How does healing on the Sabbath connect to Exodus 20:8-11? Setting the Scene We often wonder why Jesus chose the Sabbath—of all days—to perform some of His most memorable healings. Looking back to Exodus 20:8-11 clarifies how those miracles actually honor, rather than break, the Fourth Commandment. The Command: Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” Core Themes in the Sabbath Command • Rest: Cease from ordinary labor. • Holiness: The day is “set apart” to God. • Compassion: Even servants, foreigners, and animals share the rest. • Creation: The day looks back to God’s original work and His rest. Jesus Heals on the Sabbath: Key Passages • Matthew 12:9-13 – Man with the withered hand. • Luke 13:10-17 – Woman bent over for eighteen years. • Luke 14:1-6 – Man with dropsy. • John 5:1-18 – Paralytic at Bethesda. • John 9:1-16 – Man born blind. How the Healings Fulfill Exodus 20:8-11 1. Rest Restored • By removing disease, Jesus grants true Sabbath rest—freedom from the toil and pain sin introduced (Genesis 3:17-19). • Hebrews 4:9-10 links Sabbath rest to the deeper rest believers receive in Christ; each healing signals that coming reality. 2. Holiness Displayed • The Sabbath is “set apart.” Jesus, “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28), sets apart the day by doing the Father’s holy work (John 5:17). • Acts 10:38 reminds us He “went around doing good and healing all.” Holy activity, not idleness, marks God’s character. 3. Compassion for All Creation • Exodus 20:10 includes servants and livestock; God’s concern embraces the vulnerable. • Jesus appeals to that compassion: “Does not each of you untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water on the Sabbath?” (Luke 13:15). • Healing the woman “whom Satan has bound” (Luke 13:16) mirrors releasing an animal—consistent with the command’s spirit. 4. Creation Revisited • The original Sabbath celebrates creation’s completion. Healing acts as re-creation—restoring bodies to the wholeness God intended (Isaiah 35:5-6). • John 9:14 records Jesus’ use of clay, echoing Genesis 2:7, reinforcing the creation motif. 5. Redemption Foreshadowed • Deuteronomy 5:15 ties the Sabbath to Israel’s rescue from Egypt. • By freeing people from physical bondage, Jesus pictures the ultimate redemption His cross will accomplish (Luke 4:18-19). Living It Out Today • Embrace Sabbath as a gift, not a burden—time for worship, rest, and mercy. • Look for ways to “do good” (Matthew 12:12) that relieve suffering and point others to the Creator-Redeemer. • Celebrate each act of grace—whether prayer, sharing a meal, or visiting the sick—as a Sabbath-style participation in Jesus’ ongoing work of restoration. |
    |