ALWAYS AT WORK

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute Him. In His defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”

John 5:16-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sunday has become just like every other day of the week.

It’s a lament I hear people often say, particularly church-going folks who remember a day when the day was kept sacred, a day where families went to worship in the morning and then went home to a day of quality time together free from work and any other activities like shopping because businesses were closed.

I’m afraid those olden days are long gone and I can’t see any chance things will ever return there. At least, the fast food restaurant, Chik Fil A, still keeps Sunday a revered day by keeping all locations closed. If you yearn for one of their succulent chicken sandwiches, you’ll have to wait until Monday.

Why this discussion about Sunday and how it has lost its identity of a day of rest?

Because we find it come to the forefront in today’s scripture passage from the Gospel of John as we see the words of Jesus reminding us of a special truth about God and Himself, a special truth that may change the way we think about what can and can’t be done on the Lord’s prescribed divine day. Look again at these verses here:

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute Him. In His defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”  John 5:16-17

These two verses are a continuation of the story we have studied over the past two devotions, the story of Jesus’ encounter with a paralyzed man at the pools of Bethesda. You’ll recall that after the man told Jesus his situation, that he had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years and his inability to move was the barrier which had kept him from entering the pools when the waters were stirred by what was thought to be an angel of the Lord. The first person who entered into the waters after they were stirred would be healed and that person was never the paralyzed man.

After hearing the man’s testimony, Jesus simply commanded him to pick up his mat and walk, and that’s exactly what happened. What had happened was nothing short of miraculous but the once paralyzed man had little time to celebrate before he was confronted by the Jewish leaders who questioned him about why he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath, a very sketchy interpretation and application of the law which ordered people not to work on the Sabbath and this included carrying any load.

Well, we know the man told the Jewish authorities that it was someone unknown who had healed him and told him to carry his mat but later the man would be confronted by Jesus in the temple where a simple command was given:

“Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” John 5:14

It seemed to be an easy enough request but maybe Jesus should have additionally commanded the man to not tell anyone who He was. Perhaps this may have spared Jesus some hardship for we know the man ran straight to the Jewish leaders and told them that Jesus was the man who provided the direction to carry his mat on the Sabbath. And as we see in today’s scripture passage the Jewish leaders were not pleased with what Jesus was up to and began to persecute Him as a result. In defense of Himself, here’s what Jesus had to say in response to the religious authorities:

“My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”

Was this a contradiction to God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy?

No, because Jesus isn’t talking about the work anyone else was doing, just the work of Himself and God, His Father. Think about it. Mere human beings do not labor for a full day, day after day after day. Rather, they work for only a portion of the time contained within a week/.

But Jesus was no ordinary human being, was He?

He wasn’t even close.

In fact, Jesus proclaimed this truth:

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

So if God is always at work and Jesus too, even on the Sabbath or Sunday which has become the designated day of worship these days, then we see that there is never a time when the Father or the Son ever rests in laboring for the cause of their Kingdom and the people in it.

I don’t know about you but I find comfort in knowing the Lord is constantly there for me and others, 24/7, ever working on things in accordance with His will for every man and woman and child He has created.

The Maker and Master of all things, the One who promised to never leave us or forsake us, the Great Physician who cares for our physical and mental health, the Perfect Counselor who never fails to give us the right direction when we need it, and the Savior of the world who offers salvation to those who place their hope and trust in Him are continuously on duty and making the impossible possible and the improbable probable.

Rejoice in the truth that God and Jesus are always working, working things out for the good of those who love them according to their purposes (Romans 8:28).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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