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. 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."
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. 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."
Copyright 2002