Jesus Heals On The Sabbath

In Jesus Heals On The Sabbath, we're confronted with the battle between religion and Christianity. In this sermon lesson, Jesus shows us what's really important to God.

Jesus Heals On The Sabbath

Harmony Of The Gospels Series-23, Mt 12:1-14 (Mk 2:23-3:6, Lk 6:1-11)

For more information about Jesus see these books on the History of Jesus Christ.

"At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." He answered, "Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus."

For more details, see these top-selling books on Jesus healing on the Sabbath. We're getting a lot of correspondence that confirms we heard God when we first dreamed of an Internet fellowship. Things are happening!!! Often, the people who ask for help tell me painful stories about asking a Christian or pastor for help and getting ignored, or judged. They asked for a hand and got one…right across the face. One of these "Christians" wrote to tell me our website served the devil, rather than God, because we told people all they had to do is believe in Jesus to be saved. I didn't make it up…That's what Jesus said! I was just quoting Him. I've begun to wonder what these people in these churches in these denominations actually know of God.

When trying to reach hurting people with the love of Jesus, the biggest hurdle we have to overcome is convincing them that love is what Jesus is about. All their lives, they've heard nothing but judgment, condemnation and exclusion from people who claim to be Christians…they've seen nothing but hypocrisy, selfishness, arrogance and greed from places claiming to be His church. Then we come along at http://www.web-church.com and say, "Jesus loves you and wants to help you." A lot of them say, "Get away from me. I don't need that kind of help. I've seen Christian love, before." No, you haven't! Obviously! And it breaks my heart. The Bible says, "God is love…in this world we are like Him." Ever since the beginning, there has been a battle between God and religion. I know that sounds strange, but hang with me, because that's what our Scripture is about this week. You thought I forgot about our Scripture, didn't you? The battle lines are drawn; God-vs-religion.

God is all about mercy. Religion is all about sacrifice.

History: The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. Their religious rules were complex, difficult to understand and even more difficult to follow. There were more than 2,000 rules that had to be followed to meet their definition of righteous. One of the laws God had given was to do no work one day a week. The Pharisees had dozens of rules for what was and wasn't work. They ridiculed and scorned anyone who didn't follow their rules, including Jesus. Jesus summed up the entire Law of God in two statements, 'Love God with your entire being and love your neighbor as yourself.' We can sum it up in two words…live love. Jesus said God made that one 'rest' (Sabbath) day for man, so he could honor God. The religious leaders made it so complex and frustrating it was hard for anyone to honor God.

Continued at Jesus Heals On The Sabbath-2

Jesus Heals On The Sabbath

I'm honored that you've allowed me to be a part of your Christian life. Please return often for fellowship, study and prayer. Thank you very much for visiting.

Love & Hugs,
Glen

In Jesus Heals On The Sabbath, we're confronted with the battle between religion and Christianity. In this sermon lesson, Jesus shows us what's really important to God.