Jesus and the Sabbath

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse explores Jesus’ complex relationship with the Sabbath, emphasizing that while he observed the law as a Jew, he also challenged prevailing interpretations by religious leaders like the Sadducees and Pharisees, asserting his authority as “Lord of the Sabbath.” It highlights how Jesus uniquely fulfilled priestly duties during his ministry, contrasting with various Jewish groups of the time, and concludes that Jesus embodied the true high priest role, teaching and acting with divine authority to reveal God’s purpose for the Sabbath.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Jesus and the Sabbath

Context and Importance of Jesus’ Time and Visit:
– Jesus’ visitation was meticulously planned from the beginning of Scripture, notably referenced in Genesis 3:15, which foretells enmity between Satan and the seed of the woman (Jesus), who would ultimately defeat Satan.
– Jesus’ earthly ministry lasted about three and a half years, a short but significant period to understand His life and teachings.
– Every detail of His life, including His relationship to the Sabbath, is crucial for believers.

Personal Background of the Speaker:
– Raised in a Bible-studying family with thorough Sunday school teaching and attendance at conventions.
– As an adult, deepened Bible study by reading it cover to cover during 2019-2020, leading to questions about Jesus’ relationship with the Sabbath.

Jesus and the Sabbath – Initial Observations:
– Some believe Jesus taught laxity regarding Sabbath observance; however, Brother Russell clarifies that Jesus, being a Jew under the law, kept the law perfectly (no violation of the Sabbath law).
– Yet, Jesus performed acts on the Sabbath that appeared contrary to the law, such as healing and allowing His disciples to pluck grain.
– Jesus challenged the Pharisees’ rigid interpretations, emphasizing that the Sabbath was made for man’s benefit, not man for the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:8 is key: “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day,” indicating Jesus’ authority over the Sabbath.

The Sabbath in the Law:
– The Sabbath commandment is among the Ten Commandments, in Exodus 20:8-11, emphasizing rest on the seventh day.
Exodus 31:13-17 stresses the Sabbath as a perpetual covenant and a sign between God and Israel, with a severe penalty (death) for violation.
– Historical enforcement example: In Numbers 15:32-36, a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath was put to death.
– The Sabbath predated the Ten Commandments, with early references in Exodus 16:23, during the manna provision in the wilderness.
– Additional Sabbath laws and cycles (seventh year, Jubilee) were established later.

Jesus’ Ministry and Sabbath Observance:
– Jesus lived under the law and kept it, yet frequently healed and taught on the Sabbath, causing conflict with religious leaders.
– Examples include healing the blind (John 9:14) and a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-13).
– Religious leaders, especially Pharisees and Sadducees, accused Jesus of breaking Sabbath law.

Religious Authorities and Sabbath Authority:
Priests (Sadducees):
– Claimed authority to work on the Sabbath for temple duties (Matthew 12:5).
– Sadducees were politically connected, accepted only the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), rejected resurrection and angels, and aligned with Roman authorities.
– They added many strict rules to Sabbath observance (39 sub-rules), burdening the people beyond God’s intent.
– Their priesthood was based on lineage from Zadok, but their legitimacy is questioned due to political appointments by Romans.
– Their power ended with the temple destruction in AD 70.
Pharisees:
– Emerged around 100 BC, accepted both written and oral law.
– Believed in resurrection, angels, divine sovereignty.
– Jesus often rebuked them sharply (Matthew 23).
– They joined Sadducees to oppose Jesus.
Rabbis/Teachers of the Law:
– Spiritual authorities respected by common people, interpreters of the law.
– Jesus was called a rabbi but taught humility about titles (Matthew 23:8-10).
– No formal authority over the Sabbath.
Scribes:
– Experts and teachers of the Torah, often aligned with Pharisees.
– Recognized Jesus’ authoritative teaching but failed to accept Him as Messiah.
Essenes:
– Ascetic, communal group possibly connected to Dead Sea Scrolls.
– Rejected corrupt religious authorities, lived in isolation.
– Believed in two Messiahs (priestly and royal).
– Did not engage publicly in priestly duties.
Zealots:
– Radical Jewish political group opposing Roman rule.
– Possibly linked to apostle Simon the Zealot.
– Desired freedom by force, contrasted with Jesus’ message of peace through God’s word.
Publicans (Tax Collectors):
– Hated by Jews as Roman collaborators.
– Jesus called Levi (Matthew), a publican, to be His disciple (Luke 5:27-32).
– Zacchaeus, another publican, repented and was saved (Luke 19:1-10).
– Jesus’ association with publicans showed His priestly role of calling sinners to repentance.

Jesus as the True Priest:
– Jesus performed priestly duties neglected or corrupted by the religious groups:
– Cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
– Taught and led the people spiritually.
– Offered salvation and healing.
– Showed compassion universally, including Samaritans (John 4:7-29, Luke 10:25-37).
– His authority over the Sabbath and priesthood was unique and divinely appointed.
– His trial before Jewish leaders (Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate) did not include Sabbath violation charges, suggesting His authority was recognized even by opponents.
Hebrews 5:4-6 teaches that Christ was called by God as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
– Jesus’ role included teaching, healing, cleansing the temple, and revealing the future kingdom on the Sabbath.

Key Bible Verses Mentioned:
– Genesis 3:15 – Prophecy of Messiah’s victory over Satan.
– Matthew 12:8 – Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath.
– Exodus 20:8-11 – Sabbath commandment.
– Exodus 31:13-17 – Sabbath as a perpetual covenant with death penalty.
– Numbers 15:32-36 – Enforcement of Sabbath law.
– John 9:14 – Healing on the Sabbath.
– Matthew 12:1-13 – Jesus’ disciples plucking grain and healing on the Sabbath.
– Matthew 12:5 – Priests’ work on the Sabbath.
– Matthew 21:12-13 – Cleansing of the temple.
– Hebrews 5:4-6 – Christ as High Priest by God’s calling.
– Luke 5:27-32 – Calling of Levi (Matthew) the publican.
– Luke 19:1-10 – Zacchaeus’ conversion.
– John 4:7-29 – Samaritan woman at the well.
– Luke 10:25-37 – Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Conclusion:
– Jesus perfectly observed the law and Sabbath but redefined its understanding by emphasizing mercy, human need, and spiritual authority.
– He fulfilled the role of the true high priest, ministering to all people, including outcasts and enemies.
– His authority over the Sabbath and priesthood was unique and divinely sanctioned.
– Believers are encouraged to recognize Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath and the eternal High Priest.

—

This summary encapsulates the discourse’s main points, scriptural references, and theological reflections on Jesus’ relationship with the Sabbath and His unique priestly role during His earthly ministry.

Transcript

Okay, jesus and the sabbath.

The thoughts today come from the life of Jesus and a relationship with the Sabbath and in addition, how the nation of Israel viewed that relationship and ultimately how we understand it.

So important was the time of Jesus. Visitation, which had been meticulously planned for a very long time, unconscionable in our little brains, was first revealed to us in a well known scripture that was Genesis 3:15, which says, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Her seed. Jesus would put an end to you, Satan.

This would be our one and only opportunity to see Jesus be among us, among his friends and enemies, to touch him, to listen to him, to watch him. Given that we only had three and a half years, to get to know him is a shockingly short period of time, but it was apparently enough to get us to where we needed to be. This makes every detail all the more important to us. Over the years of studying the life of our Lord and Savior, there has been some issues that have not been fully sorted out in my head and maybe yours too. So I thought I’d share them with you.

I was privileged to be born and raised in a Bible student’s family. I had many years of Sunday school lessons from the best teachers of God’s Word while growing up the Los Angeles class. Their dedication to this work and support from the class was not fully appreciated by me until many years later. In addition to our Sunday meetings, there were other conventions we attended regularly in California, Sacramento being one of them, of course. Then later our family ventured east to general conventions.

As an adult, you start learning about sharing the message of salvation to others. It’s not always received as well as you’d hope. If I was going to have a profitable conversation with other Christians, I realized I needed to know the Bible better so we could use that as a common point of reference. I think I was around 2019 or 20 when I first sat down and read the Bible from COVID to cover. I was expecting it to be a smooth read with nothing unexpected to catch my eye, but as it turned out, I had to fold over a few pages with lingering questions that did not sit well with me.

One of those quandaries was the relationship that Jesus had with the Sabbath. I heard some excellent discourses on the subject, and Brother Russell has much to say on this topic. Brother Austin, after his discourse on Melchizedek at the Los Angeles convention, suggested this one on the subject subject in the Overland Monthly starting on page about 278, and this is a quote from Brother Russell’s comments.

In the New Testament, Jesus was supposed by some to have taught a laxity in the matter of the Sabbath of servants. But this is quite misunderstanding, quite a misunderstanding. Jesus, born a Jew under the law, was as much obligated to keep that law in its very letter as was any other Jew, and he did not, of course, violate any obligation to the slightest degree. I really like that.

And, and I. I really like that, and exactly what I had thought. But then it does not explain Jesus doing a lot of things that are in direct opposition to the law. Jesus could have waited until the next day to say, help a man that had been crippled all of his life.

Brother Russell goes on to say in the same article, Jesus clearly pointed out to the scribes and Pharisees that they were misinterpreting the meaning of the Divine arrangement, that God did not make man merely to keep a Sabbath, but that he had made the Sabbath for and in the interest of mankind. Hence, everything necessary for man’s assistance would be lawful on the Sabbath day, however laborious it might be.

I think I missed one. Sorry. This takes us to Matthew 12:8. For the Son of Man is the Lord, even of the Sabbath day. Clearly, Jesus had the authority to do a lot of things.

But is it hard? It is hard to make this fit together nicely with the law. Does he have the authority to overlook the law? Let’s rewind a little bit and look at the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was important in our Lord’s day, with origins going back to God himself delivering the law to the newly formed nation of Israel in the wilderness to elevate its importance. It is not one of the many laws given in the first books of the Bible, but the Ten words or the Ten Commandments as we know it, given to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. It is first revealed to us among the first of the commandments in Exodus 20 and 8 through 11, which reads, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.

In it thou shalt not do any work thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy maid servant, nor thy man servant, maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it. I think we can quote that commandment in our sleep. So there is nothing surprising to us as Bible students.

However, I was bending over the page in my Bible at the time when I came to Exodus 31:13 8, which reads, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak, speak thou upon also unto the children of Israel, saying, verily, my Sabbath ye shall keep it is keep it is a sign between me and you throughout our generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doeth sanctify you. This is the important one. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone that defileth it shall be surely put to death. For whoever doth any work therein, thou, soul shall be cut off from among the people.

Six days may work, work may be done. But in the seventh, the Sabbath of a rest holy to the Lord. Whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generation for perpetual covenant. For it is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.

For six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed, and he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tables of stone written with the finger of God. It seems unusual to me that the penalty of death was emphasized on this particular law, and not so much even at all on the others. But was it enforced?

Foreign numbers the 15th chapter 32 through 36 reads, and when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that had gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day, and they found him they found him gathering sticks, and brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation, and they put him in war, because it was not declared what should be done with him, and the Lord said unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death. All of the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

And the congregation brought him without the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died in the as the Lord commanded Moses.

If we ask the unfortunate fellow what he thought, what he thought caught violating the Sabbath, and if this was a serious matter, I think he’d say yes. So we’re not fooling around, and our Heavenly Father is emphasizing the importance in this manner. I mentioned earlier that the Sabbath first came to our attention in the books of the law or ten Commandments, but that was not quite the case. The Sabbath actually predated the giving.

When the nation of Israel was about two months into their exodus out of Egypt in around 1513 B.C. the Sabbath shows up in Exodus chapter 16 in verse 23. If you’ve had the opportunity to wander around the Sinai Peninsula in the vicinity of where the nation of Israel was traveling, you notice there was nothing, nothing to eat. It’s rocks and mountains and more rings and very desolate. It was then that the Lord told Moses about the miraculous provision of the manna.

You know the story that there were those that tested the Lord and thought they’d get manna on the Sabbath. That proved false. The latter verse in Exodus 16 cements that the Sabbath would be of importance to them for a very long time, like forever. It wasn’t until Exodus 19 and 20 that the Ten Commandments are presented to the nation from God through Moses. Out of that came the system of Sabbaths, seventh day, seventh year, 50th year, Jubilees and more.

Jesus showed up around 1400 years later and was burdened with many things, one of which was keeping the law perfectly. He did, we have proof. Not because we followed him around every day and watched him, but because he was resurrected and presented Himself to His Father in heaven and sent back the Holy Spirit to us. Acts the second chapter. The problem is there were those who were following him around and watching him.

Matthew the 12th chapter, which we’ll talk about more. Also John, fifth chapter. John 9:14, Healing of the blind on the Sabbath. In Luke the 15th chapter, Jesus was taunting the Pharisees, all in blatant violation of this commandment. Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.

Hebrews 7:26. This is not adding up. Not only were the religious leaders of the day noticing the seemingly un Messiah like actions by our Lord Jesus, but the commoners would have also. Surely there were some sayings that put off many, such as eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood. But there was no law against saying that the ten Commandments were in black and white or whatever they look like on stone tablets.

I’m sure it would appear to them that Jesus was not in compliance with his own Father’s laws, yet he had claimed to love and respect his own. Apostles and disciples might have had some concerns since this appears to be the only thing He, Jesus appeared to be doing in violation and with deadly consequences. I must add at this point that this was all during his life as a Son of man and fully under the law. We know what happened to him after his death and released from the power of the law had over him as a Jew and discussed later in the Gospels.

Jesus definitely caught the attention of the Saint UCS and Pharisees and was called out in Matthew 12:1 while plucking porn to eat with the disciples. Matthew 12:2 but when the Pharisees saw it and he said to him, behold, the disciples do that which is not lawful to do under the Sabbath unto the Sabbath day. Jesus explains to them that they do not know, do not know what this law means, probably confuse them even more. But then in Matthew 12:8 says, for the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. He then proceeds to the synagogue where he challenges the priests to the meaning of the law, then proceeds to head to heal a withered hand of a long suffering Jew.

We know that Jesus doesn’t stop here. He continues to do the same, seemingly purposely violent, violating the law under seven another seven times on the Sabbath. For us that means there must be a message here we need to look at. But during the time of his visitation here on earth, how do we explain that?

One question that comes to mind. Was there anyone that was legally able to break and violate the law? Yes, yes there was the priests. Matthew 12:5 haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work on the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath.

When we think of the priests, our minds immediately go to the the Sadducees. These were religious elite controlling the temple worship and sacrifices. So they would be very busy on the Sabbath to held the highest positions in the Sanhedrin or ruling class. Most influential. Influential and politically connected families were of the Sadducees.

Certainly with this impressive resume they must have been sanctioned by the authority of God himself and in full compliance with all the laws given to the nation. Let’s dig a little bit deeper where they come from.

Well, their claim to fame comes from the high priest line of Zadok back in the times of Solomon and David. In 1st Kings 4:1 and 2 we read so King Solomon was king over all Israel, and there were the princes which he had. Azariah the son of Zadok the priest. Unfortunately the next mention of this religious group wasn’t until Josephus the historian identifies them around 100 years before Christ.

That would put them during the Maccabean period where there was a lot of internal strife among the various factions of the Jews. Solomon to Jesus was about 900 years. Seems funny that they are never mentioned during this period and I was not able to find any dynasty or succession in proof of their claim. What did they believe?

Accepted only the. Come on the right slide. Okay, first of all, they accepted only the written Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The rest of the Old Testament did not have full indoctrinal authority. Tossed out all the prophets and writings of David and Daniel and others.

The parts that talked about the resurrection of mankind through the blood of Christ. Resurrection, angels, spirits, life after death, all got tossed. Faith was earthly and social. This tied them to the Romans. With political allies, they wanted to keep the peace for their own personal gain and power.

Don’t ruffle the feathers of the Romans, though they hated them. I might also add that concerning the Sabbath and actually other laws given by God, the Sadducees took it upon themselves to embellish the rules to cement their power and to overburden the people beyond the true values that God was trying to teach them.

In this particular case, some 39 sub rules down to dealing with killing of a flea were added to the fourth commandment of the Sabbath. Jesus called them out and the Sadducees didn’t like it.

The big problem was that Jesus was a direct threat to their existence. They questioned his authority. Matthew 21:23 and when he and when he was come unto the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching and said, by what authority does thou these things? And who gave you this authority? Jesus answered them by what authority they had, or I should say asked them by what authority they had.

And they could not answer. I think I can help the Sadducees. It was by Roman authority historically. Annas, the high priest at the time was appointed by Eucurius, the Roman governor of Syria, about 86. Annas was a Levite, but that was about all he had going for him.

His rich and powerful family ran the sale of sacrifices at the commercial bazaars inside the temple grounds. We read in Matthew 21:12 13 and Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all of them that had sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sold the doves. He said unto them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves. This infuriated Annas. He was such a terrible high priest that Procurator Valerius Gradius of Rome removed Annas as high priest for quote overstepping his Roman assigned jurisdiction.

Was he attempting to have authority over church and state?

And his reign of terror wasn’t over as he Continued to exercise great power and influence as high priest Emeratus and predominant voice of the Jewish hierarchy. His five sons took office after he was removed. Then at the time of Jesus ministry was his son in law. Caiaphas was placed in the position of high priest and was reportedly good friends with Pilate. Father in law Annas, though stripped of power, was to be addressed as chief priest.

Got a little chart, upper left hand corner is Annas, and then his son was next in line as high priest, and then you can see Caiaphas was next, and then further down beyond Caiaphas is four other of his sons that were in this hierarchy. So we can see that this was not, I’m sure, what God had intended and certainly not from this high priest.

I’ll read chapter five four first and then fourth verse and then the first through third verses next. No man taketh his honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. For every high priest was taken from among men. Ordained from a man is ordained for men in things pertaining to God. That many offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Who could have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity and by reason thereof ought as for the people, so also himself to offer for sins. As a side note, Caiaphas was eventually removed from office by Vitellius, a Roman official and reportedly committed suicide after his loss of power and subsequent humiliation. So getting back to our subject of which had the authority to break the Sabbath, I think we can safe to say that the Sadducees had usurped that authority and not recognized by God as the priesthood. This self condemnation ended in 188070 with the temple being burnt to the ground. Thanks to God’s decree and a little help from the Romans who made sure all of the documents and genealogy of the so called priesthood were destroyed and silenced for good.

The Sadducees were not so sadly never seen of or heard of again. Let’s continue. Who else might have been the true priesthood? Pharisees. They showed up around the same time as The Sadducees around 100 years BC.

They had no claim to fame, no dynasty of priests or God given authority. Accepted both written and oral laws. Teachers of the law with a noble goal to preserve the holiness in the law. In a world dominated by pagan empires, believed in resurrection, divine sovereignty. Angels had the general respect of the common people.

Paul of course was a Pharisee. Acts 23:6 I am a Pharisee. The son of a Pharisee of the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am called in question. Jesus had issues with the Pharisees. Matthew 23:13 to the end of the chapter.

Jesus does not mince words of contempt with the verse 32 and 33 especially direct fill ye up with the measure of your fathers, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers. How can ye escape the damnation of hell? Later on, the Pharisees and Sadducees, not exactly friends, joined forces in the elimination of Jesus as a threat to both of them. The old adage of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Safe to say the Pharisees were not the priesthood with the authority over the Sabbath.

Anyone else maybe have eyes during Jesus time? Rabbis or teachers of the law or my teacher were around and respected the law, interpreted and applied the torrent. These were not temple priests, but spiritual authorities connected more closely with the commoners of the land. Jesus was called a rabbi. Matthew 23:8 10 Jesus said, Don’t make others call you rabbi because you have only one teacher.

And and are all followers referring to himself as a teacher as we go on. Don’t call anyone on earth your father, because you have only one father and he is in heaven. Don’t make others call you a leader, because you have only one leader. The Messiah reprints 1487 from Brother Russell say one is your truly revered reverb. Sorry.

Wow, that’s revered. Thank you Lord and instructor Even Christ Historical the rabbitic system didn’t fully materialize until after AD 770 and the destruction of the Temple synagogues Traditional Jewish schools were established by the rabbis in the first century and later and we see the results today 2000 years later where the law is still being taught. But sorry, no authority over the Sabbath here. How about the scribes? Doctors of the lung intellectuals of Judaism, the copied, interpreted and teaching of the Torah highest authorities to the Scriptures.

Most were aligned theologically with the Pharisees. Jesus flashed with them, taught them with authority. Mark 1:21 and 22 and they went into Capernaum and straight away on the sabbath day and he entered into the synagogue and and he talked and they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one that had authority and not as a scribe. John 7:14 and 15 now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught in. The Jews marveled saying how knoweth this man letters having never learned.

Ironically, they questioned his authority, noted in Mark 2:2 through 7, Mark 7:5 and Mark 3:22. They were too smart for their own good and should have been the ones to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They didn’t. Sorry they missed out having no authority over the Sabbath either. How about the Essenes?

Maybe not a household name and does not appear in the Bible, but you probably heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The group individuals may have been the author, but we don’t know for sure. They were the most economic group in the first century Judaism. Polar opposites of power hungry and authoritarian groups recognized the impurities of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So they withdrew from them.

Living communally austere lifestyles, practicing daily cleansing spiritual living. Monks as we classify them today, they believed in two Messiahs, one priestly and one royal in days of history. At least that’s what they were thought they were. They lived in isolation.

Priests don’t live in isolation. They are to bring the people to God, and that’s exactly what Jesus did. He was on the move and bringing the message of salvation to all. It might sound like I’m really reaching with some of these suggestions, but I’m not done yet.

These were all living breathing entities at the time of Jesus walk on the earth. We talked about Jesus being watched by those around him during his ministry, and I guarantee you the Essenes, the rabbis, the scribes, all were watching him closely. Definitely the Sadducees and Pharisees of the Sanhedrin. We have plenty of scriptures on that.

Would Jesus actions identify him as the true priest, the only real priest in the minds of the Jews that were watching?

I’ll submit the Zealots as one of the groups to look at next. Why? Mostly because of one scripture, Luke 6:15, starting with 6:13, and when it was day, he called unto him his disciples. This is Jesus speaking.

And of them those 12 men whom he named apostles. Simon, known also named Peter and Andrew, his brother James and John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas and the son of Alphaeus and Simon called Zealot. It is uncertain if the apostle was actually part of this group, but Jesus would have had profound implications or impressions on him. If Simon in fact was a zealot, who were they? A group desiring political freedom at any cost.

The most radical group within the first century Judaism. Roman rule was intolerable to them and must be cast off at all costs. Zealot obviously means zeal for the law. Roman rule was a betrayal to God. The Sakari was the most extreme and would perform assassinations even of Jews considered collaborators with the Romans.

66-70 AD turned into war mostly because of the Zealots and Rome, the division among the Jews and Romans, and the ultimate end to the Temple and Jerusalem for the Jews at the hands of the Romans, the nation was cut off as Jesus has pronounced pronounced judgment upon them. 37 years earlier, Jesus teachings and actions would have made it through the ranks of the Zealots like wildfire. Imagine them seeing and following Jesus. Imagine them seeing the following. Jesus was receiving.

Jesus was fearless, attacking everything and anything that was an abomination to his Father’s house in authority with ferocity like none had ever seen before. You can bet every part of Jesus ministry was ported back through the apostle Simon to the leaders of the Zealots. Surely this must be the Messiah they longed for. A priest with a burning zeal for his God and father, and a king who spoke with authority and power. How about the publicans most despised and hated of the Jews?

Jewish tax collectors that were hired by Rome, seen as national traitors wrought of corruption. What’s their connection with Jesus? Well, if we look at. Look at Luke 5:27:32, and after these things went forth Jesus and beheld.

Let’s see. Jesus beheld the publican named Levi sitting in the place of toll, and said unto him, follow me, and he forsook all, and rose up and followed him, and Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a great multitude of publicans and others that were sitting at the meal with him.

And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against the disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answered unto them, they that are in health have no need of a physician, but they that are sick, I am come to call the righteous sinners to repentance. Were any of these aforementioned groups doing this, what Jesus was doing? No. Levi’s name was later changed to Matthew, as Jesus also did with Peter.

In Matthew 10:3. He is called by Matthew as his apostles were named Philip Kentre reads Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the publican, James the son of Alpeus Lebius, who was surnamed Thaddeus. How did this affect the publican’s view of Jesus? Well, we know it did to Matthew. He recognized Jesus is the son of God, but those watching saw the greatness of Jesus too.

The first part of Luke 19th chapter talks about another publican, Zacchaeus. Let’s read a little, starting with 19:1, and then we’ll continue on. Jesus was going through Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes and was very rich. Jesus was heading his way and Zacchaeus wanted to see what Jesus was like.

Zacchaeus was a short man. He could not see over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree. When Jesus got there, he looked up and said, zacchaeus, hurry down. I want to stay with you today. Zacchaeus, hurry down.

And gladly welcomed Jesus. Everyone who saw this started grumbling. This man Zacchaeus is a sinner and Jesus was going to eat with him. Later that day, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, I will give half of my property to the poor and I will now pay back four times as much to anyone I have ever cheated. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, today you and your family have been saved because you are a true son of Abraham.

Here are some examples of Jesus changing heart Being the priest that everyone hoped for but had not seen until now.

Last but not least, the Samaritans. These were mixed Jews with foreign population. After the Assyrians repopulated the North Kingdom after its destruction followed only the first five books of Moses considered Mount Gezum the real point of worship. Southern Jews avoided this area like the plague, but Jesus did not. Some interactions are John 4, 7 the Samaritan woman at the well There cometh the woman of Samaria to draw water.

Jesus saith unto her, give me drink. Also Luke 17:12 Sumerian men had leprosy. As he was going into a Village the 10 Men with Leprosy came forward him forward towards him and they stood at a distance also Luke 10:25 37 Samaritan who is a hero of a parable showing compassion that others didn’t. We’re not going to read Luke 10 account due to time, but the point was point was being that Jesus was performing the duties of a priest to the Samaritan people. I believe news traveled fast about Jesus and he was seen in a much different light than those in Jerusalem in those falsely proclaiming to the titles of godly authority.

Jesus was performing duties of a priest that the the Sanhedrin profaned in the temple. He performed the duties of a priest that the Pharisees had failed recognizing in the true Messiah. At the time of his visitation. He performed the duties of a priest that the rabbi had failed in teaching of the people. He had to do that himself perform the duties of priests that the scribes had failed to do in their interpretation of the law.

He performed duties of a priest that the Essenes had failed to do in withdrawing themselves from the service to the people instead of Being out there leading like Jesus, he performed duties of the priest to educate the zealots that peace comes not through the sword, but through the word of God. He performed the duties of the priest that the Samaritans were as much loved by God as the Jews. If we add all this up, there was no other priest than Jesus. No one else was doing this work or being viewed by them as doing the work of a priest or and this was during the time the law was in effect. I think it’s telling that Jesus illegitimate trial in front of Annas, Caiaphas and Pilate that were the subject, that the subject of the Sabbath never came up.

Did so many see him performing these duties of a priest that none dare speak? Had Jesus silenced them, removing any doubt in their minds as to what this man stood for? In conclusion, I’d like to read Hebrews 54256 and no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, thou art my son to to this today have I begotten thee, as he saith in another place, thou art a priest forever. After the order of Melchizedek, I believe that Jesus had taken the position of high priest during his walk on earth.

Therefore, if, therefore it was his duty, therefore it was his duty to be teaching, teaching by example, speaking the words of truth to the masses, speaking by his actions, using his power to uplift those with open minds and hearts, moved fearlessly to cleanse his Father’s house and giving them an insight into his future kingdom on earth on the Sabbath. For the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath day. May the Lord add His blessings.

Click Here for the PDF transcript.