|
by
Doug Ward |
The Gospels report several instances when the activities of Jesus on the
Sabbath day sparked controversy. During one festival season in Jerusalem, for example,
Jesus healed a man who for thirty-eight years had been unable to walk (John
5:1-8). For many people, such a miracle was cause for rejoicing (see e.g. Luke
13:17), but healing was deemed to be a form of work that violated the commandment
to rest on the Sabbath (Exod 20:8-11).
The only action Jesus performed in this healing was to speak to the man
(John 5:8), but much of the work that God carried out during the creation week
consisted of speaking (Gen 1). It was
the intent and result of an action that determined whether it constituted work,
and so Jesus was confronted by religious leaders for working on the Sabbath
(John 5:16).
To
the objections of these leaders Jesus responded, "My Father is working
until now, and I am working" (v. 17). Jesus did not deny that healing was
a form of work, but he said that this was a type of work that God himself
performed on the Sabbath. Jesus, who had to be "about his Father's
business," was simply emulating God.
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Creation
Continues |
Jesus' statement may seem a bit puzzling at first. We know that God
rested from his work of creation on the seventh day (Gen 2:2-3), and that the
Sabbath commandment is based on his example. So what kinds of work does God do
on the Sabbath?
To
answer this question, we observe first that although the work of creation week
ended after six days, God's creative work continued after that. For instance,
God creates mighty works of deliverance. At the time of the Exodus he told
Moses, "Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been
created in all the earth or in any nation" (Exod
34:10).1 Such marvels created the nation of
Israel. God introduces himself as Creator of Israel in Isa 43:1, 7, 15.
God
creates works of judgment. The Bible describes the judgment of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were swallowed up by the ground, as an example
of God creating something new (Num 16:30). He also creates salvation and
righteousness for his people (Isa 45:8). In a prayer of repentance, David asked
that God would create in him "a clean heart", knowing that God could
transform him spiritually (Ps 51:10).
Isaiah
prophesied that God's creative activity will continue through the time of the
messianic kingdom and beyond. The fourth chapter of Isaiah pictures God
creating shelter for Israel with his presence in a future Jerusalem (Isa 4:5).
He will also create agricultural plenty in the land (Isa 41:17-20). Ultimately
he will create new heavens and a new earth (Isa 65:17).
These
creative works of God do not cease on the Sabbath. During the time of the
Exodus the miracle of manna, one of the "marvels" referred to in Exod 34:10, supplied the Israelites with food throughout
the week. On the Sabbath the manna had the special property of not spoiling
overnight (Exod 16:22-26). Israelites who tried to
gather manna on the Sabbath faced judgment, an indication that the divine work
of judgment does not take time off.
In
fact, the Sabbath is an especially appropriate time for God to work. In
addition to being a memorial of creation, the Sabbath celebrates Israel's deliverance
from slavery in Egypt (Deut 5:12-15). This deliverance entails numerous marvels
and awesome works, many of which have occurred on annual Sabbaths like Passover
and Pentecost. In Psalm 92, traditionally identified as "a song for the
Sabbath," the psalmist proclaims, "For you, O Lord, have made me glad
by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy" (v. 4). God's
work of rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked is highlighted in this
psalm.
By
the time of Jesus, Jewish tradition recognized that God works on the Sabbath.
Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 BC-50 AD), a contemporary of Jesus, believed that
God by his very nature is continually creating.2
Philo wrote that "on the seventh day the Creator, having brought to an end
the formation of mortal things, begins the shaping of others more divine."
He added that "God never leaves off making, but even as it is the property
of fire to burn and of snow to chill, so it is the property of God to make"
(Allegorical Interpretations 1.5-6).
There
is also discussion of God's Sabbath work in rabbinic literature. One tradition,
recorded in Genesis Rabbah 11:10, says that this work
involves, in particular, judging the wicked and rewarding the righteous. Exodus
Rabbah 30:9 raises the question of whether God's work
makes him guilty of breaking the Sabbath. Here the sages argued that since the
whole universe is God's domain, he never carries anything outside that domain
and is therefore innocent of violating the commandment. Moreover, Numbers Rabbah 14:1 maintains that when God carries out work on the
Sabbath through one of his servants, that servant is likewise innocent of
breaking the Sabbath. Joshua's conquering of Jericho, a work of God's judgment
that took place over a seven-day period, is noted as an example.
|
Like
Father, Like Son |
Our study of divine Sabbath work provides helpful background for
understanding the words of Jesus in John 5. The healing of the crippled man at
Bethesda is an example of the kind of mighty Sabbath works of deliverance for
which God is known, as Jesus indicated in John 5:17. Jesus went on to describe
further important tasks that God had authorized him to carry out, including
resurrection of the dead and the execution of judgment. These are the kinds of
tasks identified as divine Sabbath work in rabbinic literature and the writings
of Philo. Jesus also implied that, like Joshua at Jericho, he was blameless for
doing God's work on the Sabbath.
Jesus'
words remind us of all the marvels performed by the Father and the Son in the
past, along with those occurring in the present and those still to come. With
the psalmist in Psalm 92, we sing for joy at the works of God's hands.
1Here the Hebrew word
for "created" is bara, the same word
used in Gen 1:1 for the creation of the heavens and the earth.
2See
pp. 73-78 of the book Divine Sabbath Work by Michael H. Burer, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake,
Indiana, 2012.
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