Confirmation Instruction Lesson 2

Jesus Follows the Spirit of the Law

Luke 6: 1 - 5

Mathew 23: 1 - 8

Mark 2: 23 - 28

Commandment 3

The Pharisees were a group of Jewish scholars who believed that people came closest to God by keeping every single one of the laws in the Old Testament (not just the Ten Commandments).

The Pharisees were very critical of Jesus' behavior on the Sabbath, or seventh day of the week (our Saturday). The Pharisees believed that if the Jews kept the Third Commandment for two perfect Sabbath days in a row, the Messiah (or Christ) would come to save the people from their sins.

Jesus knew that by seeing God as a tyrant and a nitpicker, instead of as a God of mercy and kindness, people became lost and could not find God at all.

So Jesus used the hunger of the disciples on the Sabbath to show them the love of God.

1. What does the Third Commandment say about the Sabbath day?

[The Third Commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.]

2. What did Jesus mean when he said, "God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath"?

[Jesus meant that God gave his people a day of rest and worship as a gift to them. Worshipping and praising God is not a burden, but an opportunity to lay our own burdens and cares down for a day, while we refresh ourselves by thinking about the goodness of God.]

3. How does Jesus use the Old Testament to make his point?

[Jesus told the story of David, whose troops were fed with the bread from the altar, so they would have the strength to go into battle.]

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