Thursday, November 15, 2012

New Testament Sabbath

The New Testament text for Sunday is: Luke 13:10-17, which, after yesterday's Old Testament lesson, should provoke some questions for the saavy reader.  Chief among them:

* Was the Synagogue Leader wrong in his condemnation of Jesus?  Or, more accurately, his condemnation of the people who would come to the Synagogue on the Sabbath to request a miracle?

* Also, if we begin with the premise that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, in what way was his action in this case a fulfillment of Sabbath?

* What is the A.D. meaning/purpose of Sabbath?

Okay, I've got the ball rolling, now check out the text for yourselves (again, some of my language notations included below) and let me know what questions YOU have.

 10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,11 and a woman was there who had been crippled (root word: anesthesia! Weakened, incapacity, timidity, frail, ill, incapacitated, limited)
by a spirit (same word: Holy Spirit, evil spirit, way of being/attitude/disposition) for eighteen years.She was bent over (bowed down) and could not (did not have power) straighten up (lift herself) at all.
12 When Jesus saw (paid attention) her, he called her forward (addressed her) and said to her, “Woman, you are set free (perfect passive: released, pardoned, sent away) from your infirmity (root word: anesthesia! Weakened, incapacity, timidity, frail, ill, incapacitated, limited).”
13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up (passive voice: was built upright, restored, set straight, rebuilt) and praised (honored, glorified) God.
14 Indignant (grieved, incensed, offended, irate) because Jesus had healed (cured, served) on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work (labor, expended effort, business, performance.) So come and be healed (cured, served) on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites (pretenders, insincere)!
Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie (same root word as “set free” release) his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?
16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound (tied, imprisoned, compelled, restricted, prohibited, made sick, kept a slave) for eighteen long years,
(Is it not necessary for her to) be set free (perfect passive: released, pardoned, sent away) on the Sabbath day from what bound (the bond, fetters, imprisonment, incapacity, illness) her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated (put to shame, disgraced), but the people were delighted (rejoiced, were glad) with all the wonderful (splendid, radiant) things he was doing. 

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