"And He said unto them, what man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." [Mt 12:11-12]
When Jesus encountered a man with a withered hand on the sabbath day in a certain synagogue, He asked the Jews which were there, “is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?” [Mk 3:4] Surely to us, it seems like a simple question, but the Jews which were present “held their peace,” and, “when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, stretch forth thine hand.” [Mk 3:4-5] We can see here that the sabbath day had become something which it was not intended, for it prevented the Jews from loving their neighbor.
Jesus spoke in another place, saying, “the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” [Mk 2:27] The sabbath day, which was “a shadow of things to come,” [Col 2:17] was not made so man could serve it as a master, but it was made for the benefit of man. It was never intended by God, it being a picture of Christ, (for, “there remaineth therefore a sabbath rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His.” [Heb 4:9-10]), to be a burden upon man. It was intended, apart from pointing to Jesus, for practical rest. And so, the obvious answer to Jesus’ question, “is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days,” is yes. As Jesus says in our verse for today, “wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.” Think of the hypocrisy of God, if it were not. Shall we forbear from helping another, from saving a life, from representing God’s character, merely because that good work set before us falls upon a certain day of the week? Hardly, but we may do good, and we may exhibit ourselves as God’s ministers each day of the week, even as God is well pleased to help us when we require it.
Although The LORD has told us, “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…in it thou shalt not do any work,” [Ex 20:8, 10] yet surely we know that God works on the sabbath. In that sense, we understand that The LORD does not cease working on the sabbath, for if He did all things would fail. What chaos might ensue if even for a moment God failed to uphold us or was not ready to hear our calls upon the sabbath, especially since in the New Covenant “one man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike,” [Rom 14:5] and we are also told, “let no man therefore judge you…[regarding] the sabbath days.” [Col 2:16] And again, we can see that all of The LORD’s works are sanctioned for the sabbath, for Jesus says, “it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days,” and it is written, “thou art good, and doest good.” [Psa 119:68] All of God’s works are good; it is not possible for Him to cease from doing good, for He is good and “good to all;” [Psa 145:9] and again, He, the One who “hast wrought all our works in us,” is ensuring that “all things are working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” [Isa 26:12, Rom 8:28]
Therefore, we can take heart, for The Lord does not rest upon the sabbath day; The Lord does not take a day off. Yes, even further, He does not grow weary nor tired: for it is written, “The Everlasting God, The LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary.” [Isa 40:28] Our Father does not need a day off, nor does He take one, but continually and always, He faithfully upholds us, helps us, strengthens us, and works in our lives. But we can enjoy this even further, for not only does God not take a day off, He does not take even one night off. For it is written, “He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” [Psa 121:4] This is a very good thing: for we are in constant need of God’s oversight. Praise God that “He that keepeth thee will not slumber;” [Psa 121:3] His watchful and loving eye is always upon us, as He says, “behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” [Isa 49:16]
If we, as The Lord’s sheep, have fallen into a ditch as it were, we do not need to wait for The Lord, as if He were busy, sleeping, or too tired. When the evil prophets of Baal, upon Mount Carmel, cried out to their God, “there was no voice, nor any that answered,” and Elijah mocked, saying, “cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is peeing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” [1 Ki 18:26, 27] Our God is not so, but as it says, “I sought The LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” [Psa 34:4]
Praise be to God that we have our help in God, the Creator, The One who never sleeps nor takes a day off. Wherever we are and whenever we are, we can go to Him. But let us see another truth too: Jesus Christ, our High Priest is eternally interceding for us. It is well enough that God does not sleep nor rest; but without Christ, we would not be able to take advantage of such things. Truly, it is a wonderful attribute of our God that He is infinitely powerful, but what brings this so close and tender to our hearts, is that such care is accessible through Jesus, and that continually. For we read,
“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest is fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” [Heb 7:25-26]
Our Priest and Mediator, Jesus, continually presents us before God: night and day. And God is continually open to His intercessions, prayers, and petitions on our behalf. If you have felt ignored, if you have felt overlooked, if you have felt uncared for: dear brother, remember that our God never sleeps, and His love always rests over you as a banner, and His Spirit upon you as an oil. Our help comes from the one who never slumbers nor sleeps; our strength is founded in He who never grows tired.
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