Jesus is Lord Over the Sabbath

A gracious and kind heavenly father will we once again bow before your presence giving you thanks and praise for what you have done. You are a wonderful and Merciful Savior. We love you and we asked that in this time of preaching that you would fill me, Lord with your spirit.

Father, help me to give me the words. Father. But most of all, I pray that the Holy Spirit would be the teacher. I pray that he would put application to that which we read and study. I pray. Father that those that are here. That's never been saved. Father, I pray that they would come. To you today and be saved you. Thank you, once again for this opportunity. Thanks to all those. We give praise until you for all those that are here. With all of these things in Christ name, all of God's people said, amen and amen. But there are a few things that are more destructive more seductive and deceptive to a true and vital relationship with Jesus Christ. Then the deadly poison of legalism. it is destructive because In reality, it breathes death instead of life. It is seductive because it has a natural Allure. For the Flash. That causes us to look to ourselves rather than to Christ for our spiritual status before. God, Legalism is deceptive because it makes us think that we are spiritually Elite. When in all reality, we are spiritually slaves.

I say that because legalism is Raising to the level of biblical mandate in command what God has neither commanded nor mandated in his word. And therefore you are in all actuality a spiritual slaves that is in bondage to the traditions of man. I told legalism is taking our Traditions. It is taking our preferences and imposing them on others even though the Bible does not make such practices universally prescriptive. So, in short, legalism is characterized by looking for the shortcomings of others rather than in one's self.

It looks for what is wrong in someone's life. In order to criticize them in order to condone to condemn them rather than what is right.

In order to commend and encourage them. Legalism reinforces feelings of spiritual elitism, that are man-centered and not Christ centers. Legalism focuses on the external Behavior rather than the internal issues of the heart that which matters the most. Legal aid of legalism, is this? I'm better than you syndrome. That's really what. Legalism is it saying that I'm better than you? Legalism says, I don't dance drink or chew and I don't run around with girls that do you know, that's the mindset of legalism. There are those, who would say, well, you don't read. Are You Don't Preach from the right Bible translation you don't listen to the right music. You don't dress with the right kind of clothes. You don't contribute the right amount of money and listen because of that, you're just not as close to God as I am. Well listen, the Pharisees had their own list including you don't properly honor and respect the Lord's day. This is what they were saying to the Disciples of Jesus and Jesus himself. The issue caused the Pharisees to be extremely annoyed. Jesus did not conduct himself properly on the Sabbath, which is the day of the Jewish Day of worship as outlined and detailed by the religious establishment, through their own traditions. Jesus will respond to this accusation in the last two of the five religious controversies. That's first started in chapter 1 when Jesus healed the leper, We're going to find him. Setting the record straight explaining that the Sabbath was made. For man, not man for the Sabbath. And that it is always right to do good, even on the Sabbath. I noticed with me three things, first of all, Jesus and the irritation Jesus and the irritation

you will not come to any surprise to anyone here. If you have been with us throughout the preaching of The Book of Mark thus far, you're not going to be surprised to find of the Pharisees are once again, mad and her. Once again annoyed, they are upset, and it seems to me that their primary goal in life was to set themselves up as both judge and jury on the lives of others. Every time you see them in the Bible, they are always criticizing something. I said something to this nature last week, but it Bears repeating. Again the meanest people in the world. You'll find our people with religion. this is so true, a person who has all the rules and no relationship with Jesus Christ is a hard person to deal with and so these Pharisees they are totally upset. They are annoyed. They are vexed with in their heart. They cannot believe what they see, the disciples, and Jesus doing what verse 23 tells us why the Pharisees were so upset. Notice the conduct of the disciples verse 23 tells us. Now, it happened that he went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and as they went, his disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. Until we see that, the Pharisees are upset because the disciples are eating grain in the field on Sabbath day.

Now, the word grain was probably wheat that these men were eating as they walk through this field. And by the way, this was a common practice in that day. I just because you did not own the field, you were still allowed through the Mosaic law to glean. Some of the grain from that field. In fact the law of Moses gave very clear instructions concerning this matter. Deuteronomy chapter 23, verse 25 says, when you come to your neighbors, standing grain, your when your comes your neighbor's Wheatfield, you may pluck the heads with your hand but you shall not use a sickle. OK. Google words, you are allowed to eat of your neighbor's Wheatfield. Just don't make a week's worth of food out of it, okay? You're allowed to get you a meal or a snack but don't don't use a sickle that would allow a lots of rain to be cut. And tell the disciples were well within their rights to pick the Grain and eat it. So you ask what while the Pharisees so torn up? Well, the disciples in Jesus did this on the Sabbath day, the Jewish Day of worship, so that's where the criticism comes in verse 24. it says in the Pharisees said to him, look why did they do? What is not lawful on the Sabbath? The Pharisees come to Jesus and attack him because his men are picking grain and eating it on the Sabbath day. They choose the Disciples of doing something as they are saying, I'm lawful on the Sabbath day. They were an Essence, the Pharisees were saying this Hey listen, it would be better for you to starve. Then break our rules. That's what they thought is better for you to go hungry and go without then to break our rules. So the question, arises is this, where the disciples doing anything unlawful, where they breaking any rules? Well, The picking grain and eating that drain. Violate any law? Absolutely not. They did not violate the law. Now we know the law was very clear and what a prohibited on the Sabbath. And one of these things, you are aware of the people are not allowed to work on the Sabbath day. And by way of work, It is not talking about a person is not allowed to mow the grass on the Sabbath. A person is not allowed to do household chores on the 7th. I think about, okay, the word world, their refers, to their businesses. The law condoned, the choose from working, and profiting on the day of the Sabbath.

Well, listen to disciples were not working, there was simply meeting a present, need, they were hungry and they were simply doing what the law gave them permission to do. But here's the problem. The Pharisees were not judging these men. According to the law of Moses know they were judging them according to the teachings of the rabbis and their Elders. I remember the Pharisees those rabbis and scribes always taught on the tradition of men rather than upon the authority of God. These traditions, and teaching a men have been placed on the same level, with the written word of God, until the disciples had not violated. Rather, they violated the traditions of men and the Pharisees were absolutely upset by this, they were annoyed by this. You see, for hundreds of years, the scribes and the Pharisees and others had added regulations on top of the regulations that went far beyond the original teaching of Holy Scripture. They had taken a day that had been given to man as a blessing and they buy their foolish rules and regulations. Had turned it into a day of Burden. Now, what the Pharisees were doing here is really a reversal. Genesis 15:20. What God had meant for good? They turned to evil. I don't want the rules that people were required to follow. Made them work harder on the Sabbath today than any other day. The people work harder trying not to work on the Sabbath day, then it had they actually worked on the Sabbath day. Let me give you some of the rules.

Tell you why the day have become such a burden to the Jew to the Jews. Number one notice. People were forbidden from traveling more than 3,000 feet from their homes on the Sabbath. Nothing could be bought or sold. They're closing could not be washed. Jews. Could not take a bath on the Sabbath. If they did some of the water might Splash onto the floor and this would be considered washing the floor with us would be a work. It was against the law to tie or untie a knot or prepare food. This is just a small sample of hundreds, upon hundreds of regulations and rules that the scribes and Pharisees added to the law of God. These were senseless foolish man-made rules that they forced the Jews to live by. It's the Sabbath as result was a day filled with burdensome ritual and and really no rest at all. Doing the Pharisees saw the disciples picking the and eating the Grain on the Sabbath day, they consider with the disciples. And Jesus was doing was worth. Picking grain to them was considered everything. Rolling the wheat to remove the husks was sifting. Rubbing the heads of wheat together was the threshing and tossing, the weed up into the air, was the winnowing of the grain until they viewed what they did as work. But listen to me this morning, the lesson for us and I want us to see that we must be, we've got to be very careful. That the doctrines of men, the traditions of men do not come to have the same Authority in our lives. As the word of God has Authority in our lives. The love of the Bible is the final Authority. Plain and simple. It is the only standard for our faith and practice. It does not matter what you have been taught, what you believe or what your favorite feature has said. All that matters is what does the Bible say?

Some preachers. I've heard this preach from the pulpit. Some preachers will say something like this, well, is a man's going to stand behind the pulpit. He can only preach wearing a white shirt. You can say, I listen to them today. I think they felt like you could not have reached, your could not wear any colored shirt and you want to ask yourself, listen to this.

Where do you find this in scripture? Where do you find that? I was always taught.

That preachers pastors were never to have facial hair. I mean it was a no no you don't do that. You have to be clean shaven. And it took me a long time. To figure out that that's nowhere in scripture at all. And you can see after I finally came to my senses that God gave man men hair, you know, to grow it, not save it, but a lot of things that we have been taught. Are not so.

So we must go back to what the word of God and what does the Bible have to say? It's not a pastor's final 40 it is not a preacher's. Final Authority eat is God's final Authority through his word. So this is Jesus and the irritation to notice secondly Jesus and the illustration.

It's very interesting when his men are attacked. Jesus, neither condemns the disciples nor condone their actions. Neither does he enter into an argument with the Pharisees? Listen, Jesus, did what we should do. When people went to argue, when people want to argue religion to us. Listen, we should just point them to the word of God. The Bible says this, this is what the Bible says, Jesus pointed them not in an argumentative way. He just said, hey here's what the word of God says. And that's what we should do. When someone comes to us and tries to put Upon A something that is more of a tradition of men we should bottle that with what is the Bible say? Jesus point of them to the truth. so listen, unless we have Bible for what we say, we believe listen we have nothing but our own opinions and what we have been taught So, notice a 25, the Lord's confrontation. Verse 25 says, but he said to them, have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry he and those with him.

As I said, Jesus does not argue with these men. He merely did what he merely pointed them back to scripture. He looks at these men. Who Pride themselves on their knowledge of the word and he says, hey have you never read?

I don't know about you, but I like this. I like it because there's just a hint of sarcasm with what Jesus says. And I Am Naturally a sarcastic person. Okay. It just it's just a gift. I was born with it, but I love Jesus remark here. It's just a little bit of sarcasm. To get these men to understand that their argument was not based upon a proper understanding. What the Bible says about such matters. But I say all this to see to show you how easy it is for us for us to get off balance in many areas. It's very easy for us to ride our favorite hobby horse but yet failed to see what the Bible actually. Has to say it so easy to get hung up on how people dress where people eat where they shopping, a hundreds of other things of that nature. Get many fail to see what the Bible that the Bible is bigger than just a few of our pet peeves. It is easy to yell, amen. When a preacher is preaching on issues and not even realize that what he is saying, has no foundation in the word of God whatsoever. I've heard preachers preach against those who use other versions of the Bible. And say things like this. The King James version. Is better and more Inspire than the original manuscript. Wow. So they believe in double inspiration, they believe that it was first written with inspiration within the translators, then written wrote it in inspired. But that's one thing to say. Such things behind a Pulpit but I've heard people just say, amen. That's right. And to me, that's really sad. Maybe even sadder is that you we have so many people with in the pews that don't know, scripture that they're so scripture. Illiterate that. Whatever the preacher says, it's got to be the truth. That's not right, that's not correct. You ought to be burying. Christians that everything that I preached and say you got to go home and say, let's see here, said something about this. What does the Bible have to say? that's the type of Christian that is a type of church member that I loan for I do not want a whole bunch of robots that just do what I say because that's what the preacher said. I want people to live out the truth because of what God's word says. And there's a big difference in that one of them, there's a lot of Liberty and the other is a lot of bondage if you're only doing certain things because of what the preacher says, You're constantly going to be living in bondage. Making sure that you're doing everything just right and doing everything with this and that rather than allowing the liberty of the conscience. In the liberty of scripture, be your guy, 1/26 Oz, he gives the Lord gives some clarification.

How he went into the house of God in the day of obvious, are the high priest and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests. And also gave some to those who were with him. So, Jesus proceeded to remind them of an incident that occurred during the days of King David. When David was fleeing from saw he and his men needed food and 1st, Samuel, chapter 21, verses 1 through 6, David and his men come to the priest Avatar and they ask for food. the priest tells David, hey, there is no food there, but Save the showbread. We do have that was a showbread was twelve loaves of bread that were baked every Sabbath day at least 12 loads were placed on a table in the Holy place. In the Tabernacle, the 12 Lowe's Lowe's represented, the 12 tribes of Israel, and they remain Israel of the Lord's presence among his people of their dependence upon him for their physical needs. It was also called the bread of the presence. The bread of the presence will this? Showbread was change every Sabbath day and the old bread was in eaten by the priest in the holy of holies. How does this brand was not to be eaten by non priest, according to the law, but it was given to David and his men. And so, while it was not normal, nor was it lawful for David and his men to eat the bread of the presence. It was even more the case that God did not want them to starve. Okay. I was primarily concerned with caring for his servant David. The anointed king of Israel and nowhere in scripture. Do we read that God condemned the actions that David and his men did by eating the showbread So in his appeal to David, Jesus is inviting a comparison between God or between David and himself. God and His word is noting the parallel between the Lesser David and his greater son. The Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the first of such illusions that we will see in Mark's gospel, but notice, lastly, Jesus and the illumination. These next two versus give us a lot of insight into the Sabbath and the reasons for its observance in the place at holes in our lives today. Notice first 27, we see the reason for the Sabbath that says and he said to them the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So Jesus tells these men and he tells us by inspiration of scripture that the Sabbath day was given to man given to man, the Sabbath does not exist to be served. But rather it it it exists to serve the word Sabbath means rest in activity. It was first observed in, it was first observed by God, in Genesis chapter 2, verses 1 through 3, when the Lord had finished, the work of creation. He ceased from his work, you rested from his work, the Sabbath was given to men. Out of the grace of God. God gave man one day out of seven in which he did not have to work for a living. Man was at 8 that one day per week and he was to rest from his physical laborers. So like the Lord man was to use that day for reflection on what the Lord had done for him. The other 6 days Man was to use that time to rest his body. He was to reflect on the blessings of the Lord. He was to refresh his Spirit by worshipping the Lord, that was the original intent of the Sabbath. About a time. Jesus came to this world. The Jews had absolutely perverted the day and so regulated, it that it had no longer. It was no longer at day of rest, it was no longer they reflection and it was certainly not a date of refreshment. The Sabbath had become a day of endless, rule regulations and burdens the Sabbath as God intended had ceased to exist.

Now, there's a whole lot of things I could say about the Sabbath in. what it means, but for the sake of time, The Sabbath was made to bless man. Not man to bless the Sabbath. Remember that the Sabbath was made for man enjoyment. Not man for the for the Sabbath significance. Jesus is liberating vision of the Sabbath frees us from the legalistic constraints, instead of buying us with unbearable burdens the Lord's day and indeed, everyday is a blessing that lift Lift us up, not a burden that could weight us down. Does it help us grow in Grace and maturity? Not strangle us with all kinds of rules and regulations that are not found in God's word. I notice the reality of the Sabbath. Notice first 28.

Jesus says there for the son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

I hope you get. The gist of what, the Lord Jesus is saying, and why it became such a Clash. In essence.

The Clash is not over the rules. This whole argument. Is over. Who makes the rules? Okay? Jesus says to the Pharisees. Hey, I'm Lord over the Sabbath. Hey listen, modern-day reader such as you and me, I cannot Easley draft, the Declaration that Jesus makes a 28, but notice what Jesus does Jesus, he Weds he brings together the son of man title to that of the lord of the Sabbath and declares that he is both. That's what he saying. I am the son of man and I am the Lord over the Sabbath. This is just like in 2:10 and this is a declaration of his deity. He's declaring to his these Pharisees hate. I'm God. I'm. This is also a declaration of his Divine rights. He is saying that I am the Divine. Man of Daniel chapter 7 whom demons recognized as both the Holy One of God and the son of God. This. Holy One Of God is also the lord of the Sabbath. Jesus wants more put himself in the place of and with the authority of God. And so ask the lord of the Sabbath either he determines. What is lawful and what is unlawful on the Sabbath day. He's telling pedis Eiffels aren't the Pharisees in essence. It's what he saying, he makes the call. Not you. He is the one who has ultimate Authority, not you. Nothing me, reading, this versus 27-28, this is kind of like that mic. Drop moment, you know, I'm talking about just needed an emoji, right there. Might drop bomb of all bombs when he said to their self. Righteous Minds that I am the Lord of Sabbath. He says The Sovereign ruler over the Sabbath. I Am The Sovereign of this day. You saying I designed this day. I am the Creator.

and by the way, doesn't John say that this at the beginning of his gospel that everything was made by him and without him was not, anything made It was he who cease to work. It was he who wrested it was, he who ordained this day? Three blessed and separated from work.

Jesus is saying that I am The Interpreter of the will of God for this day. You do not rule the Sabbath. I interpret God's Will and God's word. Jesus is saying that he is interpreter of God's law not men. So the Pharisees relied upon their own traditions for guidance and in doing so they missed the lawgiver entirely. And that is the danger of absolutely living under the traditions and teachings of men that you lose the mercy and Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian's Christ is our anchor of Spiritual Authority in all things as God is. Lord of the Sabbath. We do not get to choose, whether we will allow him to be such. It is a fact, regardless of our permission, The question to ask is this, have you surrender to him? As your God and the Lord of your life. Have you realized? That man-made rules will never get you to God. Man-made Traditions, man-made doctrines. That's on only their foundation in sinful man will never never get you to God. Only the lord of the Sabbath. The Son of God will get you there. So, I say to you to trust in his work, not your own. And you blow it will not be disappointed as pray together.