentrating on not breaking the rules. Today psychologists have verified Jesus stance that what you think about determines what you’ll do. When Jesus healed a man’s withered arm on the Sabboth in full view of everyone, he asked whether it was God’s will to do good or to do evil on the Sabboth.
The lesson for us is to reflect on our thoughts and actions and see where our concentration is. Are we more concerned with rules, and not breaking them? Or, are we concerned with God and what He wants us to do in every situation, with every minute? I know which one Jesus picked. Wish I could be as perfect as He!
Tags: Christianity, Ethics, Spirituality
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