Thursday March 19, 2015

Read Luke 6:6-11

There were many oral traditions that the Pharisees had regarding the Sabbath. Here are some of the traditions I was able to find on the internet.

· One should not look in a mirror on the Sabbath because you might be tempted to pluck out a grey hair and that would be reaping.

· An egg could not be boiled on the Sabbath, either by normal means or by putting it near a hot kettle or by wrapping it in a hot cloth or by putting it in the hot sand outside.

· A donkey could be led out of the stable on the Sabbath, but the harness and saddle had to be placed on him the day before.

· If the lights were on when Sabbath began (sundown, the day before), you could not blow them out. If they had not been lit in time, then you could not light them.

· Furniture could not be moved on the Sabbath. There was an exception.  You were allowed to move a ladder on the Sabbath, only move four steps.

· It was unlawful to wear any jewellery or ornaments on the Sabbath, since this might be construed as carrying a burden.

· It was not permitted to wear false teeth on the Sabbath

· You were allowed to eat radishes on the Sabbath, but you were warned against dipping them into salt because you might leave them in the salt too long and pickle them. Pickling was considered to be Sabbath-breaking work.

· It was fine to spit on a rock on the Sabbath, but you could not spit on the ground, because that made mud and mud was mortar, and that was work.

· If a woman got mud on her dress, she was to wait until it had dried and then she was permitted to crumple the dress in her hands one time and crush it and then shake it out once. If that did not do the trick, then she had to wear it as is.

Copied from http://www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/lk06-01.html

When Jesus entered the synagogue on another Sabbath He knew that the leaders were watching Him and looking for a reason to accuse Him. Jesus drew a crippled man to the front and asked if it were legal on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or to kill it? The question was designed to draw out the    hard heartedness of the leaders. They held to their own traditions and willingly allowed others to suffer for the sake of tradition. Not only were they guilty of the evil in their hearts, they immediately began to discuss what they might do to Jesus - an even grosser evil!

I wonder how many people sit in our churches week by week, year by year, untouched by the Grace of God, carefully watching others to see if one little tradition or rule is broken. How many hard hearted people sit in our churches waiting to launch an offensive against anyone who breaks, or even looks like breaking, one of the least of their precious traditions? If you sit in the wrong chair you are a target. If you suggest a chorus as opposed to a hymn you’re a target. If you move the holy furniture, you’re a target. If you fidget during the service or if your baby starts to cry, you’re a target.  If you laugh, you’re a target.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, God never intended the Sabbath or Lord’s Day to be about rules and regulations. God wants His grace to wash over your heart and to free you from your bitterness and having to police every rule and regulation. God is not into law breaking, rest assured. He’s into GRACE, the kind of grace that welcomes people with the love of Christ, even if they break our man-made rules and regulations! In fact, when you and I were both law breakers God sent Jesus into the world to save us and to bring us to Himself. How sad it is if we can’t show that level of grace to others, even to other ‘law breakers’.

Prayer:

Based on today’s reading passage and notes jot down your own prayer points.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

· Pray that GRACE would be the hall mark of your congregation and that those who are bitter would be melted by God’s grace.

· Pray that this Grace would be openly and freely shared among the congregation.

 Discussion & Reflection

1. How can we help melt and change the heart of a person who has such a desire to keep rules and regulations?

2. How should we approach someone who breaks man-made rules and regulations at church?

3. Rules and regulations aren’t all bad. Sometimes they are good, helpful and necessary. How can you tell which ones are good and helpful and which ones are not?