Grace to You :: esp Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1

“He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’ For this reason
therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the
Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:17–18).

The Sabbath observance was at the heart of Jewish worship in Jesus’ day. The Lord’s reply to those
who persecuted Him for violating it (5:16), “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working,”
implies that the Sabbath was not instituted for God’s benefit but for man’s (Mark 2:27).

Jesus’ statement that He worked on the Sabbath just like the Father was nothing less than a claim to
full deity and equality with God—that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8). His words
also served as a subtle rebuke to the Jewish legalistic system, under which He had been indicted for
doing good and showing mercy on the Sabbath. After all, God Himself does good and shows mercy
on the Sabbath. Jesus, therefore, maintained that it is right to do good on the Sabbath, since God
does.

The hostile Jews instantly grasped the import of Jesus’ words and as a result were continually
seeking “all the more to kill Him.” He was not just breaking the Sabbath, but even worse, Jesus “also
was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” From this time forward they
intensified their efforts to take His life, not just for flouting their man-made Sabbath regulations, but
even more for asserting His deity.

Ask Yourself

Do you observe any Sabbath distinctions in your usual practice of the Lord’s Day? What are the
benefits of these various habits or self-imposed restrictions? Would you say that the church today
has a healthy understanding of the Sabbath? How could we lead each other to a better stance on it?

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