Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath

What is a likely reason for the creation of all of the extra Sabbath rules?

I think we tend to make rules because it makes our lives easier and it can make me feel better about myself. For example, if I were to make rules for my children about what clothes were appropriate for Lord's Day worship, I could take one of two approaches:

– On one hand, I could give them a principle and say something like, "You need to wear something that is fit for worshipping the Almighty God. We go to church to worship God, not man, so think about what you would wear if you were in the presence of the God that created the universe, a God that is perfectly holy, etc. Once they understood the principle, they would determine what clothes to wear and they would have liberty to do so. But then I would have to deal with one child that would wear his best flip flops, shorts and his best Hawaiian shirt, and another that would wear dress shoes, slacks, a collared shirt. This might then result in an argument between the two of them about what "Sunday Best" actually looks like, so on & so forth. Then, when my mother & father-in-law come into town, I would get caught up in that pathetic conversation about their beliefs, how flip flops may make them feel uneasy because the way they were raised, etc. So this "principle" approach really creates friction for us humans because we struggle with liberty (at least the liberty of others…). Plus, we are "Christians" and we should not look like the rest of the world – right?

– The other approach is to simply define for them what is appropriate to wear – after all, it's the Lord's Day. I could tell them to wear dress shoes, slacks, a collared shirt, and yes, throw in a tie as well because a tie is a sure sign of respect for men and a heart for God. So, each Sunday morning is easy with this approach; the kids get up and put on the standard outfit – no arguments, no confusion. It takes little effort because the standard has been clearly defined, the kids don't have to question their thoughts (in fact, they don't even have to think), AND it's easier to judge right & wrong as a child and a parent because the rule has been clearly defined (in fact, I made two other rules to make it even more clear). The box has been created, and they are either in it or out of it. Furthermore, if we attend a church where everybody takes this same approach, there is consistency, order, and everyone can be happy with themselves and others – for we all have the same well defined rule and it is easy to see we are all following it! How blessed is it that we are all such good people!

The former approach is so complicated. The implied liberties make me feel uneasy because diversity makes me think so much about others because we don't all look & act the same (and then I end up questioning my own righteousness – oh man, this is hard). The later, on the other hand, enables me to easily judge other people just by looking at them (and makes me feel better about myself too – yay!). This is great because I don't even have to know other people or what is in their heart. I can just look at them and determine whether they are holy, rule-following people or not. A lot of rules like this make it easy for men to judge & govern other men… It makes it real easy to identify all those other people that are not as holy & righteous as I and other good rule following saints I…