“There in front of Him was a man suffering form abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.” (Luke 14:2-4 NIV)
This coming Sunday I am preaching a message entitled ‘Hurt at Church.’ It’s based on a blog post I wrote a few weeks ago confronting the reality that people get hurt at church. But also, people get healed at church. We can’t stop going church because that’s the place we’ll find our healing.
I noticed today that Jesus made a habit of healing on the Sabbath. Have you put that together yet? He was always getting grief from the Pharisees for fixing people up on the day of rest. It seems like Sabbath was His favorite day to make people whole.
Now Jesus wasn’t the kind of Messiah who would just mess with the minds of the Pharisees. He wasn’t trying to provoke them. Perhaps, maybe, He was just trying to prove a point. Jesus is God, and He can heal whenever and however He chooses. He’s the Lord of the Sabbath.
I wonder if this is why we so often find our healing at church; when we’ve set apart a day for worship, when we’ve prioritized the presence of the living God.
Also, won’t our ultimate healing happen on a Sabbath? Consider it, the earth will rest. The whole of humanity will come to pause as every knee bows before Him. The tears will dry, the pain will cease. Fear and frustration will fade away in the presence of the Almighty. And God’s people will be finally, fully restored to Him forever.
“The Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5 NIV)
Lord, we are so glad that You still heal on Sabbath. Give us the guts to go to church even when it hurts. Help us set aside a day to seek You. Meet us with Your healing presence. We look forward to our final, full restoration. Amen.