Lord of the Sabbath

Mark 2:23-3:6

Introduction

2 controversies over the Sabbath that the religious leaders have with Jesus!

2:1-12 they complained because Jesus claimed to be God and forgave sins; 2:13-17 Jesus ate with sinners; 2:18-22 Jesus and His disciples did not fast according to their religious traditions. NOW in 2:23-28-3:1-6 they take issue with Him because He does not honor the Sabbath the way they think He should!

During this time period the Sabbath for the Jew ran from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, They were commanded to set it aside as holy to the Lord.

The fourth commandment, the longest of the ten, addressed the Sabbath (Exod 20:8–11; Deut 5:12–15). It was a special sign between Israel and Yahweh (Exod 31:13–17), and Jews were to abstain from every kind of work since God Himself rested on the seventh day of creation.

3 things set Jews apart from the world during this time.

Rite of Circumcision.

Strict Levitical dietary Laws.

Weekly observance of the Sabbath.

*By the coming of Jesus He abolished all three of these.

Galatians 5:2–4 “2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

Mark 7:18–19 “18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)”

Colossians 2:16–18 “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,”

Under the Mosiac Law profaning the Sabbath was a capital offense.

First story… The religious leaders are upset that Jesus and His disciples are plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath… Second story the religious leaders are upset because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath

At a first glance you may be wondering why are the religious leaders so upset about these two scenarios…

The truth is, they were not upset that God’s law was broken, they were upset because their traditions were broken… they were not grieved because God was being disobeyed… they were mad because Jesus and His disciples did not honor their man-made laws…

These religious leaders focused on the external actions while missing the heart of God behind the command of God… we call this legalism.

Legalism is depending on yourself rather than God for salvation, assurance of salvation, and sanctification. Legalism is dangerous because it feeds self-righteousness, and leads to judgment of others, and the Bible greatly condemns it.

The religious leaders prided themselves on their strict diets, their strict adherence of the Sabbath but Jesus would say to them that their hearts were far from God! Outwardly, they appeared righteous, inwardly they were spiritually blind. Jesus called them whitewashed tombs… polished up walking corps's…

were these religious leaders wrong for trying to obey the commands of God?

What is the Heart of God’s Law?

Why did God create us in the first place?

To Reflect His Image

Genesis 1:26–27 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...’ So God created man in his own image...”

This means that we were created to reflect God’s character, nature, and authority. Being made in His image we have certain qualities like creativity, morality, and rationality.

 To Rule and Steward Creation

Genesis 1:28 – God commands humanity to “fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over... every living thing.”

Humans were given authority to care for and manage the earth as God’s representatives.

To Multiply and Fill the Earth with His Image

Genesis 1:28 – “Be fruitful and multiply...”\

By multiplying, humanity would fill the earth with image-bearers of God, spreading His glory and presence throughout creation.

To Glorify Him

Isaiah 43:7 “7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.””

Q1: What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever!

For Relationship with Him

God created humans to know them relationally and to bestow His goodness on them!

Genesis 3 shows us that before the fall God walked with Adam and Eve

John 17:3 “3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Revelation 21:3 “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

The Bible reveals to us that our Creator God is benevolent and gracious.

Exodus 34:6–7 “6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””

If this is the character and nature of God then what should we make of His laws, if He is for us in this manner and loves us unconditionally, then what is the Heart of His Laws?

The heart of God’s Law is blessing and joy! The commands of God were never meant to be a burden but to be a path to Joy! And as a Loving Father God says here is what you can enjoy and this is what will cause you harm and pain!

As a father I know this to be true! Sometimes, my children think Meagan and I exist to withhold joy from them!

Can we have ice cream for dinner? No. You have to eat your dinner! Is dessert better, sure… but if you only eat dessert then you will miss out on the necessary protein and other nutrients that you actually need!

The other day I made some pulled pork … Sadie refused to eat it… I told her how good it was and that she needed to eat it… Your’e not getting any dessert until you eat it… When she took a bite all I heard was mmm this is really good! “Listen to me!!!”

Wyatt does a face plant!

God’s commandments are for our good and our benefit! God is not a legalist!

His laws are not only wise but also benevolent!

Well God just wants me to be happy and full-filled… yes… He does… And His commands are meant to lead you to that life! The problem is we settle for what we think apart from God will make us happy…

The Religious leaders, maybe with the right intentions, sought out to make sure that no one even came close to breaking God’s laws! They put up parameters that were burdensome to the people! They missed the heart of God in the command of God!

Jesus shows the heart of God in these two scenarios!

David eating the bread of the Presence.

Mark 2:25–26 “25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?””

Why share this story and what is so significant about this situation?

the bread of the Presence was consecrated bread of the temple. The offering was 12 loaves of unleavened bread that represented the 12 tribes of Israel. By the ceremonial law only the priest was allowed to eat the consecrated bread…

David and His men were in great need and were very hungry… so they went into the House of God and and they ate the Bread of the Presence!

although it was uncommon and unlawful for anyone besides a priest to eat this bread… no where does Scripture condemn David and his men… What does this mean? It means that God was primarily more concerned with caring for His Servant David! God did not want them to starve…

Where is the heart of God? God is more concerned for David and His men than the ceremonial law…

Healing someone who was crippled.

Mark 3:2 “2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.”

“they were continual watching” Imperfect tense…a continuing practice

When you have a legalistic spirit, you will always become critical of yourselves and especially of other people… a legalistic spirit will always be on the lookout for what is wrong and seldom on the lookout for what is right!

Mark 3:3–4 “3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.”

What is the Heart of God? To do good! To be a blessing!

They were silent.

Notice what Jesus was grieved about? Their hardened heart.

The religious leaders were so furious that they went out and began to conspire with their enemies… the Herodians.

No ounce of compassion for the man with the withered hand! There were no doctors like we have today… etc… The Law to the religious elite was never about God and His blessings… nor was it about the people… it was about them and their perception of adhering to it…

The religious were enslaved to their own critical legalistic hearts… and they desperately tried to enslave others…

The heart of God’s Law was not about rigorous rule following… it was about experiencing God’s blessing and favor. The goal has always been to know God and be known by Him!

What was the Sabbath really about?

Genesis 2:3 “3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 “12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

Under the Mosiac Law… it was a time for Israel to remember their time in Egypt as slaves and remember how the Lord rescued them.

Are we suppose to keep the Sabbath today?

We are not under Mosiac Law.

Nowhere does the NT command a Christian to observe a particular day. Sunday was the day of the Resurrection of Christ, so the church began meeting on what they called the Lord’s Day, the first day of the Week, which is Sunday.

Colossians 2:16 “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”

So what did Jesus say about the Sabbath?

Mark 2:27 “27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath was a day of rest for God’s people meant to be a blessing for the people as they rest from their work and to reflect on all of God’s goodness.

Jesus makes a striking statement… I am the Lord of the Sabbath?!

What is Jesus saying?

He weds the title Son of Man with the title Lord of the Sabbath!

In essence He is saying I have the authority over the Sabbath not you! Jesus saw through all of their extra commandments regarding the Sabbath and exposed their lack of understanding and the burdens they put on the people…

What matters more to God, religion or relationship?

The great irony and tragedy of this passage, the religious leaders were so concerned with their own traditions that they missed the Bread of Life, the Lawgiver Himself…

He is the Lord of the Sabbath because He was the one who created the Sabbath!

Colossians 1:16 “16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

The one who created the soil in which the grain grew

The one who invented the grain seed fit for food

The one who designed water and commands the storehouses of rain which waters the grain

The one gives the growth which the grain grew

The one who created man and his appetite for hunger

This was who was in their midst…. the True Bread of Life come from Heaven to be a blessing to all… and they were blinded because of their hardness of heart…

Jesus was telling them that the true rest was in their midst… Matthew 11:28 “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

We don’t have to observe a strict sabbath of rest because Jesus is our rest… Its wise to have a day of rest and reflection but Jesus became for us a rest…

“Jesus was attesting to the fact that, just as the Sabbath day was originally instituted to give man rest from his labors, so did He come to provide us rest from laboring to achieve our own salvation by our works. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we can now forever cease laboring to attain God’s favor and rest in His mercy and grace.”

Invitation