“The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’ He answered them, ‘He who made me well said to me, “Take up your bed and walk.”’ Then they asked him, ‘Who is the Man who said to you, “Take up your bed and walk”?’ But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.” John 5:10-13.
The response of the Jews is tremendous, “Thirty-eight years! They exclaimed, “Thirty-eight years of suffering, thirty-eight years of depending on others to carry you anywhere, thirty-eight years of depending on the charity of others for food, clothing, or lodging, thirty-eight years of being unable to care for yourself or your family, thirty-eight years of feeling useless, of tears, frustration, and misery! When you awoke today, did you think, even dream that a Man would walk up to you and with a word, heal you; PRAISE GOD!”
No, wait a minute, let me look at my notes here, oh, yes, they said, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
It is true; work was not to be done on the Sabbath.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.
“Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, ‘These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’” Exodus 35:1-3.
This latter injunction seems to be the only other thing added to the Sabbath day rest in Scripture, probably to force the family to do all the cooking on Friday, the sixth day, so no housework would be done on the Sabbath either.
It is ingenious because the wife would be expected to cook for everyone, forcing her to work on this day of rest. If she cannot start a fire, she should not be expected to cook.
The severe penalty attached to this commandment is because while men are lazy, they are also greedy and would not hesitate to violate the Sabbath, especially the rich who had servants or enough children to order around while they loaf. It is a day of rest.
From the Babylonian captivity on, the Jews had expanded and added traditions to the Law of Moses until men were loaded down with rules and regulations.
No healing or carrying your pallet on the Sabbath, just more man-made law to weigh men down with heavy loads; something that Satan continually incites men to do to make loving God burdensome rather than a joy.
“Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, ‘Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?’” Mark 2:23-24.
“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. And they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. Then He said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Step forward.’ And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they kept silent. So when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:1-6.
“Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.’ The Lord then answered him and said, ‘Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.” Luke 13:10-17.
“Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.” Luke 14:1-6.
“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’” Mark 2:27-28.
As an aside, I ask you to consider Mark 3:6 briefly.
“Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:6.
When you examine the evil those in authority inflict on men and women who stand for Christ; even attempting to deny them their Constitutional rights to free speech and Christian beliefs. Remember the same sort of people plotted to destroy Jesus after He did good.
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.” 1 Peter 4:12-14.
The marginal note in my Bible gives the words, insulted or reviled, as an alternative for the word “reproached” above.
Now, what can we conclude about the issue of work on the Sabbath? Jesus, who gave the Ten Commandments to begin with, tells us that, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” This day was given to make men rest at least one day a week. The necessity of this rest is underscored by the penalty for breaking it, death.
Greed and commerce would have men working seven days a week. This can be seen by the plight of the coalminers in both Great Britain and the United States during the last couple of centuries.
These men worked twelve hours a day six days a week, which means they never would have seen the sun if it were not for the Sabbath injunction being carried over to Sunday.
As it is the total disregard for these men’s health and families, amounts to murder and theft on the part of those who owned the mines.
The Spanish conquistadors had even less Christian civility when they enslaved the natives of South America and forced them into the mines seven days a week, working them to death. Can you see why God gave out such a harsh penalty for Sabbath work?
So, what constitutes work? Even the fourth Commandment seems to give some leeway, and Jesus implied that there was nothing wrong with taking your animal to water or pulling him out of a ditch, which might even take a great deal of work.
What did folks do on the Sabbath?
Jesus taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath. People had to walk there; even that was regulated, “a Sabbath day’s journey” Acts 1:12b was a distance of approximately 2000 cubits, some 3000 feet, a bit more than a half mile.
There are also times when Jesus would eat at a Pharisees home. Who served the food? Just how legal do you want to be?
The Sabbath was a day of rest, enjoyment, and a reminder that God cares for even the smallest details of our lives. For this they plotted to kill or destroy Jesus.
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’” John 5:14.
While this man’s sin is not revealed to us, it was quite likely a pattern of sin that brought on his infirmity. Do not kid yourself; a sinful life can lead to serious health problems, some form of paralysis, blindness, or even death.
Just one sin can do it; sex with the wrong person can result in a venereal disease that will stay with you your whole life.
It is human nature to try and assign a cause for someone’s affliction. Often that cause is sin as Jesus stated here.
However, that was not the case for Job, even though his friends accused him of some sort of hidden sin because they could not imagine God allowing something as terrible as Job’s afflictions.
Job’s problem though, was not sin; rather it was because he was too righteous. So much so that he thought that it commended him to God.
“So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.” Job 32:1.
Luke 13:10-17 quoted earlier speaks of a woman who had a spirit of infirmity, presumably a demon, who had her bent over, unable to straighten up for eighteen years.
Had she opened a door to evil spirits by dabbling in the occult, or a family member exposed her to it when they tried witchcraft, necromancy, or saw a fortune teller?
It is possible to expose an innocent child to evil spirits when the parent gets involved with matters of the occult.
The disciples asked the Lord about a man born blind, whether he sinned or his parents that he should be born blind. Jesus answered them.
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” John 9:3.
Sometimes these things just glorify God.
The best advice is to take the Lord’s advice, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37.
“The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.” John 5:15-16.
The man departed and told the Jews who his benefactor was; notice that he said “who made him well” with no mention of having been told to carry his pallet.
Arguably, there may have been no malice on the part of the one healed, rather, it seems, the man probably thought that the Jews and Jesus were all on the same team. After all they did serve the same God.
“Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:28.
It is not Lawful, John 5:10-16 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 8-9-12, updated on 7-22-17.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.