YAHUSHA HA’MASHIACH and the Talmidiym (Disciples) kept the Sabbath

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YAHUSHA HA’MASHIACH and the Talmidiym (Disciples) kept the Sabbath

Many say that YAHUSHA defended Himself and His disciples for breaking the Sabbath. Think about this for a moment…If YAHUSHA broke the Sabbath then He did not keep the 4th commandment!

Certainly our perfect Messiah kept the Sabbath and kept it perfectly. The issue was in how the Sabbath was to be kept.

The scribes and pharisees had added over one thousand laws to Sabbath observance such as not carrying your bed or healing on the Sabbath.

John 5:8 YAHUSHA said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed , and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry [your] bed .” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, `Take up your bed and walk.’ ” 12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, `Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for YAHUSHA had withdrawn, a multitude being in [that] place. 14 Afterward YAHUSHA found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was YAHUSHA who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews persecuted YAHUSHA, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But YAHUSHA answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

YAHUSHA did not break the Sabbath according to YAHUAH’s commandment and neither did the man who was healed. But the Jews of that day had added these ideas of not healing, not carrying your bed and over a thousand other commandments of men that were added to YAHUAH’s commandment for the Sabbath. YAHUSHA emphasized that working for His purpose is never breaking the Sabbath. The Levites “broke” the Sabbath by sacrificing animals.

Also circumcising a child on the Sabbath would have been forbidden if you could never work for His purpose.

It was a normal thing in those days. The idea of not keeping the Sabbath did not exist among the Jews of that day. This is why YAHUSHA did not emphasize it as much as the other commandments. The leaders of the day emphasized the outward appearance of serving YAHUAH, but neglected important matters such as justice, mercy and faith.

Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [matters] of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Note that YAHUSHA did say that “These you ought to have done”. All too often people think all that is required of us is justice, mercy and faith because YAHUSHA had to emphasize it so much.

Certainly these are important. But do not neglect the other points.

YAHUSHA is the founder of our faith. His teachings and example is in full harmony with YAHUAH’s will for our lives and is our highest authority. Did YAUSHA abolish or change the Sabbath as a day for rest and worship?

YAHUSHA declared Himself as “Master of the Sabbath”. No scripture said that He had or would change the Sabbath, even after His death. YAHUSHA kept the commandments and came to set us an example. (John 8:55, 1Peter 2:21-22).

In fact, YAHUSHA expects His followers in these last days to be praying about the Sabbath and keeping it:

Matt 24:20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

A common form of reasoning against YAHUSHA’s example of keeping the Sabbath is that He only ‘went along’ with Sabbath observance so that the law would be fulfilled. The problem with this reasoning is that it could be applied as an excuse to do away with anything YAHUSHA ever said or did! What percentage of His words and deeds are we to discount?

This reasoning has no basis in scripture, it is only an attempt to ignore the example that YAHUSHA has given and also the example that the Heavenly Father gave when He created all things.

Another form of reasoning often used against YAHUSHA’s example of Sabbath observance is that He only kept it because He was a Yahudiym (Jew). But was the Sabbath made for all mankind or for Yahudiym (Jews) only? What did YAHUSHA teach?

Mark 2:27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

While it is true that man was not made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man! Notice that YAHUSHA never said “The Sabbath was made for Jews, not Jews for the Sabbath,” He plainly said the Sabbath was made for all mankind. When YAHUAH rested on the 7th day as an example for us, a Jew did not even exist. YAHUSHA plainly knew the Scriptures when He said that the Sabbath was made for man:

Shalom!

Your Brother, Gera’el Toma

Gerald W Thomas in New Hebron, Mississippi

About the author

Gera'el Toma

A highly esteemed elder in the faith of the Natsarim, the first century believers in Messiah Yahusha, and a treasured member of the Remnant House Team.

Gera'el Toma (Gerald Thomas) is an internationally recognized and respected teacher of the Holy Scriptures as originally written in the Hebrew language.

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By Gera'el Toma

Gera'el Toma

A highly esteemed elder in the faith of the Natsarim, the first century believers in Messiah Yahusha, and a treasured member of the Remnant House Team.

Gera'el Toma (Gerald Thomas) is an internationally recognized and respected teacher of the Holy Scriptures as originally written in the Hebrew language.

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