JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath.

According to Jesus in Luke 6, “The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.”

The religious leaders in Jesus’ day had added human traditions to the observance of the Sabbath. Over time, these traditions were elevated to the status of God’s laws. They became legalistic and rigid in their interpretation of how someone should observe the Sabbath.

Jesus was saying here that no matter how many restrictions the Pharisees wanted to impose, they would not stop Jesus from healing on the Sabbath. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, said, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

The words of Jesus remind us that while there is wisdom in setting aside one day out of the week for rest and intentional worship, there is also freedom to serve in ways that help people at their point of need.

Knowing Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com