“Before the Babylonian exile in 586 BC, God’s prophets forcefully condemned Israel and Judah for habitual Sabbath breaking.
“So when God’s people were actually taken into captivity, to a great degree thy attributed their misfortune to their lax Sabbath keeping and attempted to reform themselves. After they returned to Jerusalem, Sabbath keeping was emphasized so strongly that the Old Testament prohibitions were carefully enforced, and gradually a host of specific interpretations concerning these laws were formulated [263] which had become so detailed by Christ’s day that the Sabbath had degenerated into an institution which exemplified Jewish legalism in its worst form.
“There literally were thousands of rules forbidding various activities on the Sabbath. [Two entire tractates of the Jewish Mishnah, tractate ‘Sabbath,’ and tractate ‘Eburin,’ are devoted entirely to the countless minute Sabbath regulations which had become a part of Jewish tradition by Christ’s day.]. By plucking a few heads of wheat (Matt. 12:1) the disciples were guilty of breaking at least four Sabbath prohibitions: reaping, winnowing, threshing, and preparing a meal. Beyond this, by their actions they were condemned for carrying a burden on the Sabbath. A burden was defined as anything that weighed as much as two dried figs. A Jew could not even carry a handkerchief in his pocket, and use it to wipe his face, without violating the Sabbath. Therefore, it was common practice to sew a cloth into one’s upper garment to wipe one’s face. Once sewn into the garment it was considered part of one’s clothing and did not constitute a burden.
“On the Sabbath it was forbidden to light a fire or extinguish a lamp, to ride a beast of any kind or to travel more than a Sabbath day’s journey, which was about two-thirds of a mile.
“It was a sin to cut one’s fingernails or pluck a hair. All healing was condemned except of r life and death emergencies. Sexual intercourse was forbidden on the Sabbath. An egg laid on the Sabbath could not be eaten by a Jew. It was sinful to write more than two letters of the alphabet. It was forbidden to look in a mirror on the Sabbath, and it was even considered unlawful to spit on the ground lest thereby a blade of grass might be irrigated. Each of these things [264] constituted work, making it a violation of the Sabbath. Even to contemplate work was wrong; therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus and his disciples were constantly being accused of Sabbath breaking. [265]”
The Talmud teaches that if only Jews would perfectly observe two Sabbaths in a row, the Messiah would come immediately, (Shabbat 118b)
.
