Sabbath Controversies
Friend of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsJesus was constantly causing disruptions to the Pharisaical view of Sabbath keeping. Why? Was he overturning the law? What was his goal?
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
"What must I forsake?" a young man asked.
"Colored clothes for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don't eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to lie against him who created us, to attempt to improve on his work."
The most celebrated Christian schools of the second century!
At Bethesda
At Bethesda
Jesus chose
Sabbath for healing
There for 1 week.
Could have done it
different day.
Not just healing
teaching.
He had come to free the Sabbath from those burdensome requirements that had made it a curse instead of a blessing. - DA p. 206
Arraigned before Sanhedrin
accused of Sabbath breaking
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
I’m the son of God
My Father works on Sabbath
So I work on Sabbath
Imagine
God stopped?
He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.
Rip the fabric
of universe.
No
orbit
spin
sun
breath
All
blackness
death
Desire of Ages (Chapter 21—Bethesda and the Sanhedrin)
The demands upon God are even greater upon the Sabbath than upon other days. His people then leave their usual employment, and spend the time in meditation and worship. They ask more favors of Him on the Sabbath than upon other days. - DA p. 207
Sabbath is
not a time
to veg out!
Don’t think,
we kept Sabbath
go to church
nap all afternoon
have fun with friends
Sabbath is
Time to serve.
“Harvesting on Sabbath”
“Harvesting on Sabbath”
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
Gleaning
Gleaning
“If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
Youth Pastor:
Being a rather forward-looking and creative young man, he decided he would show the youth group a missionary film. We're talking simple, safe, black-and-white religious- oriented movie. That film projector hadn't been off an hour before a group of the leaders in the church called him in and asked him about what he had done. They asked, "Did you show the young people a film?" In all honesty he responded, "Well, yeah, I did." "We don't like that," they replied. Without trying to be argumentative, the youth worker reasoned, "Well, I remember that at the last missionary conference, our church showed slides--"
One of the church officers put his hand up signaling him to cease talking. Then, in these words, he emphatically explained the conflict: "If it's still, fine. If it moves, sin!" You can show slides, but when they start movin', you're gettin' into sin.
David Ate Holy Bread
David Ate Holy Bread
And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?”
Holy Bread
Holy Day
David did it
Why?
Because he was hungry
You are allowed to satisfy hunger.
The story was told some years ago of a pastor who found the roads blocked one Sunday morning and was forced to skate on the river to get to church, which he did. When he arrived the elders of the church were horrified that their preacher had skated on the Lord's day. After the service they held a meeting where the pastor explained that it was either skate to church or not go at all. Finally one elder asked, "Did you enjoy it?" When the preacher answered, "No," the board decided it was all right!
Priests Work on Sabbath
Priests Work on Sabbath
Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
Priest work on Sabbath
Why?
Service of God
Disciples are in
Service of God.
So it is ok!
Desire of Ages (Chapter 29—The Sabbath)
Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God’s work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. - DA p. 285
Mercy and Not Sacrifice
Mercy and Not Sacrifice
And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Heartless traditions
rites
ceremonies
Cared not for
humans
salvation
Sacrifices = Ceremony
useless without
MERCY!
Sabbath Made for Man
Sabbath Made for Man
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Withered Hand
Withered Hand
Very next story:
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
Jesus read thoughts
knew their falsehood.
Legalism
no pity
no care
no compassion
only law...
And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”
And Asks:
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.
Nails the issue.
They are deceitful.
Priorities wrong.
Jesus tells parable:
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
David and Nathan
“You are the man”
Nobody answers...
Desire of Ages Chapter 29—The Sabbath
Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man.
They still don’t answer...
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
Brought 4th Command
to original state.
Removing Law?
Removing Law?
Some teach
Jesus removing Law
Removing 4th Com.
Interestingly,
Same argument as
Jewish false teachers
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
Jesus says,
commandment keeper.
Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
and
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Jesus was
fulfilling law
sweeping away
false teachings.
Desire of Ages (Chapter 29—The Sabbath)
Neither the Saviour nor His followers broke the law of the Sabbath. Christ was a living representative of the law. No violation of its holy precepts was found in His life. - DA p. 287
Recorder
Imagine you have an invisible recorder around your neck that, for all your life, records every time you say to somebody else, “You ought.” It only turns on when you tell somebody else how to live. In other words, it only records your own moral standards as you seek to impose them on other people. It records nothing except what you believe is right or wrong.
And what if God, on judgment day, stands in front of people and says, “You never heard about Jesus Christ and you never read the Bible, but I’m a fair-minded God. Let me show you what I’m going to use to judge you.” Then he takes that invisible recorder from around your neck and says, “I’m going to judge you by your own moral standards.”
Only
By God’s Grace,
we can love the law...
Said David:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
Appeal
Appeal
Celebrate Sabbath
Rest on Sabbath
Serve on Sabbath