…We are to come to have the mind of Christ, are we not? How do we do that? One of the best ways is by fellowshipping on the Sabbath. So we need to repent. Now let’s come here and see what else we need to do. Let’s come to Isaiah 56. And here’s where salvation and Sabbath-keeping go together. Isaiah 56:1, and I want you to understand the time setting. I want you to realize what this is really telling us. Now let’s read beginning in verse 1. “Thus saith the LORD [these are the Words of God], Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.” What is judgment? And what is justice? He explains it. You must have the right judgment to see that you need to keep the Sabbath. Notice: “Blessed is the man that doeth this,…” Not cursed. Sunday-keepers say you’re cursed. God says you’re blessed. Now who are you going to believe – men or God? Take the words of a man, or the words of God?

“Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” So there’s a blessing for Sabbath-keeping, and it’s profound and important. Now notice, “Neither let the son of the stranger,…” That is, the Gentile. The ones who, under the Old Covenant, did not have access to God the way that the children of Israel did. But under the New Covenant, there is equal status with Gentiles and Jews and Israelites. “Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from His people:…” (vs. 2-3). Now you see, one of the sins that we find in the New Testament is the separation of the Gentiles and the Jews. Paul said, “We are all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28, paraphrased). The stranger is saying here that he is separated from His people. But God says,” Don’t say that.” Because now we’re dealing with the New Covenant. And this is a prophecy of the New Covenant. This is a prophecy at the end time when God’s salvation is ready to be revealed.

 And He says, “…neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree [I have no family; I have no one].” Christ said, “With Me, you will have returned a hundredfold in this life, and in the next life, everlasting life” (Mark 10:30, paraphrased). “For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me,…” So choosing Sabbath-keeping is pleasing to God, is it not? Yes. “…And take hold of My covenant;…” And this is a prophecy of the New Covenant. This also is taking hold of the perpetual covenant of Sabbath-keeping, as we saw. “…Even unto them will I give in Mine house…” (vs. 3-5). Jesus said, “I go prepare a place for you, and come again, I will receive you, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3, paraphrased). This is a prophecy of that.

“…And within My walls a place and a name better than of sons…” (vs. 5). “I will give you a new, eternal name, and the name of My Father, and the name of New Jerusalem.” See, all of this is New Testament doctrine, right here in the book of Isaiah. “…I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain,…” (vs. 5-7). That’s coming in to the kingdom of God. It says there in Isaiah 11, “Behold, in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be exalted above the hills” (Isaiah 2:2, paraphrased). This is referring directly to that.

 “…And make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar;…” (vs. 7). Now it’s getting back into the Old Covenant, and so forth. But right in mingled in with it, then, is the New Covenant and the New Covenant application. Turn the page and let’s come to Isaiah 58, and let’s see something else that’s very important, and how the Sabbath is a blessing. Let’s really understand…the Sabbath is a blessing. What is wrong is false doctrine. What is wrong is false teaching. What is wrong are the lies against the Sabbath. What is wrong is a conspiracy, and a hiding of the eyes to the Sabbath and the unclean so that they can perpetrate false doctrines.

Notice here, verse 13. He says, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,…” That means, from using the Sabbath for your ordinary day of work. “If you will turn…” And that’s repentance. “…From doing thy pleasure on My holy day;…” You see, the doing the things that please God should be the pleasure that you have on the Sabbath day. Not doing the things of sports, or shopping, or other things. And we’ll talk about that later on. You see, do the things that are pleasing to Him. “…And call the Sabbath a delight,…”

Now not only do you have to call it a delight, you have to, with the Spirit of God and the understanding of God’s word, make it a delight. And you do this through fellowship with God the Father, through prayer, through study, through fellowship with the brethren. And if you’re all there and have the Spirit of God, whenever anyone shakes your hand, Christ is shaking your hand. When anyone gives you a hug, it is God the Father hugging you, through His Spirit, through that person, to you. And God joyfully loves the Sabbath. And He is happy to be there, to put His Spirit and His presence. And if we prepare for the day spiritually, especially so the day is a delight, your whole perspective of the Sabbath is going to change. It is going to be the best and most wonderful day of the week. Because you are fellowshipping with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and fellowshipping with the brethren, the heirs of eternal life. Now that’s a profound and a precious thing, brethren. Let’s read on.

“…And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable;…” That means right, and good, and upstanding in every way; “…and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then…” Now notice all the “ifs.” Notice the responsibility of our part on the Sabbath for making it right until we get to the “then.” Let’s review that again. If:

1. Turn your foot away from the Sabbath day

2. From doing your pleasure on My holy day

3. Call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord

4. Honor

5. Honor Him, not doing your own way

6. Nor finding your own pleasure

7. Nor speaking your own words.

Now there are seven conditions to this “if.” Now we come to verse 14, “…Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD;…” Now if you don’t do these things, it’s going to be a pain in the neck because your mind is somewhere else. Your heart is somewhere else. Your thoughts are somewhere else. And you are sad when the sun goes down Friday night because you can’t do what you want to do. And you can hardly wait for sundown the next night so you can do what you want to do. Listen – if that’s your attitude, you don’t have a clue as to how to keep the Sabbath. And you will never derive out of it what God desires for you to derive out of it, because you haven’t even started to worship Him in spirit and in truth. See how important that is? So you’ve got to fulfill all seven of these conditions to make the Sabbath right. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord.

Notice how it changes the whole perspective when you do that. Then the Sabbath is a delight; it’s not a burden. Then the Sabbath is a wonderful time, not a drag. Then the Sabbath is a time to learn and grow in grace and knowledge, and it’s not a time where you’re frustrated because you can’t do what you want to do. Why, if you love God, would you want to do your things on the Sabbath day? Why, if you love God, would you want to turn your back on Him to ignore Him on the day that He set aside as an appointment to fellowship with Him? You see? Look at it that way and understand how marvelous the Sabbath is. He says, “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,…” That’s a prophecy of entering into the kingdom of God, to rule the world with Christ. “…And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:…” And he’s going to inherit what? The inheritance of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, right? Which is the whole world, isn’t it? Yes it is. “…For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (vs. 14). It’s a guarantee. You want something that’s a guarantee? You got it. Right there. Right in front of you. And God has given that as a guarantee. That’s a marvelous thing.

Now let’s come to the New Testament. Let’s look at some New Testament things. Now first of all, we need to knock down a satanic argument, which is this: the satanic argument is, if it’s not stated in the New Testament you don’t have to do it. That is a satanic argument because it is not true. We are going to see, however, that keeping the Sabbath is stated in the New Testament. Now how many times must it be stated? Since God is a God of truth, if it’s only once then it’s binding, is it not? Yes indeed.

Now let’s come to Matthew 4 and let’s see where in the New Covenant, in the words of Christ – and let’s understand something profound concerning Christ and His ministry. Jesus Christ, with His ministry, was not under the Old Covenant. He was under the New Covenant, the firstborn under the New Covenant. Now notice in the temptation that He had with Satan the devil. And Satan is the one who wants to keep you from keeping the Sabbath. He is the one who wants you to reject it and forsake it. He is the one that wants you to keep Sunday, because that is his day – the day of the sun, the day of Baal.

Now verse 3. “And when the tempter came to Him [that’s after He fasted forty days and forty nights], he said [to Him], If Thou be the Son of God,…” Now notice the divisive argument that Satan always uses. “…Command that these stones be made bread.” In other words, “If You don’t do this, You’re not the Son of God.” Notice Jesus’ answer. “But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God [shall man live]” (Matt. 4:3-4). Now then, did the command for the Sabbath proceed out of the mouth of God? No question about it. He spoke it on Mt. Sinai, didn’t He? Repeated again in Deuteronomy 5 before they went into the promised land. How many times must God say, “Keep the Sabbath holy” before you believe Him? So this is an affirmation of the Sabbath, no question. Broad, inclusive statement, “…by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Now that’s a profound statement. All-inclusive.

Now let’s come over here to chapter 5. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law,…” And that is, the word means, “to abolish.” “…I am not come to [abolish] destroy, but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). Now there are two aspects of fulfilling. Number one, for the law, to fill the law full with the spiritual requirements beyond the letter of the law. That’s why in chapter 5, 6, and 7, He says, “You have heard it said of old time, but I say to you…”, “You have heard it said of old time, but I say to you…” And He’s bringing the law to fulfill the law to a high spiritual standard. The other part of fulfilling is to fulfill the Scriptures that pertain to Himself in His first coming.

Now let’s read on. Verse 18, “For verily I say unto you [which is, ‘Truly;’ or, ‘In truth, I’m saying to you’], Till heaven and earth pass,…” Now God did a wonderful thing here. He took the two greatest witnesses that there could be – the universe, and the earth. And He says, “If these pass, then all My words have passed.” Well, the heaven is here, the earth is here, so guess what? “…[Not] one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Then He says, “Wherefore…” I want all of those of you who are beginning to believe in Sunday, I want you to stop and think. I want you to pull yourself up in the path that you are going, stop and plant your feet down, and focus your mind on this verse.

“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,…” And Sabbath-keeping is one of the least, isn’t it? Any commandment that you think that you can throw away is a “least commandment,” because you don’t want to be bothered with it. Now notice, He continues on. “…And shall teach men so,…” And that’s what is happening. “…He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:…” And being least means you’re not even going to be there. “…But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (vs. 19). So if you teach and preach about the Sabbath, if you teach and preach about the love of God, if you teach and preach about the commandments of God and serving Him and loving Him, then God says you will be called “great” in the kingdom of heaven.

Now notice again, verse 20. “For I say unto you,…” Christ, first person. If you believe in Christ, do you believe these words? “…That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees [who did everything in the letter of the law], ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Why is that? Because God has now a higher standard of worship. Let’s come to John 4 and see what that is. He has a higher standard of worship for you today, for all of those who are the sons of God today, begotten with the Holy Spirit of God.

Now this is when He was in the city of Samaria. Let’s pick it up here in verse 19. “The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem [because it was the place] is the place where men ought [are obligated] to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” It is not going to be restricted to a physical place. Because the kind of worship is going to change. “Ye worship ye know not what [because they were worshipping demons]: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews [meaning, coming out of Christ]. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:…” (John 4:19-23).

You must have the Spirit of God, you must have the right heart, you must seek Him with all your heart and mind and soul and being; you must love Him with all your heart and mind and soul and being; and it must be according to truth. And Jesus said God’s word is truth. Sabbath-keeping is truth. Holy day-keeping is truth. That’s how we are to worship God today. That is the only way that your righteousness is going to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. Because they were so punctilious in the letter of the law that they had hundreds and hundreds of “do this” and “don’t do that” and “don’t do the other thing.”

“…When the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. [For] God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must…” And this word “must” in the Greek means under obligation or compulsion, to “…worship Him in spirit and in truth” (vs. 23-24). And that means with a humble heart; that means with a contrite spirit; that means with a yieldedness to God. So let’s understand that. That’s very important for us to realize that.

Now let’s continue. Let’s go on a little bit further here. Let’s understand what God wants us to do. Now let’s go back, before we start surveying what Jesus said, let’s go back and review one more verse, Matthew 22, and let’s read the verse here, beginning in verse 37. There are certain key verses, brethren, which are absolutely basic. And all of the teachings and doctrines of God come and cross through these certain very key intersections of verses, because they are profound, because everything hinges on that. If you liken the Word of God unto a sphere, and all the doctrines and teachings and the word of God passes through this sphere, there are almost an infinite number of angles for it to go through, and an infinite number of angles where it crosses. And in the core of it, in the core of this sphere, is what we have here in Matthew 22:37.

“Jesus said to him,…” The lawyer wanted to know which is the greatest commandment of the law. And there’s always a debate of that: “Oh, the greatest commandment? I will do the greatest commandment!” But what did Jesus say? If you do and teach even the least you will be called great. So you see, man’s perspective is always the opposite. He wants to do the great things; God wants you to do the simple and loving and humble things. And that becomes great. So Jesus answered and said, “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Now verse 40…memorize this. Key this. Make this a part of your very mind and soul and being. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).

So if someone says, “God is a God of love; therefore, we can keep Sunday.” That is a satanic lie by taking truth and twisting and perverting it. Because all the law and commandments are supported by and hung from the love of God. You need to really understand that and realize how important that is. Now let’s go on. Let’s continue and see some things here. Let’s see how Jesus kept the Sabbath. Let’s go to Matthew – not Matthew, but Mark 2. This is another profound, key verse. Mark 2:27. This tells us which day the Lord’s day is. Now remember, the one Who became Jesus Christ was the Creator of the Sabbath. And that’s why He’s Lord of the Sabbath. He made it. Now, it’s just like if you have a house, and you build the house, and you made it. You are lord of that house. It is yours. Right? Well, maybe share it with the bank. [Laughs] But it’s yours. Christ made the Sabbath. Let’s get that straight. If He made it, He is Lord of it. If He made it, He owns it. If He made it, which He did, He tells us what to do on it.

Now verse 27, “And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man,…” And the word “man” comes from the Greek anthropos, which means, “mankind.” God intended all mankind to keep the Sabbath. And as we’re going to see, the way that the day Saturday is called today, in almost every language it means “the Sabbath day.” And that is a perpetual witness to all people in all languages that that is the day of God.

“…The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:…” Now this is telling us something very important that we need to know and understand. That is, since it was made for man, and God made it for us, for our good, and for rest, and for fellowshipping with Him; therefore, man – since it was made for him, and not man for the Sabbath – see, God did not create the Sabbath day and then create man. God created man then He created the Sabbath day for him. This means that man has no say-so on the Sabbath day, whether we ought to keep it or not. Now it’s given to us that we should choose to do so. And hopefully we should choose to do so, because Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, man has no jurisdiction over the Sabbath day. Meaning that no man can say, “I proclaim another day holy.” Now he can do that, but does that in spiritual terms change spiritual reality? No, it doesn’t. Here’s why: “…Therefore, the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath [day]” (Mark 2:27-28). Which day is the Lord’s day? The Sabbath day. Sunday never was, and never will be, and never can be the Lord’s Day, because it – the first day of the week – is not the seventh day of the week; it is not Sabbath.

Now, let’s see what Jesus did. Let’s come to the book of Luke, chapter 4. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Because, you see, the perpetual covenant runs alongside all the covenants of God. Remember that. You can never do away with the Sabbath or the holy days because they are in a perpetual covenant. And that’s in addition to every covenant that God makes. Now, did Jesus give us an example that we ought to follow in His footsteps? Yes, He did. Peter said so.

Luke 4:16, “And He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was,…” His custom. “…He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” And what happened? “And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias.” And He read out of there His very commission, didn’t He, and the very purpose of His ministry? Yes He did. Let’s read that. And this is what the Sabbath day is to do for us also. “And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel…” New Testament doctrine, right? Isn’t preaching the gospel New Testament doctrine? And He’s preaching this on the Sabbath day, isn’t He? Yes.

“…To preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.” And He had something else to say. They were all looking at Him. “And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (vs. 17-21). Now, on what day, brethren? The Sabbath day. Very important.

Let’s continue on and see. Let’s come over here to verse 31. “And [He] came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.” That means Sabbath, after Sabbath, after Sabbath, after Sabbath, Jesus Christ taught them. And this is an important lesson for us today. If we are keeping the Sabbath and keeping the Sabbath properly, and we are studying the word of God, will not God’s Spirit teach us? Do we not have the promise of Jesus Christ, that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth? That it will teach us things? Yes. That’s why the Sabbath is important, because God’s Spirit is there. That’s why Jesus taught on the Sabbath days. Now He taught also during the week. But on the Sabbath days was especially important.

“And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power” (vs. 31-32). That’s something. And with that power He didn’t change the Sabbath to Sunday. Listen - the only way that Sunday-keeping could be considered worthy of considering is if Jesus Christ said, “I, as Lord of the Sabbath, am changing the Sabbath from Saturday – or, from the seventh day – to the first day, and I seal it with My blood.” Can you find anything like that anywhere in the Bible, Old Testament or New Testament? No. Nowhere. Let’s see what else He did here on the Sabbath day. Let’s see how He kept the Sabbath day. Let’s see the example that He gave us that we need to follow. Let’s come here to Mark 3. Now back to the book of Mark. Right after He said He was Lord of the Sabbath, back here in Mark 3, we have what He did, then, on the Sabbath day. And let’s notice what the Jews did. Let’s notice the hostility that the Jews had.

Mark 3:1, “And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him.” Now you see, the Jews truly made the Sabbath a burden. They did. Because they had hundreds and hundreds of laws and traditions which they had. So they were looking to see if He was going to break one of their laws and one of their traditions by healing. See, to heal on the Sabbath is proper, because it is part of what we read there, that He is to heal the brokenhearted; raise up those who are sick; set at liberty those who are held captive by Satan the devil.

“And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.” Now in the synagogues they had an area up front, so He told him to come up front. “And He saith unto them [He preached to them on the Sabbath day], Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.” See, because Jesus knew how to say it in such a way they couldn’t answer back. “And when He had looked round about on them with anger,…” because of their self-righteous, religious attitude, in making the Sabbath a burden. And the fact that they were looking to accuse Him. “…[And] being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,…” What hard-heartedness! Here’s a man with a withered hand, that you would be so stingy and so selfish, and so evil that you would not want to see him healed on the Sabbath.

“…He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.” And notice, there wasn’t one rejoicing person in the synagogue. “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him” (Mark 3:1-6). So that’s something, isn’t it? Boy, I tell you. That’s really something, the way that they did.

Let’s come here to John 5. And again, here’s another healing. And here again, we’re going to see where the liars against the Sabbath come with their doctrine to say that Jesus broke the Sabbath. “So therefore, if Jesus broke it, it’s Ok if we break it. Therefore, I will see you in church on Sunday.” Which is saying what? They know they’re breaking the Sabbath, correct? I mean, think about it! Now, we’ll examine this very carefully.

Verse 1, “After this there was a feast [or a festival] of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.” Because God did one thing. He wanted them to know once a year when this occurred, or whenever it occurred, when the waters moved the first one down there would be healed. “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years” (John 5:1-5). Now you think on that. If you’ve had a sickness over a period of time, have you had it for thirty-eight years?

“When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man,…” And I imagine he was, tears in his eyes. “…[That] When the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” Did he do that thirty-eight years and miss it every time? I don’t know. But it was for a long time. It says he was there a long time. “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” Now what kind of bed did he have? I’m sure that it was not a Simmons box spring and mattress. I’m sure it was a bedroll, like what we would call a sleeping bag. Now how much does one of those weigh? Oh, maybe, if you have a big heavy-duty one, maybe eight pounds? Ten at the most? “And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day:…” (vs. 6-10).

Now let’s understand one thing that Jesus did: Jesus released the Sabbath from all of the letter-of-the-law, picayune traditions that the Jews added to the Sabbath day. This is what He did here. So they said, “…It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed [on the Sabbath day]. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk [what am I to do? I’m walking. I’m healed]. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not [didn’t know] who it was: for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (vs. 10-14).

Now, let’s talk about the physical condition here for just a minute. There are things which cause debilitating things such as this man had. Doesn’t tell us what he had; he was just an impotent man and couldn’t walk. But it was the result of some kind of sin. Now we are not told what it is. But he is told, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” Now let’s look at that in relationship to the Sabbath day. If you reject the Sabbath day and begin sinning, is something worse going to come upon you somewhere down the road when you are least expecting it? Think on that. If Jesus released this man on the Sabbath day so he could keep the Sabbath, and loosed that law of the Jews which said, “You can’t carry a bedroll on the Sabbath.” And that was a law of the Jews. That’s why He loosed it. Just think of our relationship, if we are turning our back on God with the Sabbath.

Verse 15, “The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.” Now I don’t know why the man did that, but he did. “And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (vs. 15-17). Now that’s a profound statement. We’ll come back to this a little later on. But God is doing a spiritual work on the Sabbath. And therefore, any physical thing that we do on the Sabbath to keep the Sabbath spiritually, that is allowable under the New Covenant. It was even allowable under the Old Covenant. But the Jews, in trying to be so strict, and to be more righteous than God, made the Sabbath a terrible, terrible, terrible burden.

So this blew the Jews’ minds by saying on the Sabbath that, “My Father is working,” it blew their minds in two ways. “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the sabbath,…” Now that is an incorrect translation. That should read, “He loosed the Sabbath day from that burdensome law that the Jews had put on the Sabbath day,” that a man could not even carry his bedroll. He did not violate the Sabbath because Jesus never sinned once. So therefore, this should be properly translated, and the Greek verb here is luo, which means “to loose.” He loosed the Sabbath day. “…But said also that God was his Father, making Himself equal with God” (vs. 18).

So they just didn’t understand what Christ was all about. They didn’t understand what He was doing with the Sabbath day. They didn’t understand that the spiritual aspect of the Sabbath day, where spiritual work is to be done. Now brethren, on the Sabbath day spiritual is to be done with us: that we grow in grace and knowledge; we grow in understanding; we grow in the love of God. And those are the spiritual works that the Father is working today. Now next time we’ll pick it up from here, and we’ll look at other aspects of the New Testament Sabbath-keeping.

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