The Lord of the Sabbath
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The Lord of the Sabbath.
The Lord of the Sabbath.
Coming to a close this Sunday in the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders and their tradition.
What they held to and forced upon men by their man made regulations.
This week we are going to see where these conflicts turn into a head on collision with the religious leaders that sends them away seeking to kill Him.
The specific conflict this week is over the Sabbath observance.
Jesus is quite the rebellious man. First it begins with Him claiming to have authority to forgive Sins which he does, then it goes to Him eating with sinners, not oberving their fasts like they would have him to, which was a modern sign of righteousness, and lastly didnt observe according to their regulations.
.
Pray.
The offense:
Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath…Plucked heads of grain…And the pharisees said to Him, “Look why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
The question we must ask first when dealing with the text is why are they so offended by this action?
Is it because they have stolen from someones field?
Or is there some other offense that has occured?
Upon what basis is this conviction so strong against Christ and His disciples?
When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Deuteronomy 23:25
What we find here is in the Old Testament instruction it did alot for men that were hungry and walking by his neighbors field to pluck grain that they may eat. With the exception that they may not use a sickle. The verse prior to this one allowed a man to get his fill why going through a vineyard but not allowed to put any in a container.
A provision being made for the hungry to eat but not to take beyond what their fill would be, for then it would be stealing.
We do not see Jesus and His disciples using a sickle on their neighbors wheat. So the offense then that these religious leaders were having was not against the picking of grain in someone elses field as thought they were stealing.
So then what was the offense:
Exodus 20:8-
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exodus
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
So the sabbath day was suppose to be a day of rest. Where no work should be performed.
Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Otherwise the penalty was death for those who did not honor this day.
Here we begin to see in part the accusation that was being raised against Him was whether or not he was doing that which was lawful work on the sabbath.
This becomes the same basis as there accusation against Christ in the second account.
Where Gods word ended the religious leaders were happy to pick up and define what exactly this meant.
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
Mark 3:
So they watched Him closely that they may bring accusation.
But according to whose standards? Gods or Mans?
The scribes enumerated thirty-nine kinds of work that were prohibited, and the third of these was reaping. The Pharisees interpreted picking a few heads of grain as reaping!
The scribes enumerated thirty-nine kinds of work that were prohibited, and the third of these was reaping. The Pharisees interpreted picking a few heads of grain as reaping!
Despite being open for 14% fewer days a year than competitors, Chick-fil-A is dominating the fast-food industry. The chain's same-store sales grew by 16.7% in 2018, according to Nation's Restaurant News data; internal sales figures shared with Business Insider indicate that same-store sales have been up by more than 16% so far in 2019 as well.
Brooks, J. A. (1991). Mark (Vol. 23, p. 65). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
We see Jesus’ response to their accusations
Illustration of David and the showbread.
This was at a time that Saul was seeking the life of David.
This is when Saul sought to kill David.
The argument is reasonable: if a hungry king and his men were permitted to eat the holy bread from the tabernacle (), then it was right for the Lord of the Sabbath to permit His men to eat the grain from His fields. David broke a definite law given by Moses, for the showbread was for the priests only (); but the disciples had violated only a man-made tradition. God is surely more concerned with meeting the needs of people than He is with protecting religious tradition. The Pharisees had their priorities confused.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 118). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
In relation to this man who was healed by Jesus.
Then He testifies of Himself that He is the LORD of the Sabbath. Man was not made for the Sabbath but rather the Sabbath for the man.
On that same Sabbath Day, Jesus went into the synagogue to worship; and while He was there, He deliberately healed a man. Certainly He could have waited one more day, but once again He wanted to challenge the pharisaical legalistic traditions. This time the Pharisees () were expecting Him to heal, so they kept their eyes wide open. Our Lord’s questions in were never answered by His enemies. Since evil is at work every day, including the Sabbath Day, why should good not be at work as well? Death is always at work, but that should not hinder us from seeking to save life.
Jesus could see “the hardening of their hearts” (literal translation), and their sin made Him angry. Our Lord never became angry at the publicans and sinners, but He did express anger toward the self-righteous Pharisees (). They would rather protect their traditions than see a man healed! The man, of course, knew little about this spiritual conflict. He simply obeyed our Lord’s command, stretched out his hand, and was healed.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 118–119). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
They had turned the Sabbath rest into a burdensome observance governed by mans rules and regulations.
You can see their hypocrisy here in this text.
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
Luke 13:10-
These were a people that they thought they had it all figured out yet could not see their own hypocrisy in their passion zeal to uphold the Law to only find what they were upholding was hypocrisy.
This is where you see Christs anger aroused in chapter 3 of Mark.
And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Mark 3:3-
He asked a question yet they refused to answer for they were caught either way they would answer.
By his question Jesus lifted the issue of Sabbath observance above a list of prohibitions to the higher general principle. No one would claim that it was “lawful” or right to do evil or kill on the Sabbath. The obvious alternative is that it must be right to do good and save life. To heal is to do good; to do nothing is to do evil. To heal is to “save” a life; not to heal is the equivalent of killing.15 For Mark merely not doing work and resting on the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day was not enough. The day must be used for all kinds of good things.
By his question Jesus lifted the issue of Sabbath observance above a list of prohibitions to the higher general principle. No one would claim that it was “lawful” or right to do evil or kill on the Sabbath. The obvious alternative is that it must be right to do good and save life. To heal is to do good; to do nothing is to do evil. To heal is to “save” a life; not to heal is the equivalent of killing.15 For Mark merely not doing work and resting on the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day was not enough. The day must be used for all kinds of good things.
The Pharisees were silent because whatever answer they gave to Jesus’ question would have undermined their position on Sabbath observance
Brooks, J. A. (1991). Mark (Vol. 23, p. 68). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
They would have rather kept their tradition than see the man healed.
Whats interesting in relation to Jesus’ question they went away on the Sabbath plotting to Kill Him. The very thing they would not dare to speak they are committing.
Whats this mean for us today?
The standard practice of Christ
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
So if the custom of Christ was to honor the Sabbath and a command given by God in the ten commandments to observe why do we see lack of Christian envolvement in this day?
Sabbath being known as observed on the last day of the week, being Saturday, why is it that we worship on Sunday and not Saturday?
This has been a cause for great debate.
Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath?
should we worship on Saturday as the 7th day adventist do?
Illustration to honoring the Lords Day.
Chick-fil-A is achieving sales numbers no other chicken chain in the industry can top — and it's doing it with one fewer day of the week to work with.
The chicken chain is famous for its policy of closing on Sunday.Even locations in airports and sports stadiums remain closed on Sunday, despite the massive number of travelers and hungry football fans seeking fried-chicken sandwiches.
"Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him," Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy writes in his book "Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People."
Cathy continues: "My brother Ben and I closed our first restaurant on the first Sunday after we opened in 1946, and my children have committed to closing our restaurants on Sundays long after I'm gone. I believe God honors our decision and sets before us unexpected opportunities to do greater work for Him because of our loyalty."
Despite being open for 14% fewer days a year than competitors, Chick-fil-A is dominating the fast-food industry. The chain's same-store sales grew by 16.7% in 2018, according to Nation's Restaurant News data; internal sales figures shared with Business Insider indicate that same-store sales have been up by more than 16% so far in 2019 as well.
Does God still honor those who seek to honor Him in these capacities?
If so what then is lawful for things to be performed on this day?
For the temptation and the tendency of man is to do one of two things.
One to become legalistic to how the day is to be performed and read beyond Gods command and create man made laws and regulations upon what is permitted to do on these days.
Two to become so liberal to say that it doesn’t matter how i live in retro-spec to the any day.
I think both ways you can begin to fall down a slippery slope. We are always better to scripturally hold such controversy in a balance. Not allowing ourselves to fall to one side of the scale or the other.
You can only imagine the battles that were happening in the early church over this that may have been filled with Jewish and Greek backgrounds.
As you begin to start seeing Greek believers coming to know Christ there were certainly conflicts arising between them and Jewish believers as to what practices should they observe.
Should circumcision, abstaining from food sacrificed to animals, honoring the sabbath?
As we have seen last week in the illustration of the wineskins that Christ came and fulfilled the law and no longer are we bound in it.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
points to the greater Rest that is found in Christ for those who have believed. Not temporal rest but an eternal rest that begins today.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Hebrews 4:1-
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
There is a greater law over the law for the Christian as Christ has fullfilled the law
Colossians
There is a greater law over the law for the Christian as Christ has fullfilled the law
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Should circumcision, abstaining from food sacrificed to animals, honoring the sabbath?
Galatians 5:15-17
Love is now how we operate.
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
Romans 14:5-10
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
What God honors is when we do what we do to honor Him.
Illustration to honoring the Lords Day.
Chick-fil-A is achieving sales numbers no other chicken chain in the industry can top — and it's doing it with one fewer day of the week to work with.
The chicken chain is famous for its policy of closing on Sunday.Even locations in airports and sports stadiums remain closed on Sunday, despite the massive number of travelers and hungry football fans seeking fried-chicken sandwiches.
"Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him," Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy writes in his book "Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People."
Cathy continues: "My brother Ben and I closed our first restaurant on the first Sunday after we opened in 1946, and my children have committed to closing our restaurants on Sundays long after I'm gone. I believe God honors our decision and sets before us unexpected opportunities to do greater work for Him because of our loyalty."
Despite being open for 14% fewer days a year than competitors, Chick-fil-A is dominating the fast-food industry. The chain's same-store sales grew by 16.7% in 2018, according to Nation's Restaurant News data; internal sales figures shared with Business Insider indicate that same-store sales have been up by more than 16% so far in 2019 as well.
Earnings per a store in year:
Subway: $416,860
Starbucks: $945,270
Mcdonalds: $2,670,320
Chick-fil-a: $4,090,900
There is no doubt that Chick-fil-a has received great blessing from God in their buisiness because of their stance to honor God with this day. What a testimony that they have been.
Now it is being recognized as a business strategy that your profits may be boosted. It promotes support to families and communities and it pressures sales, i must go today cause i cant go tomorrow.
This though is not what would honor God for the purpose of honoring the day would not be to honor God but rather to boost sales.
We have no direct command from scripture how a sunday is to be performed, so all we can go from is the example set forth for us in the early church.
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:47-
Early church could not get enough of their gatherings.
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
There is a need that we have to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ that we may be edified, exhorted, encouraged to press on and the closer the day approaches we should do it all the more.
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
There is no doubt logically and biblically, Sundays are the most probable day to gather for worship since first it is the day that Christ arose from the grave, the core of the Christian faith. Two it is the day we see as described as when the early church would gather. Three It begins the week with the priority of Christ who should have preeminence in all ares of our lives. But i would certainly not limit it to just sundays. Legalism turns this into a check list of righteousness, liberalism turns this into a freedom with no care of gathering, and limiting to mere podcasts and sermon streaming.
So the question comes in the law of liberty in how you observe days, Is it for honoring the Lord and Love for others or is it for Selfish indulgences?
I’m no longer just talking about one day but all days.
How are you living for the Lord? How are you using your few days left in this world to live for the greater cause of calling in Christ?
Christ being our ultimate rest in this life and the life to come, Who is the Lord of the Sabbath, how are we honoring him with our lives?
describing Jesus as the Ultimate Rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Galatians 5:13-
How are we living for Him by living for those around us?
It is important to understand that the New Covenant nowhere commands worship or restricts work on Sundays. Biblically speaking, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. The New Testament describes Christians worshiping on Sundays (; ), but this is descriptive rather than prescriptive. Christians are described as worshipping on Sundays, but Sunday worship is nowhere prescribed or commanded. Nowhere in the New Testament are Christians even described as setting aside Sunday as a Sabbath day.
The Sabbath day was an important aspect of the covenant between God and Israel. states, “It [the Sabbath day] is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” Prior to God giving the nation of Israel the Mosaic Law, God nowhere required Sabbath observance. After Jesus’ death on the cross perfectly fulfilled the Law, God nowhere requires Sabbath observance. Biblically speaking, Christians are not commanded to observe a Sabbath day on Saturday or Sunday or any other day of the week.
At the same time, following the creation pattern of six days of work followed by a day of rest is a good thing. Further, setting aside a day of the week to focus on worship is undeniably biblical (), although we are to worship God every day, not just one day per week. And, ultimately, Jesus is our Sabbathrest ().
In conclusion, no, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. There is no biblically commanded Christian Sabbath. But it is perfectly acceptable to set aside Sunday as a day for worship in light of Christ’s resurrection occurring on a Sunday. Also, making Sunday a day of rest to coincide with its being a day of worship seems a logical and, more importantly, biblically sound thing to do.