The Sabbath Day Controversy
Text: Mark 2:23-28
Introduction: The last time we met we considered the criticism of the Pharisees and the disciples of John surrounding the issue if fasting. Now comes another criticism, this time surrounding the issue of the Sabbath Day. For many believers this is still an area of dispute. Some churches consider Sunday to be the Sabbath. They don’t speak of Sunday School, but Sabbath School. For others Sunday is a day when I may allow myself some pleasures as long as there is no exchange of money involved. Some refer to Sunday as the Lord’s Day, a phrase only used once in Scripture, and not in relation to a Sunday. And for others Sunday is a day like any other, with no obligation placed upon us, but to meet with the people of God and worship the Lord through the local church. Unfortunately believers have tended to judge one another on these matters, yet the Bible explicitly cautions us against such judgment.
Writing to the Romans Paul said, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.” (Romans 14:4-6)
And again,
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)
So these event is Mark’s gospel are really relevant to us.
I. The Act That Was Observed – vs 23.
A. We should not assume the verse 23 picks up where verse 22 left off in terms of their chronology.
1. Although both passages relate to the criticisms of the Pharisees it must not be assumed that Jesus and His disciples having left Matthew’s feast, and having debated with th Pharisees there about fasting then went out and further provoked their angst by the actions of verse 23.
2. As we said before, it is likely that Matthew’s feast was held on a Thursday or Monday, and obviously being the Sabbath the event that provoked debate at the close of Mark 2 occurred on the Sabbath.
3. The Sabbath being observed in Judaism from sun down Friday night until sundown Saturday, roughly from 6pm Friday to the same time Saturday.
B. Now there was nothing in the behaviour of either Jesus or His disciples that was offensive to the Sabbath Day law.
1. Whilst the law prohibited work, it did not require a fast.
2. So it was not the eating of the corn that was the issue, but the act of plucking it.
3. So we find the Pharisees taking issue with the Lord and His men.
II. The Accusation That Was Thrown – vs 24.
A. By time of Christ many traditions had grown up around the Sabbath Day law that had no basis in Scripture.
1. The day had become a burden to many instead of the blessing it was meant to be.
2. Whilst the Law prohibited servile work - Pharisees prohibited all work - even good work.
a. As one writer puts it, "The observance of the Sabbath was strictly observed and strictly enforced. Whereas, they took God's command to rest on the Sabbath seriously, as the years passed they added their own rules and regulations about the Sabbath. There were approximately 1,521 things that were not permissible on the Sabbath. For example: you could not rescue a drowning person on the Sabbath. Untying knots that needed only one hand was permissible, but if two hands were required, it was forbidden. If a man's ox fell into the ditch, he could pull it out, but if the man fell in, he had to stay there. One could take a sup of vinegar for food, but if he took a sup in order to help his aching toothache, he had broken the Sabbath. If a man was bitten by a flea on the Sabbath, he had to allow the flea to keep on biting. If he tried to stop the flea from biting or killed it, he was guilty of hunting on the Sabbath."
3. Tthe issue for them wasn’t the eating, but the plucking.
a. According to the Law one was both permitted to pluck and eat grain on the Sabbath.
b. See Deuteronomy 23:24-25.
c. So what was the Pharisees’ complaint?
d. Well, by the time of Christ rabbinical tradition had decided, as it often did, that it would be best to err on the side caution in order to prevent Sabbath breaking and so plucking an ear of corn was defined as reaping, this making it work, and rubbing away the husk was deemed as threshing it, so it was double offence.
B. Though neither the Lord nor His disciples had sinned by their actions they were accused on the basis of Jewish law of breaking the Sabbath.
III. The Answer That Was Given – vss 25-28.
A. Notice how Jesus begins His answer, “Have ye never read…”
1. He is ready with an open Bible as it were.
2. Of course they had read, these men were the fundamentalists of their day, they knew the Bible well, as we would say they knew it from cover to cover.
3. But though they had read it many times they were so caught up in the minutiae of legalism they often missed the key truths.
4. In this instance the Lord points them to an episode in the life if David, “Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?”
B. The passage to which Jesus referred them is 1Samuel 21:1-6, describing an incident when David and his band of men were fleeing the wrath of king Saul.
1. During their flight they arrived at Nob, where the Tabernacle was erected and they entered into the outer court – an area open to any Jew – and there they requested provisions from the high priest.
2. The only food available that day was the shewbread, which was reserved for the use of the priest alone.
3. The custom was that each Friday fresh bread was baked and laid out on the Table of Shewbread at the Tabernacle, and the old bread was removed and placed at the entrance to the sanctuary and as the priests came in and out they were able to partake of it.
4. Yet in this instance there was a greater need. David and his men were hungry so they took the shewbread, and suffered no consequence from God. They were not condemned by the Lord, neither were they criticized by the Pharisees in generations to come.
5. Now the principle in this is simple. God is a benevolent God. His purpose is to bless man, not to burden Him. Human hunger demands greater attention that legalistic observance.
C. Now we are coming to the core of the matter.
1. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
2. What an important statement this is!!
3. Let’s think about the Sabbath for a moment.
4. The problem the Pharisees had was their inability to grasp the purpose of the law.
a. They made Sabbath keeping the golden rule.
b. They emphasised external obedience whilst ignoring internal motivation.
c. They upheld welfare of Sabbath over welfare of man.
d. They blvd man was created to keep the Sabbath day, but they were wrong.
(i) But the Sabbath was essentially for man’s benefit.
(ii) Lord taught man’s welfare more important than keeping the letter of law.
D. Remember what word Sabbath means?
1. The primary purpose of Sabbath was to provide a working man with rest.
2. The Sabbath Day was the creation of a merciful God. It was an enactment of kindness; instead it became a statute of burden.
a. Exodus 23:12
b. Exodus 34:21.
3. In order that Israelites would rest and afford rest to others certain regulations were imposed upon the Jews in order to safeguard the sanctity of the rest day.
4. Breaking these laws were often punishable by death and included:
a. Carrying any physical load - Jeremiah 17:20,22
b. Lighting a fire in your home - Exodus 35:3 cp. Num 15:32-36
c. No cooking was to be done - Exodus 16:23
d. Travelling was forbidden - Exodus 16:29 (By time of Christ a person was permitted to travel 2000 paces (half a mile) - a “Sabbath Day’s journey.”
e. Buying & selling was also prohibited - Nehemiah 13:15-22, and Amos 8:5.
5. Now all of this was in place long before there was such a thing as employment legislation – there was no such thing as minimum wage or maximum working hours or 5 weeks holiday.
6. It was necessary to guard the welfare of men by allowing them some time to cease from their labour and focus upon the things of God.
a. Thus, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
IV. The Authority That Was Established – vs 28.
A. Now let me say in the first place this is a statement of Deity, for by it Jesus identified Himself as the One who overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
1. See Romans 9:29 cf. Isaiah 1:9
B. But in the context His point here was not one about His deity as such, but about His authority.
1. He had created the Sabbath, and He could do with it as He pleased.
2. In fact, and this is critical, He intended to abolish it!!
C. You see the Sabbath belongs to the Old economy in a way that none of other ten commandments does.
1. It was specifically a post-exodus covenant which contrasted between the merciful laws of God and the merciless slavery of Egypt.
a. Deut 5:14-15.
2. Understand that the Sabbath Day was a “sign” of the Mosaic covenant, in the same way the rainbow was a “sign” of Noahic covenant and circumcision was to Abrahamic covenant.
a. Exodus 31:12-17
b. Ezekiel 20:12
3. Why was the Sabbath given?
a. It was given as a sign between God and Israel to mark the exodus from Egypt.
b. It was a sign of His covenant with Israel made through Moses, which was a covenant unique and peculiar to Israel - it has nothing to do w/ the church.
c. And for that reason the Sabbath day law is never repeated in the listings of the commandments when they are given to the church.
d. The Sabbath Day does not belong to the church age, nor to the N.T. Chrs.
e. You see, as Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus did away with ot for those who living under grace!
D. The Sabbath Day always fell on the Seventh Day – this is the arguments of the SDA’s and why they worship on a Saturday – and of course, if we are going to worship on the Sabbath they have a point.
1. But after Calvary things were different.
2. Jesus arose from the dead on the FIRST day of the week.
3. The day of Pentecost fell on the FIRST day of the week.
4. The Holy Spirit came on the FIRST day of the week
5. The early church met to worship on the FIRST day of the week.
6. Isn’t Sunday the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath?
a. Show it to me in the Bible? You can’t buy into this without swallowing the pill of replacement theology, whereby you say that the church is now Israel, and their blessings and promises have become our blessings and promises.
b. In fact I would challenge anyone to prove that the term “Lord’s Day” even refers to Sunday.
(i). We read in several places that the church met on the first day, the day in which Jesus arose, but nowhere do we read that the church met on the Lord’s Day.
(ii). That term only occurs once - Rev 1:10 - and it is speaking about God’s coming day, the Day of the Lord, the time of judgment, tribulation followed by the Second Coming of Christ
2. We worship on the first day, not seventh, on Sunday, not the Lord’s Day.
E. The Sabbath is strictly a Jewish custom & law.
1. It belongs to dispensation of Law.
2. Sign between God & ISRAEL (not the church)
3. It began with Moses but ended with Christ.
a. Colossians 2:13-17.
b. Our rest is not in a day, but in a Deliverer – our rest is in a Person, Jesus Christ, and if you don’t believe that take the time to read the 4th chapter of Hebrews where the whole subject is detailed – there we find a creation rest, followed by a Canaan rest, culminating in a Calvary rest!!
4. I hate to tell you this, there is NO Biblical legislation to support a Christian Sabbath – NONE.
a. We are not under law, but under grace.
b. And some of us are in danger of replicating the sins of the Pharisees by judging those who offend our sensibilities surrounding Sundays.
c. Worse, we are in danger of repeating their hypocrisies, by allowing ourselves some liberties whilst denying others theirs.
5. If you want to observe a day unto the Lord in a particular way – great! God bless you, but you must not judge those who don’t, and you must not impose your standards upon them.
a. And if you want to express your liberty in Christ by not observing such a day. Fine! But don’t judge those who do.
b. In other words let’s all of us remember that in the mind of Christ people and the needs of people come first.
Conclusion: And that’s what this whole episode boils down to. People matter to God, and we should understand that God is primarily a God of love, and not a God of Law. He is not a legalist. He is not looking for us to cross all our t’s and dot all our i’s! He is not sitting in the Heavens with a frown at every failing of ours – “He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust,” and to that end His desire is to bless us and benefit us.
If you are here tonight and you are not a Christian I want to help you to understand that God’s purpose is not to condemn you but to save you. The Bible says, “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Yes, you have sinned. Yes, you have offended God’s holiness, and yes, continue that way and you will die as you are and be lost for all eternity. But that is not God’s will for you. His will is that you should be saved. I wonder would you come to Him today and impose upon His grace, ask Him for His mercy and find in Him a God who is willing to forgive, and to save completely.
But if you are here as a Christian learn this lesson and learn it well, regardless of what you may or may not believe about Sunday’s. The mark of true faith is not made by some religious statement, be it Sabbath keeping or any other, but by loving one another. By showing that we matter to each other. By allowing each individual soul liberty in this area, and by exhibiting one toward another the same love, grace and forbearing that God has shown toward us in Jesus Christ.
