Luke, Chapter 6, starts with this -
The Pharisees accusing Jesus, and his disciples for working on God’s sacred day of rest. They had been walking through the grain fields when they stopped to eat what they harvested. This is when the religious men saw them, and began to blame them for breaking the law of the Sabbath. Jesus said, “Have you read the scripture about King David, when he went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the loaves of sacred bread? And not only him, but he also gave some to his companions! I tell you, the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath. This response had to more than upset these rigid, religious men! They would not give it a rest. The religious leaders continued to closely watch and accuse Jesus. On another Sabbath day, while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he told a man with a deformed hand to come and stand before everyone, and the man did just as Jesus commanded. Jesus then looked at his critics and said, “Does the law permit me to heal this man’s hand?” He glared at all of them, and then told the man to hold out his hand, and the man did just as Jesus requested. Suddenly, his hand was restored, just as it had been before. Instead of being convicted, the rigid leaders focused in on the law that had been broken. Condemnation came out of their mouths, When, in their minds, God’s law was disgraced. Jesus had broken the law, by working a miracle on the Sabbath day, God’s day of rest. Oh my Lord, I will have to wait to share the rest of what is in Luke Chapter 6. This is a good place to rest, and reflect on what just took place. Since we just saw Jesus breaking one of God’s commands, we must look deeper to fully understand. There is a message in all of this - it’s the difference between condemnation and conviction. We need to be sure to get this right, because if we don’t, we will continue to fight for our own lives! The mistake will be so costly, it could definitely effect our eternity! So let me share what I can, to help you grow and understand. God has always had a plan to bring us back home to him! Jesus has always been the way, to lead us home, after we’ve been astray. Everything written in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of our precious Jesus. Everything in the Law of Moses shows how perfect God is. These commands are not something we can achieve on our own. This is why there had to be blood sacrifices. The mercy seat, and day of atonement is an illustration to show us the purity of Jesus. In Matthew 5, verse 17, Jesus says “do not misunderstand!” “I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses, or the words of the Prophets. No! I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear, until it has achieved its purpose.” He then warns us, and says, “unless you are more righteous than the righteousness of these religious men, you will surely never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” In Matthew Chapter 5, he gives so many examples of how we can never achieve, the righteousness of Christ our King. At the end of Chapter 5, this is what he says, “You are to be perfect even as your father is perfect in heaven.” How is that even possible? It surely is not, since the garden, our pride separated us from God. Since on our own, we can never achieve perfection, does that mean we should give up, and throw the towel in? I don’t think that is what Jesus meant. I think his words were meant to give us a more clear vision. The Law of Moses was given to be a mirror - to show us our own human reflection. The Law shows us how imperfect we are, to help to see why we need to be redeemed. There is nothing perfect inside of me, when operating outside of God’s purity. I am supposed to be an imager of him, and I can only do this by truly reflecting him. How can I be a light to man, when evil is blocking the pure love of God? Even when I think, I am doing good, it shows how prideful I truly am. If people see me, instead of him, then I’m glorifying myself, and not him. Oh God, we have such a twisted view of man. We think our morality is void of sin. We have created our own version of right and wrong, We’ve allowed “Little White Lies” to become our theme song. Even the smallest detour from you, is pure evil from your view. Anything outside of God’s purity is considered to be evil inside of me. The Law of Moses defines God’s government. It’s impossible to be followed by man alone. This is why Jesus had to come, as fully God, and fully man. There is no way we will ever understand, the perfect thought that went into God’s redemption plan. This is why Jesus shares the story of King David with the Pharisees. Everything in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing King Jesus. Jesus came to bring salvation, to be the sacred bread that nourishes the life of man. He came to fulfill the Law, to be the final sacrifice for us all. If King David and his men, did not die after eating the sacred loaves of bread, then surely Jesus would not be condemned for healing the hand of a deformed man on the Sabbath day, God’s day of rest. the day of God’s rest. In Matthew Chapter 11, Verse 27, Jesus tells us how define God’s day of rest. “My Father God has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal himself.” This is why I am telling you this, Jesus has revealed to me exactly who he is! He is the Son, whom the Father loves, and it’s only through his blood that we can be made pure again. We all have a choice to choose him, and when we do he will reveal himself to us. It may not happen immediately, but if you have faith, and trust and believe, you will see how he can grow the faith of a mustard seed he put inside your soul! So after reflecting on the Sabbath day, this is what I’d like to say, Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-29
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