Verse by Verse

Hi. I'm Eric Jones, and this is Verse by Verse, a short podcast all about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of God. The verse we're covering in today's episode is Mark 1 verse 21. Now before we read it, let's set the context. Being the first chapter of Mark's gospel, this verse is set very early in Jesus Christ's ministry.

In the few verses preceding it, we read about Jesus' baptism, the temptation in the wilderness, the beginning of his formal ministry, and the calling of his first four disciples. Now those are all pretty significant events in his ministry, but they were all one time events. He was only baptized once. He was only tempted in the wilderness once. He only began his ministry once, and he only called his first disciples once.

But when we get to verse 21, Mark writes about something Jesus didn't do just once, but on an ongoing basis throughout his life and ministry. It was a weekly practice he never compromised on. Let's read it in Mark 1 verse 21. Then they, referring to Jesus and the disciples, went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught. Of the 4 gospel accounts, Mark's is the one that especially emphasizes action.

Mark often very quickly jumps from event to event and emphasizes Jesus as a man of movement and action. Jesus didn't just enter the synagogue on the Sabbath. Mark says he immediately on the Sabbath entered the synagogue. The King James version translates that straightway. It means he did it at once, in other words, with focus and intention.

Jesus didn't just stroll into the synagogue casually on the Sabbath when he felt like it or when it was convenient. No. When the Sabbath came, he diligently made the effort to be there. Another verse describes it as his custom, his habit. Jesus was a faithful and dedicated and intentional Sabbath observer.

We could look at many other scriptures in the gospels that show this. In fact, it's interesting that even though his enemies were always looking for evil to accuse him of, they never even tried to accuse him of outright Sabbath breaking. Now they did try to accuse him of breaking the Sabbath, but those accusations were on 2 very questionable and fringe interpretations of what constituted Sabbath breaking. At one point, they accused his disciples, not him, of breaking the Sabbath by having a light snack of grain while they walked. A few other times, they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by healing people of their physical ailments on the Sabbath.

But to put it frankly, both accusations were ridiculous and petty. Both were based on extreme interpretations of the Jewish oral law. 1 interpreting picking a head of grain as harvesting a field and the other trying to equate divine healing with a medical procedure. Neither accusation went anywhere. The Pharisees eventually tried to accuse him of other things and gave up the Sabbath breaking accusation.

The fact is Jesus was a faithful Sabbath keeper. The Bible defines sin as breaking the commandments of God, and we know that remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy is the 4th of God's Ten Commandments. Since many scriptures clearly state that Jesus never sinned, he was perfect, he obeyed the Ten Commandments perfectly in both their letter and their spirit. Therefore, Jesus kept the 4th commandment. He faithfully kept the Sabbath holy exactly as the father intended him to.

A very important verse written by one of Jesus' closest friends, we know him as the apostle John, shows us why this is so essential. First John 2 verse 6, He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. If we're going to abide in him, or in other words, be a faithful Christian, we must strive to walk just as he, Jesus, walked. The apostle Peter reinforced this in 1st Peter 2 verse 21 when he wrote that those called by God must follow his, Jesus' steps. If we're going to walk just as he walked and follow his steps, one of the things we must be doing is following his example of keeping God's Sabbath holy.

If you would like to learn more about the Sabbath and how to integrate it into your life, check out the link in the show notes. My friends, the Sabbath isn't an onerous burden that you have to reluctantly make room for in your weekly schedule. It's actually one of the greatest blessings and benefits God has given human beings. Jesus and his disciples benefited from that blessing every week, and you can too.

Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the life, hope and truth learning center. Check out the show notes for more.