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disease. The man would be allowed to mentally rise and re-discover his faith, but religion
would restrict him to remain sedentary and non-responsive to the truth revealed to him.

Student Review: Higher purpose of the Sabbath
In the Gospel of Mark, the Messiah speaks to the ordinance of the Sabbath. His message points
to the higher purpose of the law first given to Moses concerning the day of rest. [Exodus 20:8]
The Messiah explains that the sabbath was made for man (to honor God) and not for man (or
to honor man). [Mark 2:27] In Jewish culture it was understood that there were laws, rituals,
and acts of God intended to demonstrate a greater good, for the sake of a higher purpose or
intent. An example is in the commandment given to honor mothers and fathers. [Exodus
20:12]
God wanted parents to be honored and therefore created children for the sake of something
greater, to honor parents. Children were not created to be honored, they are created to give
honor. In the same way the sabbath was created to give God honor and not for the day or
those that preserved it to be honored.

The highest honor to give God on the sabbath is to empower someone like the impotent man,
disabled from sabbath celebration, to have the ability as he did to walk into the temple and
honor God on the sabbath. In fact, a greater sin or mis-deed, would be to have the ability to
empower the impotent to celebrate the sabbath and choose to ignore him for 38 years while he
remained helpless to honor his Creator.
The sabbath was not intended to restrict men from walking in newly discovered truth. The
truth is intended to empower men for the sabbath. When the truth comes to awaken men from
the slumber of deception the religious will insert themselves to prevent the awakened and
resurrected from walking in their rediscovered faith.
The once impotent man, replies to his opponents, rehearsing the instructions given to him by
the healer. A Rabbinic healer told him to walk, certainly someone with the power to heal him
also had the authority to give him permission to carry his bed. The man walking in his healing
does not appear to be threatened by those that want to hinder him. After lying helpless for
thirty-eight years, now that he is awake, he is determined to remain woke, walking, and up-
right.

(John 5:12-13) – The dissident further their inquisition asking for the identity of the person that
gave him permission to walk. The Jews leading the query want to formalize charges against the
healed and the healer. They are intent on finding all persons associated with violating the
sabbath restrictions.
The man that was healed is not able to identify his healer. The healing of the impotent is
apparent to the multitude within the temple, they gander in amazement to see the man they
know as a resident of the porch near the sheep gate just outside of the temple. The healer is
not visible to the man, the once impotent man cannot point him out because of the crowd.
(John 5:14) – After the Jews completed their questions, the man is left to himself and he found
by the Healer. As if to remind the man of his new status, the son of God says to him, “Behold
that art made whole; sin no more”. The man is inside the religious system, and the Healer does

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