16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.

17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

— John 5:16-17

8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

10 the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work…

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

— Exodus 20:8, 10, 11

13 If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,

14 then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

— Isaiah 58:13-14

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

May Jesus Christ keep you and greatly bless you.

The Ten Commandments provides core principles for wholeheartedly loving God and others. The fourth commandment states God’s desire that His people set the Sabbath apart from all other days of the week. God intends the Sabbath day to be a delight not a burden. Ordinary work stops so people can focus on loving and worshiping God. The law of Moses ordained the seventh day in a week for rest as a sign of Israel’s covenant with God. By the time Jesus cam to earth, Jewish religious traditions exceedingly multiplied the original constraints of the Sabbath Day law.

Religious Jewish leaders added a lot of man-made regulations concerning keeping the Sabbath. Keeping Sabbath became a burden God never intended, which distorted His original intent for His people. Because Jesus healed a lame man and gave him true rest on Sabbath, the religious leaders persecuted Him about the healing “work”. Jesus then responded with a bold statement packed with deep truth about His union with His Father: “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Jesus’ words express and reveal the mysterious oneness of purpose and work the Father and the Son share.