In the Gospels, we can see clearly that there was great disagreement over what was an acceptable Sabbath activity and what was not. For instance, on one occasion Jesus walks with his disciples through a field, picking heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath. The Pharisees stand there watching, disapproving. Jesus confronts them for their narrow religious perspective (Matt. 12:1–8). Two lessons can be learned from this story. First, it is not the work of the Spirit to stand and critique other people’s activity on the Sabbath. If we ever spend our day of rest judging everyone else’s activity, we
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