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| The Law of Moses |
| One sabbath day, the Pharisees observed the disciples picking grain and eating it as they passed through fields. The Pharisees did not notice this by accident, but on purpose because they were following Jesus, anxiously hoping that he or one of his followers would break one of the sabbath laws. They approached Jesus and informed him of the violation. Jesus annoyed by their foolishness, began to teach about the Law of Moses. Jesus said, "By your actions you demonstrate your ignorance about the sabbath. Man was not made for the sabbath, but the sabbath for man. You speak of the sabbath as if it were some holy day to be observed because the day itself possesses holiness. Don't you see the foolishness of such a belief? You speak as though a particular time period of the week possesses a holy presence, thereby imparting some magical influence over those who revere it. Don't you see that time in general has no holiness by itself? Time is something created by man. It is the Father's presence in man that sanctifies each and every moment in time. It is His holiness that makes the present moment holy, not vice versa. If you would allow it, this truth would change everything you think you know about the sabbath. But your pride is too great, so you continue in your false beliefs." "Do you not see that the past and present are illusions, only existing in your ego? Your ego which is the false identity you have created for yourself, perpetuates the illusion of time because it pollutes the present moment by what it has experienced in the past. Even the future is polluted by the memory of the past, because the past is referred to when plans are made for the future. When the mind operates in this manner, the present moment isn't even noticed. The world of illusion takes precedence over the world of truth, and sanctity of the Father's work at each present moment goes unnoticed." "The keeping of the sabbath laws is so important to you because you do not recognize the voice of the Father speaking in you. His spirit is not just the Lord of the sabbath time, but Lord of every moment in time. But because your spiritual eyes and ears have become deaf and darkened to Him, you substitute His influence with that of your own insane beliefs. Those insane attempts to replace the voice of the Father causes you to perform insane acts, like following me and my disciples around hoping to observe an infraction." "Believe it or not, my disciples were doing the will of the Father when they picked and ate the grain. Through my teaching, they now recognize the truth about the sabbath. They know that the sabbath is holy because their presence makes it so, not vice versa. Therefore, they picked the grain and ate it. Honestly, does it make sense to you that hungry men should not eat when they are hungry because their hunger occurs on a certain day of the week? If it does, you have missed the meaning of the sabbath." "The meaning of the sabbath is rest. On the sabbath, man rests from his work. But what if a man appears who has already ceased from his own works, doing only the work of the Father by hearing his voice each and every moment of every day? Such a man lives a sabbath life every moment in time, seven days a week. And what if the voice of the Father tells such a man to pick grain and eat it on the day of the week you call sabbath? Which is more important, listening to the voice of the Father or observing an external law that has no application at that particular moment in time? The answer is obvious. So why do you seek to apply an external law to my activity when I am taking my direction from the Lord who created the sabbath? Do you think that he understands the purpose of the sabbath, and must therefore take direction from you? And if you can hear it, it was I who gave the original command of the sabbath. Therefore, I need not take direction from you as to how it must be observed." The Pharisees were shocked. They could not believe that Jesus claimed to be the one who gave the original law of the sabbath. Claiming such was blasphemy, because doing so meant that he was equal with God and was in fact God. So they continued following him around hoping to gain more evidence to condemn him. The Pharisees observed another violation when Jesus healed a man's hand on the sabbath. They quickly pointed out to him that it was unlawful to heal on the sabbath. Again Jesus rebuked them for their ignorance, saying, "You still cling to your arrogance, claiming to understand more about what is allowed on the sabbath than the one who healed this man's hand, even though it was the Lord himself who performed the healing. Do you really think that the Father would have healed this man's hand if it were illegal to do so? Do you not see how insane your claims are? Why not change your mind, since you obviously don't understand the true meaning of the sabbath? Your insane beliefs are demonstrated by the fact that you will allow people to rescue a barnyard animal from a pit on the sabbath, but you won't permit a man's hand to be healed." The Pharisees were stunned by these words, having no response. But even though their foolishness was once again exposed, they refused to humble themselves and continued on their mission to condemn Jesus. Jesus began teaching the disciples, "It is important that you understand the truth about how the law of Moses came to be. When the children of Israel were freed from bondage in Egypt, they followed Moses into the wilderness where, as you know, they wandered for many years." "When it came time for the children of Israel to hear the commandments of God, they were afraid. Only one was not afraid, that being Moses. Moses wanted to, and did hear God's voice for himself. He did not want someone else's interpretation of what God says - he wanted to hear it directly." "When it came time to meet with God, the children of Israel stood at the base of the mountain wondering at the fire, smoke and quaking. This inspired them to fear the presence of God. But Moses saw it differently. |
| Copyright 2002 |
| He was not afraid of the things he experienced with his senses. Instead, he followed the desire of his heart, which was to experience God's presence firsthand and hear his voice directly for himself." |