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JESUS AND THE SABBATH

Boyce Mouton · 10 pages · 5,443 words

JESUS AND THE SABBATH

When Jesus and His disciples walked through the grain fields on the Sabbath they were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and to eat them. This was permitted in the Law of Moses: “If you enter your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to the standing grain. (Deuteronomy 23:25) Because it was the Sabbath, however, the Pharisees said: “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:2) Their view was that eating such grain was lawful six days of the week, but not on the Sabbath. Since Jesus was “Lord of the Sabbath” He tried to reason with them.

First, Jesus reminded them that when David and his companions were hungry they entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was not “lawful” for them to do for it was only for the priests. Jesus continued that the priests themselves work hard on the Sabbath and yet are innocent.

Then Jesus claimed to be greater than the temple and reminded them of the inspired words of God through Hosea: “If you had known what these words mean, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. FOR THE SON OF MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH.” (Matthew 12:7-8) The fact that Jesus quoted Hosea is significant. Both Jesus and Hosea did that which seemed to be unlawful!

First Jesus reminded them that David did that which was not “lawful” to do in eating the consecrated bread. Then Jesus quoted the prophet Hosea who also did something was was not “lawful”. The Law of Moses forbade a priest to marry a prostitute: “They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God.” (Leviticus 21:7). The Law commanded that an adulterous wife be put to death: “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife – with the wife of his neighbor – both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10) It was the Lord Himself, however, that commanded Hosea to marry an adulterous wife! “Go take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness.” (Hosea 1:2) God was not contradicting Himself, He was teaching Hosea a lesson that transcended law. One reason God gave the Law was to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). The goal of the Law is “Love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:7)

The Pharisees paid their tithes of spices, mint, dill, and cummin, “but neglected the more important matters of the law justice, mercy; and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). Yes! Some commandments are more important than others. For example, God desires “mercy” more than “sacrifice.” The focus of “sacrifice” is inward. When a man makes a sacrifice he is thinking of himself and not his neighbor. The Passover lamb, for example, was selected by “each man” for himself and his family (Exodus 12:1-4). That’s why in the parable of the Good Samaritan the priest and the Levite refused to help the man in need. If that man was “unclean” they would not have been able to make a sacrifice! The Good Samaritan, by contrast, was not thinking of himself! He felt pity and extended “mercy” to the man who have fallen among thieves! Jesus said: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

Jesus wanted the Pharisees to rethink the sacrificial system! The idea that God likes to see innocent blood shed, and expensive oil poured out is absurd. Yes! God commanded these sacrifices, but when He did so He had a greater purpose in mind. If your son is fighting with his brother and you punish him by making them stand in the corner, standing in the corner is not your ultimate goal. For his life. Micah made this clear: “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:6-8)

The Sacrificial System was not an end in itself, it was a means to an end. Throughout all of human history many have missed the meaning of why God gave the Law. Isaiah, for example, warned Israel that God hated the way that they observed their New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. The reason God hated their sacrifices is because they missed the ultimate goal of such sacrifices. Isaiah commanded them: “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:13-17)

IT IS LAWFUL TO DO GOOD ON THE SABBATH (MATTHEW 12:12)

“Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:9-12)

Jesus performed many miracles in the presence of His disciples that are not recorded in the Bible (John 20:30). There are, however, seven miracles of healing recorded that Jesus performed on the Sabbath.

Jesus cast out an evil spirit from a man in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 1:21-28).
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law on the same Sabbath (Mark 1:29-34).
Jesus also healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6).
Jesus also healed a crippled woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17).
Jesus healed a man with dropsy on the Sabbath in the house of a prominent Pharisee (Luke 14:1-6)
Jesus healed a man born blind on the Sabbath (John 9:1-16).
Jesus healed a lame man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath (John 5:1-18)
Since Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath He could obviously do anything He wanted to do on the Sabbath!
Remember! “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. (Mark 2:27)

A DELIBERATE PROVOCATION

The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were obviously wrong in their teaching about what could be done on the Sabbath. They would untie an ox or a donkey on the Sabbath and give it a drink, but they refused to help a person on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15-16). They would pull a donkey or an ox out of a well to keep them from drowning, but refused to help a human being on the Sabbath (Luke 14:5). Their priorities were obviously wrong! Therefore Jesus deliberately provoked a controversy with them

by healing a man on the Sabbath who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Then Jesus commanding this man to take up his bed and walk! (John 5:8). This not only provided Jesus an opportunity to teach about the Sabbath, but also His true identity as God!

Please note that there were a great number of blind, lame, and paralyzed people at the Pool of Bethesda on that day (John 5:1-5). Jesus, however, only chose to heal one! Further, even though it was the Sabbath, Jesus commanded this man to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” (John 5:8) It seems that Jesus was deliberately challenging their understanding of the Sabbath. As a point of interest, this may be the only time Jesus was in the presence of sick people whom He did not heal. He only healed the one man to use him as an example!

On previous occasions the Jews had planned to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:14; Mark 3:6, etc.) Jesus, however, was not afraid! And, as you know, not only commanded the man to carry his bed on the Sabbath, but said that God was His Father, making himself equal with God. “For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)

JESUS DEFENDED HIS OWN DEITY

(John 5:19-47)

After criticizing Jesus for healing on the Sabbath and also for claiming that God was His own Father, Jesus preached a sermon in defense of His own Deity. Here is a brief summary of His message:

Jesus did only what His Father does (v. 19).
The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does (v. 20).
The Father raises the dead and gives them life, and so does the Son (v. 21).
The Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (v. 22).
He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him (v. 23).
Whoever believes the Son has eternal life and will not be condemned (v. 24).
The time has come when all who hear the voice of the Son will live (v. 25).
Both the Father and the Son have life within them (v. 26).
Because of this the Father has given the Son authority to judge (v. 27).
Don’t be amazed by this for the time is coming when all in the graves shall hear His voice and come out of their graves (v. 28).
Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to condemnation (v. 29).
The judgment of Jesus is just for He only seeks to please the one who sent Him (v. 30).
John the Baptist also testified to the identity of Jesus (vss. 31-35).
The work that Jesus did was an even greater testimony than that of John (v. 36).
The Father also witnessed concerning Jesus (vss. 37-38).
The Scriptures also testify about the true identity of Jesus (vss. 38-39).
Jesus does not need or accept the praise of men (v. 41).
People are foolish when they believe the testimony of their fellow men more than the testimony of God (vss. 42-43).
Even more foolish is to accept praise from one another more than praise from God (v. 44).
Moses will be your accuser in judgment, for he wrote about Jesus and you wouldn’t believe him (v. 45).

GOD WORKS ON THE SABBATH!

The answer is “Yes!” “Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I am working too.’” (John 5:17)

As you know, God created the heavens and the earth in six days and then: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because he had rested from all the work of creating he had done.” (Genesis 2:12-3)

Yes! After six days God stopped “creating” things, but by no means did He stop working! Every day of the week God is busy with billions of duties we often take for granted.

For example:

We can plant a seed and water it but only God can make it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). God makes the seed grow every day of the week!
Further, God maintains an entire ecosystem for that seed which includes, earth, sunshine, and rain so that life upon our earth will not become extinct.
God not only keeps track of seeds, but not one sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge.
God also keeps track of you and me for even the very hairs of our head are numbered (Matthew 10:29-30).
Further, Jesus said that God feeds the birds of the air and causes the lilies of the field to grow (Matthew 6:26-29). This, of course, happens every day of the week.
Birds, animals, and fish could not survive unless God guided them in their annual migrations.
The Arctic Tern is a bird that weighs only 2/3 of a pound yet God guides it every year on a round trip of 22,000 miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back.
The European freshwater eel is born in the Sargasso Sea south of Bermuda but swims across the ocean to Europe and twenty years later God guides it back to the place of it’s birth where it will spawn and die.
In Africa God guides antelopes, zebras, and wildebeests over 1,000 miles in their annual migration. Without the guidance of God they could not survive.
This guidance from God takes place every day of the week!
God has also promised to guide every one of us who will trust in the Lord with all of our might and not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) This guidance too is available 7 days a week and 24 hours a day!
Every day the eyes of the Lord range constantly through out the whole earth looking for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).
It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, God is a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Rebekah was barren until the Lord heard her husband Isaac’s prayer (Genesis 25:21). There are millions of babies born every year and it is God who puts life in every womb.
God hears and answers prayers every day of the week and every hour of the day.
Every time someone is born again they become a “new creation” regardless of what day of the week it is (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God is our Father and takes care of His children every day, meeting our needs and answering our prayers (Matthew 7:9-11).
On a larger scale God has numbed the stars and given every star a name (Psalm 46:4). It is the daily responsibility of God to keep all of these stars in their proper place.
It is God who every minute of every day holds together every atom in our universe (Colossians 1:17).
YES! GOD CONTINUES TO WORK ON THE SABBATH!

CHRISTIANS ARE FREE FROM THE LAW IF MOSES

The day Moses received the Ten Commandments was not a happy day! Mt. Sinai was burning with fire and darkness, gloom and storm. The people were terrified and begged that no further word be spoken unto them. Fear reigned for even if an animal touched the mountain it had to be stoned. Even Moses trembled with fear (Hebrews 12:18 – 21).

When the people worshiped before a golden calf the Levites strapped on their swords and went back and forth from one end of the camp to the other killing their brothers, friends, and neighbors. About 3,000 died on that day (Exodus 32:22-29) Burying 3,000 relatives was not a pleasant thing to do!

The Law of Moses warned of so many ways to become unclean that the Jews said “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch.” (Colossians 2:21) The Law of Moses was a hard yoke (Acts 15:10)!

No matter how inconvenient it was, the Law of Moses required that the people of God could only worship in Jerusalem. That’s why when the church began there were God fearing Jews in Jerusalem out of every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5). God designed worship under the Law of Moses to be deliberately difficult

So Christians died to the Law through the body of Christ (Romans 7:4) In this way believers served in the “new way of the Spirit” and not in the “old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6).
The “law of the Spirit of life” sets us free from the “law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
We now “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law. For by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
Paul himself “Died to the law that he might live for God.” (Galatians 2:19)
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” (Romans 3:28)
“Those who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
God deliberately designed the law to hold us as prisoners, locked up until faith should be revealed (Galatians 3:23).
“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:24- 25)

DO CHRISTIANS HAVE TO KEEP THE SABBATH?

Since God rested on the seventh day years before the Law of Moses was given, do Christians still have to observe the Sabbath?

The answer is “no”! Everyone is free to rest one day of the week, but it is not now a commandment to do so. “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:5-8)

After the children of Israel came out of Egypt God forbade them to gather manna on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:4-5). It is difficult to prove that the Hebrews observed the Sabbath prior to this time. The Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15:13). It seems obvious that the Pharaoh of Egypt would not allow his slaves a day of rest every week. It was Moses who made Israel observe the Sabbath. Years later Nehemiah would write: “You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.” (Nehemiah 9:13-14)

It even seems that the relation between God and the Sabbath was unique to Israel: “Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Exodus 31:12-13)

Can you think of any nation in history that observed the Sabbath, the Sabbatical Year, and the Year of Jubilee? (Leviticus 25)

As we have said, all Christians are free to observe the Sabbath if they want to, but they cannot bind this as a law on anyone else. A council was held in Jerusalem for the specific purpose of deciding how much of the law was binding upon gentiles. Their conclusion was only these four things: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” (Acts 15:28-29) Note! Keeping the Sabbath is not mentioned in this list!

Further, Paul specifically taught: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with retard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Colossians 2:16)

Yes! Christians are also free to observe kosher diets and other holy days, but they cannot bind such practices on others (Romans 14:1-8).

On the practical side it would be virtually impossible for people living in some part of the world to correctly observe the Sabbath. Remember! The Sabbath day began in the evening and continued until the next evening. As you know Jesus and the two thieves were crucified at 9:00 in the morning. The thieves had their legs broken and Jesus had His side pierced so they would not profane the Sabbath (John 19:31- 37) If you live near the North Pole or the South Pole, however, the sun doesn’t set for six months. How can these people correctly observe the Sabbath? Further, the Jews were commanded: “Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” (Exodus 35:3) This would be dangerous for people living where temperatures are below zero.

SUNDAY IS NOT THE SABBATH

The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week and Sunday is the first day of the week.

While the Jews worshiped on the seventh day of the week, the Christians worshiped on the first day or the week. Here are some reasons why:

Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1: John 20:1).
Jesus appeared to His disciples on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 27, 34; John 20:19, 26-29).
The church began on the Day of Pentecost which came on the first day of the week (Leviticus 23:15-16).
The church met on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).
The church also received offerings on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
Church history confirms that Christians regularly met on the first day of the week to worship Christ!

CONSTANTINE

Constantine was the first emperor of Rome who claimed to be a Christian.

Before Constantine Christians were persecuted by the emperors of Rome. Here is a list of Roman emperors who persecuted Christians.

Nero executed thousands of Christians including Peter and Paul.
Domitian continued the persecution and was the emperor who exiled the Apostle John to the Island of Patmos. Other emperors who persecuted Christians include:
Trajan (98-117).
Hadrian (117-138).
Antonius Pius (138-161).
Marcus Aurelius (161-180).
Septimius Severus (193-211).
Maximin (235-238).
Decius (249-251).
Valerian (253-260).
Diocletian (234-305). He was perhaps the most violent persecutor of them all. At the end of his reign he arrogantly felt that Christianity had been completely destroyed.
HE WAS WRONG! The very next emperor was Constantine who claimed Christ as Lord! In A.D. 3l3 Constantine passed his Edict of Toleration granting “Christians and all others full liberty of following that religion which each may choose.”
Further, Constantine ordered that 50 Bibles be prepared under the direction of a Christian leader named Eusebius. These Bible were written on the finest vellum designed by the best artists, and were immediately sent throughout the empire on public carriages. It is thought that the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts were in this group.
Constantine allowed houses of worship to be legally built.
Constantine also abolished slavery, gladiatorial fights, killing unwanted infants, and death by crucifixion.
Since Sunday was already the day when Christians worshiped, and since Constantine was a Christian, he permitted all Roman citizens to not work on Sunday.

THERE STILL REMAINS A REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD

The book of Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians in Judea. Hebrews 13:24 states: “Those from Italy salute you.” This leads to the assumption that this letter was written from Italy. Jesus had predicted that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed so that one stone would not be left upon another that would not be cast down (Matthew 24:2). The Roman army laid siege to Jerusalem in A.D. 67 and three years later in A.D. 70, they completely destroyed Jerusalem and the temple just as Jesus predicted.

Some scholars think the Hebrew letter was written around A.D. 64. It is therefore possible that the “approaching day” in Hebrews 10:25 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

The Hebrew Christians in Judea had suffered a great deal:
First, they were scattered abroad from Jerusalem by a “great persecution” (Acts 8:1). Saul of Tarsus, as you know, began to destroy the church going from house to house and dragging men and women to prison (Acts 8:3).
Second, a great famine came over the entire Roman world during the reign of Claudius (Acts 11:27-20). As a point of interest, it was also during the reign of Claudius that all Jews were ordered to leave Rome (Acts 18:2).
This famine was particularly hard on the Hebrew Christians for as many as owned lands or houses sold them to feed the thousands of pilgrims who became Christians when the church began on Pentecost (Acts 4:32-35).
For this reason the church in Antioch sent money to their brethren in Judea by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 11:29-30).
For the next 15 years Paul collected money everywhere he preached for the poor saints in Judea (1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8 – 9; Galatians 2:10; Romans 15:31; etc.)
So the Hebrew letter was written to these suffering Christians to keep them from abandoning Christ: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3)
Just as Moses led the people of God to rest in the Promised Land, Jesus leads His people to rest in heaven: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to haven fallen short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1)

THE EXAMPLE OF THE HEBREWS IN THE WILDERNESS WAS A WARNING

God heard the cries of the enslaved Hebrews in Egypt and parted the Red Sea to give them freedom (Exodus 14 – 15).
Instead of appreciating what God did, however, these Hebrews tested and tried Him for 40 years in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:8-10).
Paul used the example of the Hebrews in the wilderness as an example to us: “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-13)
So with reference to the disobedient Hebrews God said: “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest’” (Hebrews 3:11)
These ungrateful rebels died in the wilderness and never made it to Canaan!
So the Hebrew Christians in Judea were not to harden their hearts like they did, so: “Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)
In the same way we too have a promise of entering into rest: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to haven fallen short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1) Our promised rest is in heaven, not Canaan!
A long time after Joshua led the Hebrews to conquest, David wrote in Psalms 95:7-8: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)
Yes! “There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9)
As we have said, however, our Sabbath rest is not in the land of Canaan, it is in heaven!
“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11)

PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH!

Paul was confident that the Philippians would make it to heaven: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6).
Jesus was the secret to his optimism! Jesus will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
When the Hebrew people sinned in the wilderness God sent poisonous snakes to kill them but also gave them a simple way to be saved. Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole and everyone who looked on that snake lived! (Numbers 21:6-9).
How simple! How profound!
In the same way everyone who looks upon Jesus and trusts Him has nothing to worry about! He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion!
Remember! When Jesus focused on Jesus he could walk on water! When he took his eyes off of Jesus he began to drown (Matthew 14:22-33).
“Christ in you is the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
When Paul put confidence in his earthly achievements he failed! When he focused on Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh he gained the victory (Philippians 3:1-21).
Moses did not drown the Egyptian army with man’s wisdom and human strength! Moses gave the credit to God and even composed a song praising God for delivering Israel (Exodus 15:1- 19)
When we arrive safely in heaven we too will be singing the Song of Moses (Revelation 15:3-4)
Remember! “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11)
The focus of our faith is not ourselves but Jesus. So “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3)