Welcome Valley Bible Studies

Lesson 29: John 7:21-24

John 7:21-24
Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Background Information
Old Testament Law required all males to be circumcised when they were eight days old. The Law also forbid people to work on the Sabbath Day. Yet, when they needed to circumcise a baby on the Sabbath, they did so, breaking one law to keep another. Jesus pointed out that He also was doing God’s will on the Sabbath Day, even if on the surface He seemed to be breaking the Law.

Related Scriptures
Genesis 17:10-13 (Moses’first writing on circumcision, here given in his account of Abraham, one of “the fathers”)
Exodus 20:8-11 (Moses’ Law about the Sabbath, which is part of the Ten Commandments)
Luke 13:10-17
John 5:7-18 (The incident in which Jesus made a man whole on the Sabbath, angering some people)

Questions

1. Not considering ulterior motives, why were the Jews angry with Jesus?
2. Did they break the Law when obedience to God required it?
3. Which of the related Scriptures in this lesson would suggest that the Sabbath law wasn’t intended to be as rigid as the people of Jesus’ day thought?
4. What law was Jesus keeping when he seemed to break the Sabbath law?
5. Could Jesus have done this miracle without the power of God?
6. Could He have kept the power of God if He had used it to sin with?
7. What do Jesus’ words and actions say about the attitude that would refuse to help a sick person because of a religious technicality?

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