In 1896, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was lawful, but in 1954 the court reversed itself and outlawed segregated schools. It ruled that unequal separate schools violated the constitution. That decision led to violent protests in many parts of our country, even by some who professed to support equal opportunity for everyone. Back in Jesus’ day, the religious leaders objected strenuously when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath Day, and then told him to pick up his mat and walk. Based on their flawed interpretation of the Mosaic Law, carrying a mat on the Sabbath was a sin. Jesus taught that doing good on the Sabbath did not violate God’s law. He said people uphold the law when they use it to help those in pain. We read in John 5, that the Jewish leaders harassed Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. He told them, liMy Father is always working, and so am I.” Hearing this, these leaders tried even harder to find a way to kill him. They claimed “he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.” In every age we are called to stand firm for truth and righteous living as Jesus taught. Yet we must do so not in bitterness and strife, but in love.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
