Question: Why in Matthew, when Jesus was performing miracles on Sabbath day everyone was asking if he’s allowed to because it’s Sabbath day? I see Sabbath day a day of rest not a day of complete doing nothing? Profile: None provided
God told Moses (Exodus 20:8-11): “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
In Exodus 35:1-3, Moses strengthens that which God told him on Mount Sinai by saying whoever works on the Sabbath must be put to death. Some Jews adopt and practice a strict interpretation of God’s command to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” and not only perform no work but also engage in very limited physical activity of any kind, which is not stated in this manner in the Bible. God’s restriction is on our “work”, i.e., what we normally do during our workdays as opposed to all other related daily activities. Still, God gave us the Sabbath and He wishes us to honor and observe it as a day of rest.
Jesus told us in His Sermon on the Mount that He came to fulfill all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), not to abolish them. Therefore, as God’s son, Jesus presents the “New Covenant” with God’s people and clarifies the Law, which had become overly legalistic and distorted God’s original intent (Matthew 12:1-12). Jesus further instructs us in Mark 2:27: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Therefore, Jesus is telling us, as Son of Man, as God, that the Sabbath is more appropriately regarded as a gift from God and a day of rest, than as a time of absolutely no activity, especially regarding actions emanating out of love or necessity (1 Samuel 21:1-6; Matthew 12:9-12).
Used by permission from GotQuestions.org.
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