Lord of The Sabbath
Journey through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Remodel 2025..................
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If you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.
We are currently walking through the NT book of Matthew.
Today we are beginning Chapter 12 of Matthew.
In Matthew 12 Matthew begins to describe the growing controversy that Jesus is causing among the religious elite. We now find Jesus and his disciples again stepping outside the fence set up by the Mishnah and the Pharisees who have made it their goal to keep everyone far away from ever breaking any of the laws of the Torah.
Let’s Pick Up in Scripture
1 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry:
4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?
5 Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?
6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
7 If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Let’s Pray......
So Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees for His Disciples picking Heads of Grain and Eating because they are hungry.
This is normally not a problem because.........
25 When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck heads of grain with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
So as long as you don’t use a sickle you are allowed to eat from a Jew’s Field.
The Problem is that They were doing this on the Sabbath...........
The Mishnah and Rules for the Sabbath........
You see Jesus never breaks any of the Laws of the Torah nor does he ever elude that they should be broken.
17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.
19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
So is Jesus backing away from what he has already said?
No..........
Jesus is breaking down the fences that have been built to keep people away from breaking the Law.
Being afraid of them getting in the Street and being Hit by a Car so I build a fence to keep my kids away from the road.
This is the essence of what the original authors of the Mishnah. They simply wanted to keep Isreal from sinning against God.
However over time the Fences became bigger and far more restrictive.
Now imagine my fear became so great I decided to protect my kids by buying a 100 Acre tract of land and built a tiny fence as far from the road as possible and never let my Kids on any of the rest of the land for fear and began to think I was being an amazing leader because of it..........
The Mishnah had become so restrictive on the people and now was a religious gauge that determined how holy you are based on your adherence to the rules.
We are no different.........Most of us base our spirituality on the thing we don’t do, not on the things we are doing.
Then we accuse those who don’t follow the same guidelines as being rebellious or even not worthy of God’s grace.
We have made so many rules that are not really biblical or are obscured in Levitical law that we cherry pick what we want to adhere to and what we don’t.
Secular Music
Tattoos
Smoking
Movies
Playing Cards
What’s funny is for the very claim of being Free in Christ so many of us live inside of fence that was set up not based on the Bible but out of fear of loss of purity.
You see Exodus 20:8
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:
and Deuteronomy 5:12
12 Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the Lord your God has commanded you.
Both instruct to keep the Sabbath and to Keep it holy. However, there is very little Definition as to how to keep it.
So What does Man Do!
The Jews!
Out do each other in their observance.........
The Gentiles!
Out do ourselves in finding things that are OK to do on the Sabbath!
Both Miss the entire Point of the Gift God was giving US............
Over Time Sabbath has gone from being a time of Joy, Rest, and Refreshing to a time of Burden and Bondage.
Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah (A Messianic Commentary) The Controversy over Shabbat 12:1–21
Perhaps some people who were unaware might observe the commandments of the Sabbath and conclude that they were oppressive. The traditional Jewish view, however, saw the regulations as God’s gift to Israel in that they could have a consistent day of rest, free from the tyranny of daily duties. Indeed, a proper perspective of Shabbat should cause one to rejoice that we are not slaves to anyone or anything, whether it is the taskmasters of Egypt or the competition of modern society. This is why the Shabbat was to be called an oneg, that is, a delight and blessing (
13 “If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;
14 then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
I think throughout history we have absolutely lost the gift that Sabbath can be for us........
What we need to understand is that Jesus never objected to the Written Torah, but he was not afraid to oppose the Oral Interpretation of the Torah.
So Here we see Jesus Go Toe to Toe with the Pharisees.
3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry:
4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?
Remember back when your boy David ate bread that he wasn’t supposed to?
30 Put the Bread of the Presence on the table before me at all times.
That bread that he ate was God’s Bread......
Or How about this?
5 Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?
The Priests work on the Sabbath.
6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
The King is Here......
How often do we miss it........Growing Up......No Chewing Gum in the Sanctuary.......
We have been just like them so oppressed by ritual.
7 If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone, a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. They commit atrocities.
10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel: Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.
How many times have we been no different.........
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah (A Messianic Commentary) The Controversy over Shabbat 12:1–21
Yeshua is pointing out that the priesthood not only performed work but also was commanded to serve God in this way especially on the Sabbath day. If the priests could serve God while apparently breaking some of the technicalities of Shabbat, how much more (kal v’chomer) could the Mashiach who is greater than the Temple? In true prophetic fashion, Yeshua draws their attention to the higher principle that should govern all Sabbath observance, that God desires compassion rather than animal sacrifice. The Pharisees certainly would not condemn the innocent (his talmidim) if they truly realized that Yeshua, as the Son of Man, is Lord of Shabbat. Yet, because of the strong statement of his messiahship, the controversy surrounding Yeshua of Nazareth will only increase.
Time of reflection.........
