Living Outside the Box A Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Living Outside the Box Keyword: "traditionalism” Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 12:9-14* 9. And departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they questioned Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"-- in order that they might accuse Him. 11. And He said to them, "What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it, and lift it out? 12. "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13. Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" And he stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14. But the Pharisees went out, and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. Questions 1. Why do you think Jesus was asked the question of verse 10, above?   2. What is the point" of Jesus' answer? (vv. 11-12)   3. What was the response of the Pharisees to Jesus' miracle of healing on the Sabbath? Why were they so upset?   Practical help God's Law (the Ten Commandments) required that the Jews not work on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be an enjoyable day of rest, play, and worship. Unfortunately, the Jews of Jesus' day had twisted that good Law. They forced men and women to observe such nit-picky rules that the good gift of the Sabbath became a major burden! For instance, on the Sabbath, Jews were forbidden to spit on clay (that made mortar and that was work!), walk a certain distance (even if it was to a favorite fishing hole), repair a leaking water pot, or practice the healing arts. This was not at all what God had intended by the Sabbath law. In the passage cited above, Jesus ignored the picky, legalistic rules of man to obey God's Law. He fulfilled the original intent of the Sabbath Law by using it for restoration (in this case, healing). Jesus might say to anyone using porn for sexual gratification, "You are taking a perfectly legitimate desire — the longing for sexual union between a man and a woman — and perverting it just as surely as the Sabbath was being twisted in the first century." Porn violates God's original design because it removes sex from relationship and covenant, just as the Sabbath-rules of the first century violated God's original design, ignoring its purpose of rest, relaxation, recuperation, recreation, and worship. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. ----