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Gospel of Mark
The Sabbath was the most sacred day of the Jewish week.
It was a day “set apart” for and “dedicated to” the LORD (Exodus 16:23, 25). (Btw: When you see the word LORD spelled with small caps or all caps, it represents the holy and personal name of God, Yahweh.)
It was the Lord’s gift to his people (Exodus 16:29).
It was a sign of the faithful relationship between God and his people, often called a “covenant” (Exodus 31:13).
It was a reminder that God had freed his people from slavery in Egypt with his “strong hand and powerful arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15). (Exodus tells the full story of Israel’s slavery and rescue.)
Jesus said the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, not the other way around (Mark 2:27) and that it’s OK and permitted to “do good deeds” on the Sabbath. As usual, he flipped things around. Many people were over-focused on what they couldn’t and shouldn’t do on the Sabbath. But Jesus said, “Surely you can and should do good things. There’s no rule against that!” In fact Jesus did many miracles on the Sabbath, which irritated strict rule-followers.
Today we find Sabbath — rest, comfort, peace, freedom, belonging, identity, healing — in Jesus himself, not just one day a week, but every day.
Mark 3
verses 28-30 (The “unforgivable sin”)
verses 31-35 (Jesus’ true family)
General Reflection:
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2103 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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