Ex. 35:2 On six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest in honor of Adonai. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.
Pretty straight forward. Death. Not a lot of wiggle room. Death.
Along comes Jesus and most of the healings of Jesus that were recorded in the New Testament were on the Sabbath. Why? And my answer would be the fact that what God is doing on the Sabbath is rest for us, otherwise, pastors never would have a rest day. God's work should not be work for us. One of the things God commanded in the putting together of the temple was the clothing of the priests would not be made of wool so they would not sweat. The "sweat of our brow" is not something God requires, but rather the investment of our heart.
Jesus healed on the Sabbath because He said He saw His Father working on the Sabbath. Just as they fed their animals, or rescued them from the ditch.
We are to bless and be blessed on the Sabbath because it is food that other people do not know of, water that springs up from our inner being, and refreshing to our spirit.
We need a day devoted to the Lord. You can decide that day. But man was made to have a day in six to regenerate. It was important enough that in the institution it was death to miss it. Now we have grace, but our bodies and minds are made the same. Choose a day that is the Lord's, your spirit will thank you for it.
Pastor Brent
