"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
LaDonna 0:00
Welcome to Healing Waters – The Podcasts!
I am LaDonna Sanders, here to remind you that God wants you well in your mind, body, soul, and spirit!
III John 1:2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
My friends, the wellness and prosperity we desire can be found and maintained when we make spending time in God's Word and His presence a priority. Join me as we check out what good news our creator has to say in today's Healing Waters Devotional!
LaDonna 0:38.9
Healing Waters - Day 44
Luke 14:1-4 - 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.
Jesus has been invited to dine with one of the religious rulers of that day. This could be a setup? The Pharisees have been looking for an opportunity to accuse and discredit Jesus Christ. His teachings, miracles, and his very presence in the region have disrupted the status quo in the religious community.
There is a man at the dinner who has dropsy, visible edema. Dropsy is generalized swelling, a syndrome associated with acute decompensated heart failure. (Hector O Ventura, n.d.) His condition is so severe that it is visible to the naked eye. The man is seated possibly among his peers and friends, but no one other than Jesus at this moment has acknowledged his life-threatening condition or offered to help.
The man was dying of physical sickness and surrounded by people. You and I live, work, go to school or church with people every day who are also dying. Many of them dying physically or spiritually, some emotionally from depression and disappointment, others are dying financially. My friends, we have a responsibility to our neighbors, are valuable to God, and He wants better for them, and Jesus, the Son of God, has been sent to save us all.
John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.
III John 2 says," Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospers."
The religious leaders of that day have become obsessed with the outward observance of the Sabbath. Ritual has taken precedence over what is morally right, which in this instance is a general care for your fellow man. The religious leaders, like many of us, have forgotten that active and visible care for your fellow man is important to God. It is not right to see our brothers or sisters in need and ignore it. We can talk to people all day long about the do's and don'ts, but what people need to see is the love of Jesus Christ.
Jesus asked the religious leaders a question, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" Then he took the man, healed him, and let him go. He reminds them of a scenario mentioned in:
Mark 2:23-28 – 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?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priest, and also gave some to those who were with him?" 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."
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and helping man towards wholeness was his object in designing the Sabbath. Anything else we can do to promote and facilitate health and wholeness in others is a good thing, and the day of the week on which that love and help are extended becomes secondary.
Works Cited
Hector O Ventura, M. (n.d.). A Glimpse of Yesterday: Treatment for "Dropsy" ( Slides with Transcript). Retrieved February 14, 2021, from Medscape: https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/557959
Let's Pray
Holy Spirit of the living God, help us value what you value, in Jesus' Name! Don't let us continue to pass people in our homes, jobs, churches, and circles with needs. Spiritual, physical, practical, and emotional needs and not offer to help. Lord, help us to offer them you, help us to extend your love, not enable error but extend your love. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy today. Thank you, Lord, for the value you have placed on each one of us. Help us to understand better that value and to love and value our neighbor as well. Thank you, Lord, for the cleansing blood of Jesus that washes away all our sins. Thank you, Father, for your word. Psalm 9:9 tells us that you are a refuge for the oppressed and a refuge in the time of trouble. Thank you, Lord, for your word, in Psalm 103:3 that tell us that you are forgiving and that you are the one that heals all our diseases. Lord, today we believe and agree with your word! Forgive us, O God, and set us free from all unrighteousness. Heal us and then us as instruments of healing to others; in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!
LaDonna 07:45.5
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