Did Jesus Break the Sabbath?
by Garry D. PiferScripture cannot be broken. (John 10:35) John, in his gospel account appears to say that Jesus broke the Sabbath. Notice. 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.” Do we accept this statement at face value or is there more to the story we need to understand?
As I have pointed out in other writings, IF Jesus truly broke the Sabbath commandment He sinned. IF He sinned He was not qualified to be our Savior. Consequently there has to be more to the story that we need to understand. Let’s look at the entire account here in John 5 and see the context in which the statement that Jesus “broke the Sabbath” is made.
As we read John chapter five we find that Jesus and His disciples had gone up to Jerusalem at the time of one of the Feast days. Commentators feel this was probably at the time of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Verse two tells us the location where the event that we are about to read of took place. It occurred by the sheep “market,” or more accurately, the sheep gate. We can read of the rebuilding of this gate during the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 3:1, 32; 12:39). John tells us of a pool by this gate which was called in Hebrew, Bethesda, meaning “House of Mercy.” There were five porches (alcoves or porticoes) in which numerous sick and infirm people were laying. Apparently they spent virtually all of their time here because of a miraculous thing that occurred frequently. An angel periodically stirred the water of the pool and the first individual to enter after this happened was completely healed.
John tells us of one individual that had been “infirm” for 38 years. How many months or years he had been waiting near the pool isn’t revealed. However, it says, Jesus knew that he “had been now a long time in this case.” Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made well. This would seem to be obvious that this is what he desired, or as we might say in today’s terminology, a “no-brainer.” Rather than simply saying, “Yes!” the man explains that due to his condition he was not able to make it into the pool before someone else was able to enter.
Jesus then gives him three commands. “Rise.” “Take up your bed.” “Walk.” We are told of the miracles that immediately took place. The man was totally and completely healed of his infirmity. And, in just as big of a miracle, he walked. No therapy. No learning how to walk after 38 years of being crippled. And, the third thing he did, taking up his bed, evoked the wrath of the Jews who were about. They saw the man carrying his bed. Now this was but a pallet or “bedroll,” not a queen sized mattress, box springs, headboard and footboard. Notice that the Jews didn’t begin praising God for the miracles that had been done. They didn’t even inquire as to how this man was now able to walk. They immediately honed in on the fact that it was the Sabbath Day and that he was doing something unlawful. They told him “It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” (John 5:10) We will look at this in more detail in a moment.
The fellow responded to the Jews that the one who had made him whole (and he wasn’t even aware of who Jesus was) had instructed him to take up his bed and walk. A bit later, we are told, Jesus found this individual in the temple and told him that he was to “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”
It was after this that the man left and went to the Jews and told them that it was Jesus that had made him whole and, although it is not stated it is implied, also who had instructed him to do what the Jews labeled as “unlawful,” the act of carrying his bed. Following this, we read, that the Jews began to persecute Jesus and sought a way to slay Him because he had done these things on the Sabbath.
In verse 17 Jesus seems to add some fuel to the flames when He answered them saying, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” They totally missed what He meant, not recognizing Him as Messiah and the “work” He came to perform. They, it says in verse 18, 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.” The Jews were stating that He was blaspheming, saying God was His Father. We know from numerous Scriptures, which we won’t go into here, that Jesus WAS NOT blaspheming. Likewise He was being accused of breaking the Sabbath, which we shall see He was not guilty of doing.
What “law” were they accusing the healed man and, by extension, Jesus of breaking? What law said that carrying a bedroll was unlawful? Look as we may, there is no statement within the Torah that states that carrying a bedroll on the Sabbath is unlawful. There is not even a single verse in the Torah that says one is not to bear a burden on the Sabbath, which is what the Jews were getting at here in John five. However, there are a couple of passages within the Old Testament that do tell us that one is not to bear a “burden” on the Sabbath. Perhaps this is the “law” they are referring to. Let us see.
In Nehemiah the 13th chapter and in verse 19 we are told that Nehemiah set some of his servants at the gate of Jerusalem “that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath.” And in Jeremiah 17 we find it stated that the Lord said they were to take heed “and bear no burden on the Sabbath Day, nor bring it in by the gate of Jerusalem.” (Verse 21) Additionally, He said, “neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath Day,” (Verse 22) or “bring in no burden through the gates of the city on the Sabbath Day.” (Verse 24) And, again in verse 27, in reference to hallowing the Sabbath, He told them “and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath Day.”
To understand God’s instructions in these passages we need to understand a couple of things. What were the circumstances? What is a “burden?” In Nehemiah 13:15 we see what was occurring. People were doing their normal work and activities on the Sabbath. They were treading wine presses, bringing in sheaves of grain, loading their animals with wine, grapes, figs and “all manner of burdens,” which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath Day. And, for what reason? Notice the last part of verse 15. “Wherein they sold victuals.” They were conducting their normal commerce, their normal business activities. Verse 16 continues to show this; men of Tyre dwelt there and they brought fish and “all manner of ware” and sold on the Sabbath. Verse 17 shows what they were doing to be an “evil thing” and a profaning of the Sabbath. The transacting of normal business, doing the normal routine of the week, was the profaning of the Sabbath.
Nehemiah dealt with this situation by commanding the gates of the city to be shut at sunset at the beginning of the Sabbath. Why? So that no “burden,” “no manner of ware,” could be brought into the city. This was done to put a stop to the buying and selling, the transacting of business, the profaning of God’s Holy Sabbath Day.
This whole account references back to an agreement, a covenant, the people had made and sealed. (Neh. 9:38; Neh. 10:1-39) Notice specifically verse 31 of chapter 10. They agreed that if the people of the land brought “ware or any victuals” on the Sabbath Day to sell they would not buy it of them on the Sabbath Day or on a Holy Day.
The account in Jeremiah 17 is easily understood when we know the story of Nehemiah that we just looked at. God instructs the people that “no burden” was to be brought in the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath, that they were to hallow the Sabbath and to not do any work. He plainly wanted them to make a distinction between the rest of the week when they went about their activities of making a living, of transacting business, of buying and selling all kinds and manner of “ware and victuals.”
Perhaps most helpful in grasping this is to understand what a “burden” is. The Hebrew word used in these passages is massa, #04853 in Strong’s. The basic definition is “load.” Cruden’s Complete Concordance defines it as “a weight or load of the capacity of the bearer to carry.” This is borne out in several Scriptures. Let’s notice a few. 2 Kings 5:17, “And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules burden of earth?” Plainly he is speaking of loading two mules with earth, a full load, not just a cupful of dirt. 2 Kings 8:9 also shows the use of the word burden meaning a “load.” “So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden,...” He was taking much material, loading down 40 camels. One more verse from the Torah will also help in understanding a “burden.” Exodus 23:5 is an instruction regarding an animal belonging to someone other than a friend or family member. “If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden,...” The indication here is that the “burden,” the load, upon the animal was actually too much for the animal to carry. The instruction continues, “and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.” He was to help the animal out from under such a heavy “burden” or load.
Now, understanding the Scriptures regarding carrying a “burden,” or “load” of ware and victuals on the Sabbath, where did the Jews arrive at their accusation of Jesus, and the man that was healed, of breaking the Sabbath by carrying a light weight bedroll? It was not from the Torah or any of the Old Testament Scriptures. The prohibition of carrying one’s bedroll was a part of the numerous legalistic interpretations that the Jews, especially the Pharisees, had added to the Torah. The numerous interpretations of God’s law are contained in the Mishna. The Mishna was the written form of what was referred to as the “oral Torah.” Or, as the dictionary states, “a compilation of the oral tradition of the Jewish law, made probably by Judah ha-Nasi (135-c. 220).” Although these interpretations were viewed by the Jews as equal in weight to what was contained in the Torah there is much evidence that they were, as the dictionary says, tradition and interpretation.
The Jews meticulously detailed the commandments contained in the Torah, coming up with 613 major commandments. These 613 commandments were divided into six main sections, the second of which dealt with the festive seasons. This section was further divided into another 12 parts and one of these 12, containing over 150 pages, deals specifically with the Sabbath Day. The following samples will help us understand the legalistic mentality of these individuals accusing Jesus and why they were upset about someone “bearing a burden” on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath law contained in the Torah forbids labor, or work. This simple instruction was developed into numerous special ordinances. The “bearing of a burden” was divided into two separate acts, lifting up and setting down. The determination, as found in the Mishna, was that lifting a burden could be a transgression and then setting it down could be a transgression. It was stated that a burden might be lifted up or put down from two different places; from a public place into a private or from a private into a public place. If one picked up a burden in their home and set it down in a public gathering it was not a violation. Or, if it was picked up in a public place and set down in the home it was not a violation. However, if it was picked up within the home and set back down that was a violation as well as picking it up in a public place and setting it back down in a public place.
A burden was identified by weight. The weight of a dried fig was a burden, but half a fig was not a burden. So, if one picked up something weighing as much or more than one dried fig he picked up a burden and was guilty of desecrating the Sabbath. However, if the item was of the weight of a half a fig, then there was no transgression. Further, if half a fig was carried at two different times the two actions were to be combined into one so as to constitute the sin of breaking the Sabbath. Even in eating one was not allowed to pick up a piece of food that would be a burden. If it was the size of an olive it was too large but if it was the size of half an olive that would be okay.
These are just a few items contained in more than 150 pages of what was considered to be proper or improper to do on the Sabbath. And, according to these interpretations the Jews saw the carrying of a bedroll as being unlawful to do on the Sabbath, i.e. the bedroll was too heavy. It was picked up in a public place and couldn’t be set down in the same public place.
As was stated at the beginning of this study, the Scripture is true, it can’t be broken. But, we need to determine who is speaking and upon what the words are based. The statement that John makes in saying Jesus had broken the Sabbath was simply the determination of the Jews based on their numerous interpretations, it was their accusation. They were just as upset at His “claim” to be the Son of God. They felt He had broken the Sabbath, which He hadn’t, and that He was not the Son of God, which He was. They were wrong on both counts. Jesus, as the Son of God, as creator and giver of the Sabbath command, as Lord of the Sabbath, knew and understood better than anyone that the lifting and carrying a bedroll after being miraculously and mercifully healed was NOT breaking the Sabbath.
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