The Sabbath Debate

By Mary Vee
Luke 14

Peter

Sun setting in Israel
Photo by Mary Vee

My name is Peter. 

I am with Jesus and the other disciples at the home of an important Pharisee. We have been served a Sabbath meal.

Other Pharisees and people walking by the home have been welcomed to this meal also.

It seemed to me that the Pharisees arranged this meeting with plenty of witnesses for a reason. Like they planned to catch Jesus in a mistake.

There was a man who sat near Jesus. He had a painful physical problem. His joints had become swollen which made moving extremely painful. 

Jesus turned to the important Pharisees, and said to them, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?"

The religious scholars didn't answer, but they watched what Jesus would do about the situation.

Jesus called the sick man to him and healed him. "Go home. You are healed."

Jesus looked at those in the room. "If a child or animal suddenly fell into a well, is there anyone in this room who wouldn't stop what they were doing and run to help him out, no matter the day? Even a Sabbath?"

Again the religious scholars and Pharisees said nothing. From the look on their face, they did not know the right answer to give.

Come back to read the next story.

*Note from Mary Vee: If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will see them and will answer as best I can or direct you to a source.


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sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.

Amy Carmichael-He Raised His Machete, Ready to Kill Me!

By Mary Vee

Year: July, 1894 

Amy Carmichael: 27 years old

From Amy's Journal

Photo Courtesy-a machete

My name is Amy Carmichael. I am a missionary helping--well, at this point that is exactly what I am doing. I am helping.

Helping to unravel a big mess.

The three young female missionaries at the Ceylon mission had no clue what to do after their leaders died of malaria. They assumed God had sent me to take over the mission. 

I was the same age as they were and only had the fifteen months of missionary work in Japan to my name. And I had a fever. And I needed to rest before I did any work.

None of this mattered. The missionaries were still so excited to see me. They practically jumped up and down with every word I said. 

They took me to the mission and gave me food and drink. They showed me to a room where I could rest. They offered to get me anything I wanted. Anything!

I smiled. What else could I do? They were so sweet to me. When I woke, I found a tray of food waiting for me. I called the three women. "Tell me what you have been doing here at the mission."

While I ate, the missionaries told me about their work. "Most of the people who live near here practice Buddhism and speak Sinhalese. We three speak the language fluently."

"Good. Now, for the next few days, continue doing the work as before. By then I should feel well enough to help."

Smiles burst on their faces. "Yes, you rest. We will care for everything."

I knew they would. They had such love for the work and only needed some organization.

Days later I learned a lot more about the three missionary women. While we were cooking, a man barged into our house. He had a large machete in his hand and waved it in the air ready to chop one of us. 

"You told my wife to accept Jesus as her Savior!" 

Actually, they didn't. They explained God's love to his wife and she, on her own, chose to ask Jesus as her Savior.

I watched the three other missionaries and did what they did. We knelt on the floor, closed our eyes and prayed without saying a word to the man. After a prayer, I couldn't help looking to see where he went. He was standing right over me with the machete in the air, ready to come down on my head!

I closed my eyes again and prayed, "Dear God, please be merciful to me. I trust in you even in these dark shadows until all the trouble has passed."

I took a deep breath and found the courage to look at the man. Praise God, he was gone!


Resources used for this series:
Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge. Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 1998. Print.
Davis, Rebecca Henry. With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones UP, 1987. Print.
Dick, Lois Hoadley. Amy Carmichael: Let the Children Come. Chicago: Moody, 1984. Print.
Meloche, Renee Taft., and Bryan Pollard. Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2002. Print.
Wellman, Sam. Amy Carmichael: A Life Abandoned to God. Uhrichville, OH: Barbour Pub., 1998. Print.

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Let Amy hear from you!