The Eleventh Commandment

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says and does things that broke with the established tradition. Does this make him a rebel? Not so, but He was intent on focusing on essential elements of faith. For instance in Matthew 12, the disciples of Jesus help themselves to grain on the Sabbath. Consider this, Exodus 20:8 clearly identifies the Sabbath as a commandment. There is little doubt that the Pharisees observation of the disciples error was on task…initially. They were breaking the Sabbath. The response of Jesus is amazing. Earlier, in Matthew 9:13, Jesus had given them instructions to "go and learn what this means"…. "I desire mercy and not sacrifice"…..now in Matthew 12:7, in response to the Pharisees rebuke of His disciples….Jesus repeats the earlier instruction….and THEN makes the profound statement of Matthew 12:8…Jesus is the LORD of the Sabbath! In effect, you are looking at the Eleventh Commandment….or perhaps more importantly, THE COMMANDMENT! Jesus changes everything. He should be the center of our universe. Most Christians don't celebrate the Sabbbath…are we in error? I don't think so. Hebrews 4:9 states it so well…now that Jesus has come…..we have our Rest, 24/7. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath indeed!