It’s a “will worship” morning (Colossians 2:23). I’ll use Psalm 20:1-4.

Jesus, my good Shepherd, stirred me from slumber early this morning, about 2:30 am, and I went looking for Him in His green pastures. I found Him while “walking” through John 5, and the Mind of the Spirit connected with the spirit of my mind when I read verses 8, 10-14:

John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

…

John 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

John 5:11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

John 5:12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

John 5:13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

“Take up thy bed, and walk” presented a problem for the Jews because Jeremiah understood the Law of Sabbath to prohibit bearing any burden on that day: “Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 17:21-22). To underscore the seriousness of this offense, consider Exodus 31:12-17 with Numbers 15:32-36.*

Jesus was aware of this Sabbath law; He is the LORD who established it and commanded its enforcement (John 1:1, 14).

Consider Jesus’ response to the accusation of the Jews that He violated Moses’ Law—John 5:19-47. In this passage, Jesus declared He did nothing “of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (5:19), that He is the Son to Whom the Father had given all judgment (5:22), and had given to Him “authority to execute judgment” (5:27), that He judged only as directed by the Father (5:30), that these Jews who judged Jesus were “willing for a season to rejoice in [John the Baptist’s] light” and John testified that Jesus is Christ (5:33-35), but that Jesus had greater witness to His authority than John (5:36), the Father Himself (5:37), and finally, that Moses himself testified of the Prophet Who would come that would be greater than he, and instructed Israel to follow Him (5:46-47; Deuteronomy 18:15-18). All of this testifies to the fact that the Father was transitioning His people from under Moses’ authority to come under the authority of His Son, JESUS.

Along the still waters, as I reflected on Christ’s intentional challenge to Moses’ authority, the Spirit brought to mind other occasions where Jesus asserted His authority above Moses: on the matter of divorce, for example (Matthew 19:3-9), or when He released the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11). There are multiple challenges to the Sabbath day prohibitions, such as when He defended His disciples against the accusation that they violated the sabbath by picking corn to eat on that day (Matthew 12:1-5). Jesus exercised His prerogative as the Son of God to raise the bar of righteousness above what was called for in the Law: “ye have heard,” “but I say unto you” (Matthew 5:21-37).

In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, it occurred to me that Jesus set the foundation for “spoiling” all principalities and powers, including the Law, early in His earthly ministry and finished this work on the Cross (Colossians 2:13-19). Think about it! The excuse the Jews used to crucify Jesus was that He set Himself above Moses and “equal with God” (John 5:18—“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”) His call to discipleship took on new meaning for me: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Anyone who attempts to drag us back under the Law is rejecting Jesus’ authority and denying Christ has come (2 John 7). They are saying Moses’ authority is greater, and so they have offended Moses, who expressly declared that the greater Prophet would come and that all should follow Him.

At the table, Jesus anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the Harvest. Selah!

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live as soon as I can set up the livestream.

https://rumble.com/v6vutjt-shepherds-pasture.html

[*The Exodus passage prohibits kindling a fire on the sabbath, and the Numbers passage tells of an Israelite who was gathering sticks on that day, ostensibly to “kindle [a] fire,” and “the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp” (Numbers 15:32). God knows the hearts. This man was scornful of the sabbath. He should have obeyed the instruction to make provisions on the sixth day to address any needs he might have on the seventh.]