Make the Rest Day, the Best Day

“Make the Rest Day, the Best Day”

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We live in a physical restless world; a culture that keeps us physical tired. We are a society of overcommitted, overworked people. We are always in a hurry; rushing here and there to do this thing and that thing.

We live in a society of emotional restless people, people who are not satisfied with their lives; they are always looking. Looking, craving, desiring something, or someone they don’t have.

We live in a society of Spiritual restless people, people who have no peace in their hearts. Their spirit is troubled, they have no assurance of their salvation. They don’t have any spiritual rest!

God designed our body, soul and spirit to need rest; and God himself provides this rest.

Have you ever seen RIP on a tombstone? Someone dies, and their family puts rest in peace on their tombstone. But I want to tell you it takes more than RIP on your tombstone to give you rest. And if you don’t have rest before you die, putting it on your tombstone after you’re dead, is not going to give you rest. The Bible says there’s no rest for the wicked; they are like the trouble to sea. Our sinful hearts make us restless.

God has made a way for you to have a rest; not just physical rest for your body; and emotional rest for you mind, but spiritual rest for your soul! Here in these verses Jesus is having another conflict with the religious establishment of his day.

· They have accused him of blaspheming; because he for gave the sins of the paralyzed man.

· They have criticize him for eating and drinking with publicans and sinners.

· Their upset because he and his disciples don’t fast as often as a thank they should.

Now they accused Jesus and his disciples of breaking the Law of Moses on the Sabbath day,

V:2-“why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days”? These religious leaders are seeking to discredit Jesus by saying that He didn’t honor the Sabbath day. What is the Sabbath day? And why is it important? There are actually several Sabbath’s mentioned in the Bible:

· Creation Rest.

God established the Sabbath day at creation; in -“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified

it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Saturday is the Sabbath day; it was the Old Testament day of rest. The word Sabbath means rest, it means a ceasing of work. Yesterday was the Sabbath; today is not the Sabbath, today is the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day. We worship on Sunday not on the Sabbath day; because it is on Sunday, that Jesus rose from the dead. When you read that God rested on the seventh day; you ask yourself why did God rest? Was he tired? God can’t get tired, and if God doesn’t get tired, why did he rest. We defined rest as getting over being tired. But that’s not what it means in the Bible. When God created the world, he stepped back and said, “It is very good”. And then God rested. God rested because He was utterly satisfied with what he had done. The definition of resting is to be completely satisfied with what is done. God was satisfied with what he had created, and He rested.

· Covenant Rest.

Covenant rest pertains to the nation of Israel; God gave his special covenant people a day of rest. The fourth commandment:

-“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work…

The Old Testament Sabbath was a reminder to the Jews of their covenant with God. The Sabbath was the day that they worshiped in the synagogue, and they rested from work. They were to rest their body and their soul as a sign of their dependency and loyalty to God. He was considered a great sin to break the law of the Sabbath in Jesus day.

· Calvary Rest.

The Sabbath day, like all the ceremonies and types of the Old Testament point to Jesus.

Jesus said in -“I must work the works of him that sent me, what it is day”.

Jesus came, and He did the work that God sent him to do; and on the cross, Jesus bowed his head and said; it is finished! The work of redemption is done!

The Bible gives us a beautiful picture of the resurrected, ascended Christ at rest:

-“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God”.

Jesus did his work, it is finished, and now he is sitting down, something the Old Testament priest never did. There was no chair in the tabernacle, because he Old Testament priest work was never done. The Old Testament Sabbath was a shadow; and Jesus is a reality.

· Coming Rest.

“There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, has also cease from his own works…

There is coming a day when we will be in heaven and all our work and effort will cease. There will be no more battles with sin, there will be no more war against the world and the flesh and the devil. We will be complete, have a glorified body and mind and we will finally be at rest!

Today we live between the rest that’s found at the cross through faith in Jesus; and the coming rest in heaven. So how do we experience this rest today; between Calvary and the coming of Jesus?

In these verses in , Jesus declares himself to be the “Lord of the Sabbath”- the Lord of rest; and he tells us where rest comes from.

#1 Rest comes:

1. From Surrender, not Performance!

V:1-5.

The conflict the Pharisees have with Jesus takes place on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day intended to be a blessing for the people of God.

-“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”.

Jesus and his disciples are walking through the grain fields, and they pick some grain, rub it between their hands and eat it. What Jesus and his disciples did was not against the law. As a matter of fact it was God’s way of providing for his people. In the book of Deuteronomy, God told his people; if you go into your neighbors standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand and eat it, but you’re not to harvest your neighbors standing grain. So it was acceptable for Jesus and his disciples to help themselves to the grain. This was part of the legal code of the Jewish people.

But the Pharisees did not see it that way; they were the self-appointed Sabbath police, and they thought they had spotted a violation.

V:2-“why are you doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day”?

These religious leaders thought they had caught Jesus and his disciples red-handed breaking the law of the Sabbath.

The fourth commandment says, keep the Sabbath day holy, and don’t work on the Sabbath.

Why with the Pharisees think that picking grain and eating it was against the Sabbath law?

Because the Pharisees had developed a long list of rules and regulations for keeping the Sabbath. In their minds, to ensure that people didn’t violate the Sabbath, they built hundreds of fences around the fourth commandment to keep people from breaking it. They thought that Sabbath rest came from what you did not do! If you kept their rules; make sure that your performance is in keeping with the law then you could have Sabbath rest.

According to the Pharisees rulebook; there were over 1500 things you could not do on the Sabbath. They took a day of blessings, and turn it into a day of burdens.

So in the case of Jesus and his disciples; in the eyes of the Pharisees Jesus and his disciples were guilty of a double violation.

· First, they were traveling too far on the Sabbath; the Pharisees had a rule that said you could not walk more than 3000 ft. from home.

· Second, they were harvesting, and threshing on the Sabbath day.

The problem was that these where the Pharisees laws, not God’s laws. It was perfectly all right for Jesus and his disciples to walk through the grain field and pick and eat the grain! The Pharisees were always telling people what not to do; but they could not always tell the difference between their not-to-do list and God’s command.

What you have in the Pharisees is a group of people that think religious performance brings peace and rest to a person’s heart. But this is not true! The Pharisees had become legalist, majoring on the externals; and neglecting the issue of the heart!

Jesus told them you strain at a Nat, and swallow a camel.

Legalist take great pride in what they do not do; and they become self-righteous thinking I can be right with God by all the things that I do and do not do.

And the Pharisees, who were legalist had developed a long list of things that were not to be done on the Sabbath. And if you keep their rules you would experience rest; and be right with God.

It was a ridiculous, complex system of external restraints:

· You couldn’t carry anything heavier than a dried fig.

· Coldwater could be poured into warm water, but not warm water into cold.

· No fire could be lit, or put out.

· If you got a flea, or a bug on you; you could not kill it that would be work.

· You could not look in a mirror; because you might see a gray hair, and be tempted to pull it out.

And the list of what you could not do goes on, and on, and on. Jesus said about the Pharisees,

-“You bind heavy burdens and grievous to be carried and laid them on men’s shoulders; but you will not move them with one of your fingers”.

There’s nothing that is a greater hindrance to rest, peace and salvation than the deadly poison of religion and legalism!

If you think your performance can make you right with God’s, then you will look to yourselves rather than to Jesus Christ.

Religion breeds death rather than life!

Religion breeds pride rather than humility!

Religion makes you a slave rather than setting you free.

Legalism is raising to the level of biblical command what God has neither commanded nor prohibited in His Word. It is taking our traditions and preferences and opinions and imposing them on others as an act of spiritual superiority.

Jesus response to these religious men is awesome!

V:3-4-“Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him; how he went into the house of God and took the showbread and ate it and gave them that were with him: which is not lawful to eat but for the priest alone”.

Don’t go one-on-one with Jesus; unless you want to get dunked on!

Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater; technically for David and his men to eat the sacred bread was a violation of the ceremonial law that govern the worship of the tabernacle. But David was God’s anointed, and he and his men were on a mission from God. And so what David did is never condemned in the Bible.

Jesus in telling this story and saying if it was alright for David and his men to eat the showbread; it is certainly alright for David’s greater son, ME to pick grain and eat it on the Sabbath. And what Jesus did was not a violation of the law of God anyway; just their man-made law.

But Jesus didn’t stop there; Jesus went on to make a tremendous statement:

V:5-“And he said unto them, that the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath”.

This is the climax of the story; here were told again who Jesus is. Who is the Lord of the Sabbath? Only God is! Jesus is claiming to be God; because he is God. As Lord, master, owner, controller of the Sabbath; Jesus determines what is right and wrong to do on the Sabbath. As the Lord of the Sabbath, this means that Jesus is the Lord of rest.

So where does rest come from? From the only one who has rest to give; the Lord of rest, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rest does not come from trying, but from trusting.

Rest does not come from performance, but from surrender, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ!

You can never keep enough rules, be holy enough, separate enough; are do enough religious works to have peace in your heart and life!

You will never be satisfied with your own righteousness, because your righteousness, is always incomplete, imperfect, filthy rags.

There will never be a time, when you step back and say I’m satisfied, I’ve arrived, and I have rest in my own works, performance and righteousness!

The only way to find rest for your soul; is to cease from your work; and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross!

Jesus cried out it is finished; the work of salvation is complete, God is completely satisfied what Jesus Christ did on the cross! So how do you find rest; by placing your faith in that which brings satisfaction to God; Jesus death on the cross!

-“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest…

-“For he that is entered into his rest, has ceased from his own works, as God did from his”.

Rest is a person not a place! Rest comes from surrender, not performance!

Only through surrendering, trusting in Jesus Christ can you have rest; not through your performance are your works!

Jesus said: -“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

You can work your fingers to the bone in religious activities; but you would never find rest until you look away from yourself and trust in Jesus Christ!

You will never find rest in a pill or a bottle; you would never find rest for your soul in pleasure, or possessions. A doctor cannot write you a prescription for rest. The Lord of rest; is the source of rest. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself oh God, and our hearts are restless until they find there rest in you”

To be a Christian is to say, “I rest not on my works, but his. I rest on his finished work. Accept me not because of my record, but his record. Accept me not because of my work, because of his works.” #2 Rest comes:

2. From Ministry, not Selfishness!

V:6-11.

In this second Sabbath clash, we learn from the Lord Jesus a second truth about rest. Rest is not passive; rest doesn’t mean sitting in a chair relaxing, or taking a nap on the couch. Sure, that’s physical rest; but that doesn’t bring rest to your soul, your inner man.

Rest doesn’t come from the La-Z-Boy; it comes from serving the Lord! Jesus didn’t save you to sit, soak, and sour; he saved you to serve! As a Christian, you will never find rest, by doing nothing for the Lord!

Rest in Christ leads to ministry to others. Jesus said to save your life, means you will lose your life; but if you give your life in service to God and others, you will save your life.

Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and he taught the Scripture. Jesus is there to worship God, and open the word of God and preach. The spotlight is put on a man with a withered right hand; as well as the scribes and Pharisees who were there as well watching Jesus. They were there to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might have an accusation against him. What a sad, miserable, bunch of religious bloodhounds, trailing behind Jesus looking for something to criticize him for. They evidently had never read the verse in the book of Psalms that said “this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad”. They were never glad, they were always sad, and Jesus made a mad! We learn from this that a part of rest is worshiping God in his house with his people! The New Testament never does away with the day of worship; it transforms the day of worship. And there’s never any soul rest, without worship!

That’s why the Bible says don’t neglect assembling together, in church…

You will never find rest for your soul, without making worship, church a regular part of your life!

We learn a second truth; when you gather in the place of worship, don’t fail to worship! The scribes and the Pharisees are in the synagogue, but they’re not worshiping God, or hearing the word of God; they’re spending their time looking for something to criticize.

Don’t come to church; looking for something to criticize; and nick-picking, and complaining about was going on. You have forgotten why you’re here; you’re here to worship the living, risen Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t let anything, anyone keep you from worshiping your Savior!

These guys did not come to the house of God to worship, they came to find something to criticize; to see if Jesus would do something they didn’t approve of.

Jesus knew why they were there, and what they were thinking, V:8-Read. They want to see, if Jesus would keep their man-made rules; they’re fixed to find out, he doesn’t!

Can you picture in your mind this man getting up, standing in the middle of the room, with his right arm and hand hanging limp by his side?

Then Jesus looks around the room at all the scribes and Pharisees and asked them a question,

V:9-“Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?

This is a masterful question; Jesus had his opponents on the horns of a dilemma; if they said it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath, they would be saying its okay for Jesus to heal this man. On the other hand it they said it was not lawful to do good, and heal this man, it would reveal their legalistic, merciless hearts. So they just sit there and say nothing as Jesus is staring at them.

Obviously, the Sabbath was for worshiping God and doing good! But the do- nothing Pharisees were more concerned about keeping their man-made rules than they were about helping someone in need.

You will never experience rest, until you begin to minister to, and show mercy to those who need it!

Jesus spoke to the man and told him to stretch out his hand, and he did, and his hand was restored/healed. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath day. The Lord of rest; is giving us a living example of how to find rest for your soul; which is by ministry, reaching out, and helping others!

How easy it is to keep a list of the things that we do, and don’t do; and miss the thing that’s the most important to God; people! Any religion that keeps you from, ministering to, sharing the gospel with, showing mercy, to the less fortunate; isn’t like the Lord Jesus; and will never bring rest to your soul.

God wants us to have a heart for people in need!

No matter how religious you are, if you do not care about the welfare of others, if you have no concern about the salvation of the lost, you are lost!

You’re a terrible spiritual condition, when you care more about your own agenda, than you do about the condition of other men’s souls!

In Matthew’s record of the same incident, he records that Jesus said, “What man here if he has a sheep fall into a ditch on the Sabbath day, would not lift him out of it? How much better is this man than a sheep?

Jesus is revealing how selfish these men are; you would take care of your livestock, your money, which benefits you. But you won’t spend your time or your money, or your effort to help someone else.

You can build walls around your life, devote every waking moment to your own comfort and relaxation; spend every dime on yourself, and vacations, and have multiple homes.

But you will never find rest in your soul until you start ministering to others!

We live in a sinful, broken world; all around us are people whose lives have been affected by the curse of sin. And God has called us to love them, and to share with them that Jesus can make them whole again! Real rest doesn’t just come from taking it easy; it comes from reaching out and ministering to others.

There’s nothing more refreshing to your spirit than doing something for someone else!

Harold Wilgus-visiting people on Sunday.

When Jesus healed this man a few feet from their noses; V:11-“they were filled with madness; and began to talk about how they could get rid of Jesus”

It is here, that they began to plot Jesus death.

History teaches us, there’s nothing meaner than false religion. The self-righteous, legalistic, dead religious crowd is not interested in mercy, and are not interested in truth. They are interested in their man-made ceremonies, holy days, feast and observance. Jesus makes a difference in the way you treat other people. Card-carrying, Bible believing Christians, must show mercy to others in our culture; if are going to introduce him to Jesus! True faith produces mercy.

Conservative Christians are the ones in our history who have shown more mercy than anybody else. We learned it from our Savior!

William Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement.

William Booth and the Salvation Army.

George Williams and the YMCA-Young men’s Christian Association.

The elevation of women and the protection and care of children all spraying from the concern of Christians. Of course, showing mercy and compassion does not make a person a Christian. But true faith in Jesus Christ produces a heart of ministry and mercy.

-“I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings”

Do you have rest in your heart this morning?

Rest comes from surrender, not performance!

Rest come from ministry, not selfishness!

Rest is not found in a place.

Rest is not found in a position.

Rest is not found in possessions.

Rest is found in a person-JESUS CHRIST.

Jesus says, come unto me all you that labor and have heavy burdens and I will give you rest.

Come to Jesus this morning!