Now we come to chapter 9 of John, where we find another sabbath. We have already passed through three sabbaths, and now we come to the fourth. In all of them the Lord Jesus did something to break them. The Lord Jesus always acted deliberately and intentionally to break the sabbath. He was an excellent sabbath breaker. We must not think that it was just by accident that He performed these things on the sabbath day. No, He did it with a definite purpose. He did it to purposely break the regulations of religion.
Let us review briefly the sabbaths through which we have already passed. It is interesting that in the record of Matthew there are two sabbaths, and in the record of John there are another two sabbaths. The first sabbath was a case of hungry people: the Lord Jesus brought His disciples into the cornfield and gave them full freedom to do as they liked. The cornfield was not the synagogue or the temple; it was a rather wild and uncultured place. Would you rather sit in good order in a cultured synagogue, or would you prefer to be in the cornfield, plucking the ears of corn, without keeping any regulations? What kind of person would you prefer to be? The cornfield was an eating place, a place of liberty from all religious regulations.
The second sabbath was a case of a withered member, which the Lord Jesus likened to a sheep fallen into a pit. The withered member was the fallen sheep without rest. So the Lord broke the sabbath that the withered and fallen member might find rest. In the second case the object of the Lord's concern was not in the cornfield, but in the pit. When we are withered, we are simply in the pit; we are bound and have no rest. But, hallelujah, the Lord Jesus has lifted us up! The Lord Jesus has healed us, and now we are out of the pit and dwelling at home. The church is firstly a cornfield and then a home.
The third sabbath is the case of an impotent man lying in a religious porch, waiting for something to happen. The Lord Jesus saw him and by His word imparted life into him. The Lord Jesus has not only fed us and lifted us up, but imparted His life into us. Now we not only have satisfaction and freedom, but we are made alive.