What is Man 5-21-23 Session 8-M

In this episode of Voices of Humanity, Philip Bly and his wife Norma discuss the topic of the Sabbath and how it applies to humans. They examine a passage from Matthew where Jesus defends his disciples for plucking corn on the Sabbath, and compares a man to a sheep to emphasize the value of human life. The Pharisees are shown to have a strict and literal interpretation of the Sabbath, while Jesus emphasizes that the Sabbath is meant to restore and refresh life. The Pharisees' motives are questioned, as they seem more interested in establishing their own doctrine rather than following God's law. The episode concludes with a reminder that humans are made in the image and likeness of God, and that preserving and valuing human life is of utmost importance. Hello, this is Philip Bly, and once again, this is Voices of Humanity. We would like to welcome you all as you continue to hear the audios that we are discussing on the topic of what is man, is man in the image and likeness of God. And as we have talked about, this is session number eight. In session seven, we were continuing our discussion, and this is in regards to the Sabbath. The Sabbath is, in Hebrew, is the word for rest that's used in the King James Version. And many places, we're trying to understand how that applies to man, because man did not create the universe. Man is a beneficiary of what was created. So how does the Sabbath apply to us as humans? How do we observe this? And so, we are going to look at Matthew to try to get an answer to this question. And once again, today I have with me my wife, which is Norma Bly, which you would like to say hello to the audience. Hello, everyone. And what we're going to do as we continue this topic, try to understand how God wants us to observe the Sabbath. So in order for us to establish that, we're going to try to look at the scriptures and look at the words of Yahshua, which is Jesus. And we read in the last session where, in Exodus, where God spoke to Israel and explained to them what He expected once He created the nation of Israel. We're going to see what Yahshua has to say on this topic. So I will begin with Matthew 12 and verse number 1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day. But He said unto them, Have you not read what David did when he was a hunger, and they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest? Or have you not read in the law how that on the Sabbath day the priest in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. If you had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. You would not have condemned the blameless, for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. And when he was departed hence, he went into their synagogue, and behold, there was a man which had his hand with him. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, and they that they may accuse him? And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, that if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out? How much more, then, is a man better than a sheep? Therefore is it lawful to do well on the Sabbath day? Now we're going to make some comments on here, some observations. One of the things that I see here, and maybe you have a question about, is the things that they are saying lawful. What does lawful mean in this setting? Are we talking about a law from the government, or are we talking about law from a religious standpoint? What do you think they're saying here? A law from the religious point of view. From the religious point of view. So for the Pharisees, their understanding of how sacred the Sabbath is, is a strict interpretation or literal. That means that under no circumstances are you to do anything. And what Jesus was trying to explain to them, this is not the purpose of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is working in harmony with always restoring a refreshing life. So what we need to sustain us is food, correct? So what do you generally do when you get hungry? Find something to eat. It's pretty simple, right? It's not hard at all. So even the Pharisees took offense to this, saying that, okay, since this is the Sabbath, then you just perish on this day, starve to death. This is not a good interpretation of what God would do in that situation. And so in their mind, they became irritated, I guess that would be a nice word, I would say more enraged because of what Jesus was allowing his disciples to do. So what do you think when Jesus asked them the question about what would you do if a sheep falls into a pit? You will go and get it out. You will go and find that sheep. So when you look at this, why does he compare a man to a sheep? Is it symbolic? Well, this is a metaphor, he's symbolic, you can say it that way. He's comparing it because he is taking the thing that is least valuable. And he says it, it is least, that a sheep has less value than a human. So if you are willing to take and violate, as in their mind, they were willing to violate the Sabbath for a possession because a sheep was a possession. And so that shows you how they viewed the Sabbath and Jesus was asking them simply, okay, if you are willing to violate the Sabbath for a sheep, how much more should you be willing to do it for a human? Would you think this is what he is confronting them on and asking them to think about their logic, how they are thinking about this thing? What would you say when we read these verses once again? And I'm going back to read Matthew 12, 10. And behold there was a man which had his hand withered, and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to kill on the Sabbath day? And their whole motive was so they can accuse him. It says it right here, that they might accuse him. They are really not interested in following the law of God. Right here they are creating a conflict. A conflict so that they can prove themselves to be, what, what do you think they are trying to do? Righteous? Holier than thou? Holier than thou, righteous. They are willing to establish a doctrine of their own making. This was, I guess, one of the most difficult things whenever humans try to establish law of doctrines because the doctrine that they establish or try to implement is one that supports their point of view only. Not the view of what the Father or what the scriptures may be revealing to them. They only are interested in establishing the thing that is causing them to be revered among men. So they wanted to accuse him. To make him something that humans would detest. That humans would call him a heretic or a lawbreaker. Don't listen to this man, don't follow this man, for we know the ways of God. So we have already studied and established these things. So now you can see the challenge it is when you try to establish traditions based on your own interpretation. This is what the Pharisees are doing here. And he said unto them, What man among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the side of the day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? So as I'm saying once again, sheep, a sheep is a possession. But it's not a human being. So if you care more about your possession, what you are willing to violate, you are. And this is the thing that he is saying to the Pharisees and show you that they're being hypocritical and they're not judging things in a just way. But they're judging it based on their doctrine to try to establish themselves as being more righteous. Do not follow this man, we are more righteous than he. So he asks them a simple question, if you are willing to violate the Sabbath to save a possession, that's what is going on here. He says in verse 12, How much then is a man better than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day. He clearly explains to them the whole point of the Sabbath is to save and refresh life, not to destroy. So here's the other challenge here. Let's think about what he says here. How much more is a man? How valuable? How better than a man? This is what it says here. How much then is a man better than a sheep? That's the question. I say significantly more, what do you think he's referencing here when he asks that question? What thought comes to your mind when he asks that question since we're talking about the image of God? Most importantly to me, man is made in the image and likeness of God, not a sheep, not an animal. So if you value an animal above the image and likeness of God, that is a serious problem. And I believe this is one of the issues where we have an identity crisis, and we'll talk about that a little bit more, of how humans value other things above the image and likeness of God. So this is one of the things that we will continue to talk about as we continue to study scripture is the image and likeness of God and how it is valued always above everything that God has created in the earth and even in heaven, that it is so valuable that God wants to understand he's always about preserving the life of that which represents his image in the earth. And so for that, we want to say once again to you, until the next session of Voice to Humanity, we hope that our studies and discussions will help you to better understand what God desires. And we use, as I say, the international translation, we use the King James, we also use the Jewish, complete Jewish Bible to help us to study the scriptures. So at this point, I'm going to say, we're going to sign off once again, until the next session of Voice to Humanity, we hope that you'll be blessed, in the name of Jesus, we bless you, amen. Amen.