Sabbath Legalism Verse Sabbath Compassion
Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional reading for today comes from two stories in the Gospel of Luke. Today, we are going to look specifically at John 5:1-15. Today, we look at the issue of legalism. Whether we like to admit it or not, everyone, including you and me, is legalistic about something. In a nutshell, legalism is an enemy to faith in Christ. One of the reasons legalism is such an enemy is that legalism has a partner – judgmentalism. When we take the attitude of being legalistic, then freedom evaporates, worship is non-existent and service becomes ritualistic and drudgery. Legalism is dangerous because it is often a silent enemy that strikes .
Legalism is the establishment of standards and rules carefully determined by a few people for the purpose of celebrating human accomplishment under the ruse of pleasing our Lord. Those who advocate it feel they are being righteous, prudent and obedient to our Lord. But their standards do not come from Scripture, but from self, society and self-centeredness. Legalists believe they are God’s agents of judgment on others. It adorns itself in robes of piety, passion and performance.
Legalism is sinful because it denies grace and insists on law. Legalism produces pride in some and depression in others because they feel they can never reach the standard set. Those who are legalistic are also hypocritical, self-loathing of others and self-righteous. In our text a paralyzed man had been laying around the Pool at Bethesda hoping to get healed. Bethesda is a play on words here. The word in Hebrew means “house of grace.”
For 38 years this man had depended on others to help him get into the pool before anyone else and for 38 years so that he could be healed. There was this belief that an angel would come down and stir the water and the first person in the pool would be healed, but only that one person. For this man, like so many in our time, he believed, “God, helps those who help themselves.”
What I love about Jesus here is that Jesus did not lecture the man for his wrong theology. The man did not need more knowledge; he needed compassion. He needed grace at the “house of grace.” So, Jesus healed this man, but there was one problem. Jesus did this on the Sabbath and the religious Jewish Gestapo (Pharisees) was watching and they were furious with Jesus for doing this. This man was carrying his mat and he got scolded by the Pharisees for working on the Sabbath. The Jewish religious leaders believed the man was working on the Sabbath only because it took effort and energy to carry his mat.
God gave the command about the Sabbath in Exodus 20:11 so that we could have a day for two primary blessings: rest for our bodies and worship for our souls and hearts. If we worked 7 days a week, we would not worship the Lord. So, the Sabbath was a gift from God to us. But the religious leaders, the Pharisees, turned this day for rest and worship, into a burden, severe criticism, and excuse to exercise power over people. They held the belief that honoring the Law for all the wrong reasons was right.
Think of it this way. Let’s say you have a neighbor who is a quadriplegic. He has been that way for 40 years. One Sunday morning in the summer you are abruptly awakened by a loud sound. You jump out of bed and look out your bedroom windows and see your quadriplegic neighbor joyfully mowing his yard! If you were a person of compassion, you’d get dressed and run to your neighbor and ask, “How are you not a quadriplegic?” If you are a legalist, you would run to your neighbor and shout, “What in the world are you doing? It’s Sunday morning. Turn that mower off and stop this now.”
The legalistic religious “Gestapo” wanted to know from the man who had healed him and told him to carry his mat. The man did not know. Later when Jesus encountered the man he told him to be careful or something worse than being a quadriplegic for 38 years would happen to him. What would that be – to be in hell for all eternity. Later the religious leaders start persecuting Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Note this: they never denied the miracle. They just denounced the miracle worker – Jesus. The Sabbath is not a day of passive rest. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer tells us what it is designed for:
“The Lord’s Day is not a day for selfish entertainment or amusement. It is not a day for idleness and rest. Its privileges should be, and will be, preserved by all who delight to do His will. It becomes an opportunity for many who are held by secular work during the days of the week, to offer the fullest service of prayer, worship, and testimony which belongs to their Lord. The instructed Christian no longer labors to be accepted of God, which was the obligation under the law; but he, being accepted in grace, labors to glorify his Lord who saves him. He has ceased from his own works, and though ceaselessly active, is working in the power and energy of the Spirit” (Source: Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Grace, pp. 290-291).
So what is the Sabbath for today? Have you ever thought about that or attempted to answer that question for another? James Montgomery Boice tells us there are 11 things the Lord wants us to do on the Sabbath:
“Everything that we do in church on this day is based on these eleven great events [the ones we have just considered]. These are: the gathering together, the reading and interpretation of the Scriptures, the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, the collection of offerings, the observance of communion, and above all the remembrance and worship of the One who died for us and rose again. We do not do these things by accident or by whim. This is God’s pattern” (Source: quoted by Rylan K. Hughes, Preach The Word, “John: That You May Believe,” p. 159).
Reflection Assignment: What do you do on the Sabbath? Do you primarily see it as a day of worship and rest OR do you see it as a catch-up day for things you did not get done during your week? Do you see the Sabbath (Sunday) as a day to minister to others or be ministered to by others? Are you using it for household chores or as for serving the Lord in His house? What do you need to do to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy?
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 2:27, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath’” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I want to honor the Sabbath in a way that honors You rather than getting unfinished tasks done. I ask You to forgive me when I have used Your Sabbath as a “catch-up” day. I do not want to be legalistic, judgmental, prideful and self-righteous in my attitude against others. I want to show and give them grace and compassion just like You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly