Was Messiah Really a "Sabbath Breaker?"

 

What was Yeshua “breaking” on Sabbath?

If you say that He disobeyed Torah, you’re saying He is one of two things. (Neither of which are viable by the way.) Option 1: You’re saying that Messiah was somehow above keeping and honoring His Father’s Sabbath and was therefore not subject to It. Or Option 2: You’re claiming that He was a transgressor and thereby could not be the prophesied Messiah.

So, what does one do with this dilemma? Do we just do our best to squeeze our inherited doctrine into the Text and quickly move on or are we willing to ask some tough questions? I suggest that we read the entirety of this specific text and of both Testaments.

Within this John chapter 5 text are accusations, friend. Accusations. Yeshua was absolutely submitted *entirely* to His Father’s Torah.

His obedience to It is literally what allowed Him to be the One Who was without sin.

Matthew 26:59 is another good text to mention towards these points of false accusations (there are many.) “Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Yeshua that they might put Him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.” (Repeat: “but they found none.”)

We see this exact same thing happen with men like Paul and Stephen, such as Acts 6:11-14, “Then they secretly instigated men who said, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and Yahweh.’ And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the Torah, for we have heard him say that this Yeshua of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.’”

The Word is *full* of endless examples of “false” accusations, that unless one knows the Torah and the Prophets, we will all incorrectly apply the Text.

To be clear, if Messiah had “broken Sabbath”, He would be a transgressor. His pattern of obedience and submission is what His forerunner position declared for all that would follow Him. He was the Firstborn of many Brethren. Who are They, these “Brethren?” The ones who in like manner would what? Obey. Just… like… the… Son. Even love itself is defined by the Father and the Son by obedience. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” One could rightly say, “If you do not obey, you do not love.”

There are two clear accusations within today’s text. The Sabbath issue and Yeshua’s identity. Was He equal with Elohim? According to what Yeshua Himself spoke so many times, or, as we read in places such as Philippians 2, “[Yeshua] who, though He was in the form of Elohim, did not count equality with Elohim a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men”, Messiah never elevated Himself to such a position. Instead, He was always dependent upon the Father entirely.

Trust me friends, Yeshua was no “Sabbath breaker” in order to somehow exalt Himself “above” It. That would be doctrinal foolishness, really. Nor was He in any way attempting to exalt Himself to be coequal with His Father. He was a subordinate Son and all that He had was given Him by His Father. To be redundant, these were *false* accusations.

In conclusion, I would submit for your consideration that Yeshua is fine with this. (His authority entirely given to Him by His Father.) As He lived out His Suffering Servant role, He fully embraced laying down His life to the utmost in order to fulfil His Father’s will. Because He never "broke" His Father's commandments, by exalting Himself over Them, He was deemed "well-pleasing", rose from the dead, ascended to the heavenly Tabernacle and ultimately earned the right to be our Great High Priest! Incredible!!!! All praise to Yahweh Most High! He is my strength and my song! He has become my Yeshua (Salvation!!!!!) (Exodus 15:2)