Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the ?Sabbath."
- How do you feel about the Sabbath?
- Do you look forward to it?
- Do you see it as a day of rest?
- Do you see it as a day of restriction?
- For many in today's society the Sabbath is often treated as any other day or maybe a catch-up day
- Is it often not a sacred day for many
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the ?Sabbath."
There is a Christian Sabbath
The Sabbath is for us
The Day
- "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ?Then God ?blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Gen 2:2-3
- People often think of the Sabbath being related to Moses and Mount Sinai, but like marriage it originates before the fall [in Genesis]
- If this rest was instituted before the fall, then how much more do we need it today?
- This was reinforced during the wilderness years when manner was sent from Heaven (it was not to be collected on the Sabbath)
- The moral laws given by the Ten Commandments (including the Sabbath rest law) all continue today
- Nehemiah was keen on having the people keep the Sabbath rest law
- Jesus did not follow the extra pharisaical 'sabbath' laws but never encouraged His disciples to break the Sabbath rest law
- The women waited three days before going to embalm Jesus [they waited till after the Sabbath which in Jewish times ran from Friday night to Saturday night]
- The early church met on the first day of the week
- 1 Cor 16:2 - Collect/put aside money on the first day of the week
- Rev 1:10 - John was caught up into heaven on the Lord's day
- "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." Col 2:16
- The Sabbath is a foretaste of heaven
- They didn't need to worry about all the other 'sabbaths' (the ceremonial part of the law and not the moral part of the law)
- Christ has fulfilled all these
- Challenge: Read Hebrews 4 - what is the Sabbath pointing towards
The Command
- "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." Ex 20:8-11
- The first three commands are couched in negative terms
- The fourth command (the Sabbath command) is couched in positive terms
- It is a command not just to rest but also to work (may be paid or unpaid)
- Parents are to teach their children to honour the Sabbath
- Your servants are to honour the Sabbath
- We are not be legalistic
- E.g. policeman, nurses, etc are permitted to work on Sunday
- Works of necessity and a work of mercy are always permitted
- The pharisees had a law that people could not take medicine on the Sabbath
- Mark 3:1-4 - Jesus tackles this belief and hard heartedness, that people would not show compassion, mercy and help on the Sabbath
- The disciples were walking more than 300m from their home and rubbed the grains in their hands (both forbidden by the Pharisees)
- Jesus refuted the Pharisees legalism
- Jesus is showing the principle of mercy goes higher than than the principle of obedience to the law
- The Spirit of the law exceeds the letter of the law
The Relevance
- Use this day to visit people, write letters, read the Bible more, read a Christian book, etc
- Use this day to evangelise more
- Use this to visit friends and family
- Use this to engage in Christian fellowship
- The Sabbath was made for man, for our benefit
- We are to keep it Holy
- It is a foretaste of Heaven - it is day when we should reflect on being with God