Jesus And The Sabbath Series

Sabbath: Jesus and the Sabbath

Here is the previous CONTEXT for today’s message:

Genesis 2:1: The Sabbath was a Holy Day for man to Delight in God as The Creator.

Ex. 20:8-11: Remember God as Creator.

Deut. 5:12-15: Observe God as Redeemer.

2 Cor. 3: The Letter of the Law kills, the Spirit brings life. (Only the New Covenant of Salvation by the Faith and Grace of God in Christ Saves!) OUTLINE

I. Jesus teaches He is Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1-8, Mark 2:27-28)

A. There is no law against eating or walking on the Sabbath.

B. The Sabbath law had been perverted and misused. (vs. 7)

C. Sabbath significance: a blessing not a burden!

D. JESUS is EQUAL to God: He is Sovereign over the Sabbath because He created it. (vs. 8)

II. The Sabbath and Deeds of Mercy.(Luke 14:1-6)

A. There was no law against healing or deeds of mercy.

B. No one but God could HEAL in this way.

III. Jesus’ Sabbath Priorities. (John 5:16-18)

A. Jesus was persecuted (pursued by the Jews) because

1. He was breaking man-made Sabbath traditions.

2. He was “working” to bring the Mosaic Law to completion.

B. Jesus would not rest from His Work until the Sabbath Law was completed in Himself.

Today we look at some of the activities of Jesus on the seventh day Sabbath. Start by looking at Matt. 11: 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Remember what we looked at last week: the burden of the law is that it judges but does not save, but the Lord Jesus and His redemptive work bring grace and life. THAT burden is “light”!)

Lord of the Sabbath

Matt 12: 1-8: At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."

3 He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests 5 Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? (they performed their “work” on the Sabbath!)

David broke the ceremonial law in an hour of need because He and his men were hungry, and that was permitted; the priests were probably present when he did that! The Law did not prohibit plucking grain in order to eat; it prohibited farmers from harvesting their fields. Their objections were concerning an ORAL tradition that misinterpreted the true purpose of the Sabbath Law. (The Pharisees had invented 39 of those NON biblical traditions. They taught that you were only supposed to walk so many steps from your home, but that isn’t what God’s Law taught. Here Jesus teaches that there was no law against eating (or walking) on the Sabbath.

Look at verse 6: I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. (The One who created the Sabbath is here! The things of the temple were only a shadow of the Savior who was to come and save!!!) 7 If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord (He is SOVEREIGN) of the Sabbath."

The Sabbath law had been perverted and misused. (vs. 7)(The Sabbath was given as a HELP to man to rest from the “everyday” and to remember the Sovereignty of God in Creation, in Life and in Redemption. He is Lord of our lives because He has given life; We know Him as the LORD of Redemption because without the WORK OF CHRIST, we would still be dead in sin..

So Jesus points out the Sabbath significance: It is to be a blessing, not a burden! The Sabbath was intended to be a day when man could enjoy God's divine Creation but also a day when he could examine his own heart before God; he could come before God and receive forgiveness, joy, peace and salvation. It was not created as a day to be “beat down” but to be blessed by God’s Greatness and God’s Goodness. In Mark 2:27 Jesus put it this way, "The Sabbath was made (came into existence) for man (mankind), not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man (THE LORD JESUS) is Lord even of the Sabbath."