John 5:8-10 KJV, “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.”
EG White, SOP Vol 2, 1877, pp. 158-159, “He bounded to his feet in obedience to the Saviour’s command, and stooped to take up his bed, which was only a simple rug and blanket.”
EG White, SOP Vol 2, 1877, p. 159, “The Pharisees were not delighted at the cure which had been effected upon this poor invalid of thirty-eight years. They overlooked the object of the wondrous miracle, and, with their characteristic bigotry, seized upon the act as a violation of the Sabbath law.”
EG White, SOP Vol 2, 1877, p. 160, “Jesus did not come into the world to lessen the dignity of the law, but to exalt it. The Jews had perverted it by their traditions and misconceptions. They had made it a yoke of bondage. Their meaningless exactions and requirements had become a by-word among all other nations. Especially was the Sabbath hedged in by all manner of senseless restrictions which made that holy day almost unendurable. A Jew was not allowed to kindle a fire upon the Sabbath, nor even to light a candle on that day. The views of the people were so narrow that they had become slaves to their own useless regulations. As a consequence, they were dependent upon the Gentiles to do many services which their rules forbade them to do for themselves.”
EG White, SOP Vol 2, 1877, p. 163, “Nature must continue her unvarying course; God must not stay his hand a single moment, or man would faint and die. And, in a like proportion, man has a labor to perform on this day. The necessities of life must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the wants of the needy must be met. God
does not hold him guiltless who stays his hand from relieving the suffering on the Sabbath day. The holy Sabbath was made for man, and acts of mercy and benevolence are always in order upon that day.”
Mark 2:27-28 KJV, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
Bigotry is defined as “obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.”
The priests or the religious authorities of the Jews treated Jesus, the Son of God, unfairly and with hate. Why? Christ, had shown them how to keep the Sabbath without their attachments. Instead of realizing their sins they hardened their hearts with evil thoughts.
Do we act like these Jews? The real Jew is obedient to the law of God and honors His Son. May the Spirit of bigotry leave us because the Spirit of Christ is with us.
Sincerely in the Blessed Hope.