In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This statement was in response to the accusation that His disciples were breaking the law regarding resting on the Sabbath when they walked by some fields and plucked heads of grain (see Mark 2:23–28; also Matthew 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5).
When the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples, Jesus referred them to an example from the Old Testament. David was once in need of food and was given consecrated bread that was, technically, only lawful for the priests to eat (1 Samuel 21:1–6). The holy bread had served a practical need of God’s anointed (David) and his followers, just as, in Jesus’ day, the grain served a practical need for God’s anointed (Jesus) and His followers.
Jesus concludes, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27–28). His response to the accusing Pharisees contains two important teachings.
First, the Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them. In contrast with the grueling daily work as slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to take a full day of rest each week under the Mosaic Law. Pharisaical law had morphed the Sabbath into a burden, adding restrictions beyond what God’s law said. Jesus gives a similar reminder in Mark 3:1–6 (also Matthew 12:9–14; Luke 6:6–11) when He heals a man on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees were looking to accuse Jesus and closely watched His response to a man with a shriveled hand. “Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (Mark 3:4). The Sabbath was not intended to burden people but to ease their burden. For someone to forbid acts of mercy and goodness on God’s day of rest is contrary to all that is right. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, did what was right and healed the man, and that’s when the Pharisees began to plot with the Herodians to kill Jesus.
Second, Jesus is Lord even of the Sabbath. What does this mean? Another way to express the idea is to say Jesus is in charge of the Sabbath. He is God in human form, and He created the Sabbath day. As the One who wrote the law, Jesus certainly has oversight over how the law is to be enforced. The Pharisees had lifted their own rules to the level of God’s, placing onerous burdens on people, and they ended up rebuking the Lawgiver Himself. Jesus is also the Lord of the Sabbath in that the Sabbath pointed to the rest Jesus provides. Jesus became our rest when He did all the work necessary for our salvation (Hebrews 4).
With the coming of Jesus as our human Messiah, the Sabbath pointed to Him as the spiritual who came to annunciate the very meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus is the spiritual Messiah who appeared as the our human Saviour. He is the Second Person of the trinity, through who God the Father made the Holy Spirit available to every human who believes in Jesus as Saviour and Messiah.
The Book of Hebrews tells us this,
“Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
“And yet His works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest” (Heb.4:1-5).
Jesus is also the Lord of the Sabbath in that the Sabbath pointed to the rest Jesus provides. Jesus became our rest when He did all the work necessary for our salvation (Hebrews 4). He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). We rest, spiritually, in Him; He has secured our eternal blessing with Him.
Paul again remind believers, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Col.1:16-17). The reality of all these days have now been made complete in Christ Himself.
Let us end this post in contemplative prayer to our great triune God: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, Father of Lights, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our tragic lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence as the Immanuel and Savior and redeemed and saved us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23).
“Thank you most mighty God of Lights that through Your Son, Jesus, You have shone Your divine Light through Him upon humanity. Thank You that in Jesus You have brought humanity out of our darkened and deathly world into your marvelous “Light of Life” (John 8:12).
“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open our eyes to the wondrous gifts You have divinely conferred upon us all so we may serve one another in Your Love. We praise and glorify You in your Son, Amen.”
Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.
Each and every human being has an open welcome into the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.
Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” of God. Be strong in the Lord’s joy.
In Love, farewell for now!
Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)
*Triune Life: “Triune Life” speaks of the process of theosis or deification of humanity. What is theosis or deification? “It refers to apotheosis, meaning “making divine.” Theosis or deification is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God (as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church).” (Wikipedia.org)
The belief in the process of ‘deification’ is understood in accordance with Jesus’ teaching, when He said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). (You can read about the Triune Life at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199, and other posts)
The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus
“The Empty Tomb” – Persuasive Imagery of Jesus’ Own Resurrection to Immortality and the Promised Deification of Humanity in Christ Who Directly Reflects the “Image of God” (Col.1:15; Rom.8:29; Gen.1:27; John 11:25)
Adam was solitary and incomplete until God made Eve. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone (solitary). I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen.2:18, italics mine). So, God gave Adam a family to raise composed of a father, mother, and offspring, to reflect Himself in His plural Being. The Bible states that the Church’s or humanity’s destiny is to marry Christ, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, in the new age to come which will be an everlasting divine relationship. (2 Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-27, 32; Rev.19:7) The Bible is abundantly clear about God’s nature and declaration of Himself in His relational Triune Being from the past, the present, and the future. God has never lived as a solitary Being, but a Tri-Personal Being.
It’s noteworthy to understand that Eve was not created an individual creation from the dust of the earth as was Adam. She was not created apart from Adam as an individualized separate human being, instead, she was taken out from Adam’s side to show she was biologically one and indivisibly part of Adam, like God is in His Tri-Personal Being of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Eve was not detached (solitary) from Adam, but intrinsically inseparable from Adam’s innermost humanity, as God is in His divine triunity. When Adam saw Eve, he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen.2:21-23) God created humanity to reflect Himself in His unified Tri-Personal Being (Trinity)
Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)
Each one of us was created as an indivisible relational human being incubated and given birth from Adam’s mold as one species, for God created humanity to reflect the eternal likeness in His triunity. We are born for relationships with the divine triune Love as our guiding principle. All this show that humans were created to be indivisibly one to reflect God’s Tri-Personal image of Oneness (Trinity), not solitary separateness.
When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, and gave Him the prophetic name, Immanuel (Isa.7:14). The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)
Most religions believe God as some solitary being. The true God is not solitary by any means, He is the one Triunity in His Tri-Personal Being. God consist of three Persons in One divine triune Godhead. (Matt.28:18-20) They exist in One “homoousion” meaning consisting in one substance, or “consubstantiality.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in One hypostatic union, One substance, like Eve was biologically part of and never physically separate, but of one substance from Adam, for she came out of Adam. Likewise, humanity is made of one spiritual substance with the triune God through Jesus Christ who took our humanity upon Himself and joined it to the divine Light of God in His triune Being forever.
The three-dimensional Triune Light/Life/Love is opposed to living the one-dimensional solitary life of the fallen humanity inherited from Satan through Adam’s rebellion. For additional information about the Triune Life: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036. Also at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092.
**Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love and Light of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula Man-River,” from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
“Bulamanriver” Book Cover
***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664.
Mission, Vision, Value, Statements
(Our Home address: www.//bulamanriver@gmail.net).
****The “Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” *the fruit of patience, *the fruit of kindness, *the fruit of contentedness, *the fruit of modesty (unboastful), *the fruit of humility, *the fruit of honor, *the fruit of unselfishness, *the fruit of calmness and dignity, *the fruit of forgiveness and compassion, *the fruit of delighting in good and shunning evil, *the fruit of tolerance, *the fruit of responsibility, *the fruit of enduring hope, *the fruit of steadfast perseverance, *the fruit of joy, *the fruit of peace, *the fruit of goodness, *the fruit of faith, *the fruit of gentleness, *the fruit of self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; also Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:9-21).
God is never without His Love activity through the Love-Fruits in the Spirit, for His activity and His triune Being are essentially and eternally one. The act of God is not one thing, and His Being another, for they coinhere mutually and indivisibly in one another. God can never be anything but Love. These Love-Fruits may seem ordinary and mundane, but when empowered and propelled in the Spirit’s power, they are transformed into divine elements of growth and maturity.
The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:
These Love-fruits speaks volumes and gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love. They are not rules to live by as if they are legalistic requirements to follow. They tell us how God in His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Spirit, have lived in One unified shared Love-experience from eternity as God, and desires to share His “Triune Life” with believers. They reveal the holy emotions of the Tri-Personal Being of God. These are not human emotions, they reveal the divine passion and desire of how God lives “naturally” in an intuitive and spontaneous fashion amongst Them.
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