…and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Matthew 12: 8-10
We Christians do not take the Sabbath as seriously as the Jews did, even though it is one of the Ten Commandments. Our Sabbaths are as busy as the rest of the week for the most part. We shop. We play. We take a drive. We work. We watch sports. We don’t really rest. I’m the first to admit my guilt on this.
My Jewish friends take the Sabbath very seriously. From sundown on Friday night until sundown on Saturday night they do no work. They don’t even cook or turn on the oven. They walk to Synagogue. They don’t shop. Essentially, they rest on the Sabbath.
What would our lives look like if we obeyed The Fifth Commandment as stringent as we obey the “don’t steal,” “don’t murder” or “don’t commit adultery” commandments?