Explain using incidents from Mark's Gospel, what Jesus believed about the Sabbath in contrast to the Pharisees.
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Introduction
Theology Coursework - Explain using incidents from Mark's Gospel, what Jesus believed about the Sabbath in contrast to the Pharisees The Sabbath is the weekly day of rest, which lasts from sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, which is observed by Jews. It is viewed as being the most important day of the week. Observing the Sabbath day is the oldest of all Jewish traditions; the Sabbath day goes back to the time of Moses. Throughout the life of Jesus, there have been many references that have been made towards the Sabbath. These beliefs on the Sabbath varied considerably, the Pharisees views were very different to that of Jesus. The Pharisees held a strong and understandable grudge against Jesus and his disciples due to their different beliefs on the Sabbath. In the Ten Commandments it says, 'observe the Sabbath'. To abide by the Sabbath laws you would have to rest on the seventh day of the week like God did. The Pharisees felt very strongly about the Sabbath and its rules, and believed they should never ever be broken, if a law of the Sabbath was broken, it was actually punishable by death. ...read more.
Middle
Jesus exorcised the demon with authority, telling the demon to 'be quiet.' The spirit recognises Jesus and becomes silent. This incident occurred on the Sabbath day, and at this time the only healing permitted on the Sabbath was when somebody's life was in danger. As this mans illness wasn't life threatening, his healing could have waited until the Sabbath was over, therefore Jesus was breaking one of the laws of the Sabbath. In this incident Jesus is showing that he has authority over evil spirits, and authority over evil. Mark included this incident to show the amazement of the people when Jesus cast the evil spirit out of the man. The people were so amazed by this that they seemed to forget it was performed on the Sabbath day (against the laws). There were also no Pharisees, Scribes or elders present at the time of this miracle, and these were the groups who were most opposed to Jesus and his teaching. This occasion is one of the main events that caused the religious leaders to turn against Jesus. ...read more.
Conclusion
Mark gave Jesus the title of the son of man, there is a quote that says "The son of man is lord even on the sabbath". This shows that he is more important than the Sabbath and exerts more authority, so it does not matter if he breaks the laws of the Sabbath because of who he is. Many Christians nowadays would try their best to live by the Ten Commandments but because Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath, they should not have anything to worry about if they break a law of the Sabbath because They are doing what Jesus said they should do Many Christians now, especially priests feel that people's needs are more important than obeying the laws of the Sabbath (as Jesus believed) that is why they do not force you to believe in what they say but only to take notice. The Sabbath law said that any work was prohibited on the Sabbath even helping people unless their life was in danger, but because of Jesus' beliefs on human need is what Christians follow then they are allowed to take action in work on Sundays. GCSE THEOLOGY COURSEWORK - A01 BY CHARLIE HOLDEN ...read more.
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