Aug 18
5
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:1-3
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 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.” (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Matthew 12:1-14
“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.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.’ He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’—so that they might accuse him. 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.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” (Matthew 12:1–14, ESV)
Introduction
It was Genesis 2:1-3 that prompted this prolonged study on the Sabbath day. There we learned that God, after making the heavens and earth in six days, rested on the seventh, blessed that day, and made it holy. This he did, not for himself (for he did not need to rest nor did he need a day to be blessed therein), but as a pattern for man to follow. Man, from the beginning of time, was to work six days, and on the seventh cease from his ordinary work to devote himself to rest and worship. Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man, so that men and women would be blessed in it as they approached the day as holy.
Adam and Eve were to keep the Sabbath day while in the garden prior to the fall. It was a symbol of their faithfulness to their Marker. It was a sign that they were living in obedience to him and for his glory. The Sabbath day was also a type for them. It was a picture of the quality of life that they would enter into should they faithfully preform their God-given task of filling the earth and subduing it to the glory of their Maker. Having completed their work (symbolized by the six days) they would enter into consummate and eternal rest (symbolized by the seventh, which is without end). The Sabbath day communicated these promises even to Adam and Eve.
Adam fell into sin, as you know, but the Sabbath day remained. This was by the grace of God. The message was that a pathway to eternal and consummate rest remained opened for Adam and his posterity. Adam could no longer earn the rest, for he was fallen. Neither could his children born according to the flesh, for they were born in sin. But the promise was that God would provide a Savior. A Redeemer would come who would earn the rest that Adam failed to earn. We know him as Jesus the Christ. Adam did not know his name as we do, but he hoped in him. He believed upon the promise of God concerning his eventual coming, and so did many of his descendants. These kept the Sabbath day. It was a sign of their faith. It was a symbol of their obedience to God. The Sabbath day was a kind of token or badge for the children of Adam indicating that they believed upon the promises of God and lived for the glory of their Maker.
And so a Sabbath day remained in the world from Adam to Moses. And in the days of Moses the Sabbath was given to Israel. That moral and natural law which was written upon the heart of Adam and Eve in the beginning was written on stone by the finger of God and delivered to Israel through Moses. Ten Commandments contain God’s moral law, and the fourth is “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, ESV). The same law given to Adam (having been written upon his heart) was given also to Israel, but for them it was written on stone.
The Sabbath day was made more rigorous under Moses, as you know. It was made more rigorous, not because the law was essentially changed, but because civil and ceremonial laws were added to the moral law in those days and for that people. The penalty for breaking the Sabbath under the Mosaic Covenant was death. Many other Sabbath days were also instituted under Moses. These civil laws and these ceremonial laws were for the Jewish people living under the Old Covenant which Moses mediated. These Mosaic laws have been fulfilled by Christ and taken away.
All of these things have been considered in previous sermons. This was review. As we move further into the history of redemption we come to the life of Christ. We have considered the Sabbath as it was in the garden. We have considered the Sabbath as it was from the fall of Adam to Moses. We have considered the Sabbath as it was under the Old Covenant from Moses to Christ. And now we must consider the Sabbath as it was observed by Christ prior to his resurrection.
The question is, how did Jesus approach the Sabbath day, and what did he have to say concerning it? This question should be of great interest to us given that Jesus himself is the cornerstone of the foundation upon which the New Covenant church is built.
And where in the Bible can we go to find the answer to the question, how did Jesus approach the Sabbath day, and what did he have to say concerning it? It is to the Gospels that we must go, for they contain a record of the life and teachings of Jesus.
If you were to read through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you would find that they actually have a lot to say about the Sabbath. This is very significant, for the Gospels are not bear history as if they were written for propose of telling us everything that Jesus did and said. No, to the contrary, the Gospel writers were selective in what they reported. Remember what John said at the very end of his Gospel. “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25, ESV). So the Gospel writers did not report all that Jesus said and did. Rather they highlighted certain events and certain teachings of Jesus that would be of particular usefulness to the church. The Gospels are theological histories. They contain true history, but Gospel writers reported on those things which would be of use to the New Covenant Church.
A question that I must pose to the one who claims that the Sabbath day does not apply to the Christian is why do the Gospel writers place such an emphasis upon the Sabbath day in their writings? If the Sabbath day were not to be kept by the New Covenant church, why such an emphasis upon the Sabbath day in the Gospels?
There are number of places that we could go in the Gospels to highlight Christ’s view of the Sabbath day. Mark chapters 2 and 3, Luke chapters 4, 6, 13, and 14, and John chapters 5, 7 and 9 would be good places to go. But today we will give our attention to Matthew chapter 12.
As we consider this passage three truths will emerge concerning Jesus and the Sabbath day. One, we will see that Christ kept the Sabbath perfectly. Two, we will see that Christ corrected the legalistic teachings of the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath. And three, we will see that Christ claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath. Let us now take these points one at a time.
Christ Kept The Sabbath Perfectly
First of all, see that Christ kept the Sabbath perfectly.
Before getting too far into this first point we should remember that Jesus lived and died, not under the New Covenant, but under the Old. It was his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven, and his sending of the Holy Spirit which marked the beginning of the New Covenant. And so when I say that Christ kept the Sabbath perfectly I mean that he kept the Sabbath as it was given to Adam and also as it was given to Moses, for Christ lived and died under the Mosaic Covenant. So please understand that Christ kept the Old Covenant, judicial, Jewish and seventh day Sabbath perfectly.
For Christ the Sabbath day was the seventh day, for he lived and died under the Mosaic Covenant which was a kind of republication of the Covenant of Works, of which the seventh day Sabbath was a sign. Christ kept the seventh day Sabbath and also all of the other Sabbath days that were added to it under the law of Moses. He observed the Passover, the Feast of First Fruits and the Feast of Weeks, along with the other feast days mentioned in Leviticus 23. This he had to do in order to be sinless. Christ, being a Jew born under the Mosaic Covenant, had to keep the Law of Moses perfectly. If Christ were to have violated the weekly Sabbath, or any of the other feasts or festivals given to Israel through Moses, he would have been a law breaker – a sinner – and therefore could not be our Redeemer.
Remember that Christ did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets… but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17, ESV). He kept the law perfectly so that “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4, ESV). Christ obeyed the law in every respect and was righteous. This he did for himself and for all who believe upon him. It should be obvious to all, therefore, that Christ never broke the Sabbath as it was given to Moses, but kept it perfectly. This he had to do to save lawbreakers like you and me. To die as a substitute for the guilty, Christ had to be innocent.
In Matthew chapter 12 verse 1 we read that“Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat” (Matthew 12:1, ESV). As this story unfolds we will see that the Pharisees, who were religious leaders and teachers amongst the Jewish people in that day, accused Jesus and his disciples of breaking the Sabbath by plucking heads of grain to eat. According to them, that constituted work. According to the Pharisees the disciples of Jesus were harvesting grain and were therefore violating the Sabbath commandment as it was given at creation and under Moses.
The question is, were they correct? Were Jesus and his disciples violating the law of Moses? Was Jesus at odds with Moses? Was he breaking the law of Moses when he plucked those heads of grain on the Sabbath day?
You would think that all Christians would be quick to answer saying, “No! Jesus never broke the law of Moses but kept it perfectly!” But in fact many Christians today assume that Jesus was doing something contrary to the law of Moses when he and his disciples plucked heads of grain on the Sabbath day. In fact this seems to be the predominate view today, that what we have here in Matthew 12 is an instance where Jesus’ opinion is different than that of Moses. The law of Moses forbids picking heads of grain on the Sabbath, but Jesus picked them because he saw things differently – at least that is what many say today. It really is a ridiculous idea. Again, the culprit is dispensationalism which pits the Old Testament and the New, the Old Covenant and the New, Christ and Moses, against one another in a radical way.
Is Jesus Lord of the Sabbath? Yes he is, as we will see! Did Jesus have authority to change the law and to change the Sabbath day? Yes he did, as we will see! But this he could do only after he faithfully fulfilled the Old Covenant law and inaugurated the New Covenant by his death burial and resurrection. It was only then, after Christ finished his work of new creation, that a new law with a new Sabbath day could be instituted. First, Christ had to keep the law of Moses, including the judicial Sabbath perfectly. Had he sinned against it, he could not have been our Redeemer. Had he sinned against it he would have failed to keep the Covenant of Works just as the first Adam failed. Did Christ bring changes to the Old Covenant Sabbath? Yes he did! But only after keeping it perfectly! Christ, having kept the Covenant of Works, and having instituted a New Covenant – the Covenant of Grace – in his blood, then brought changes to the Sabbath day, but not a moment before. No friends, what we find here in Matthew 12 is Christ keeping the Sabbath – that is, the Old Covenant judicial Sabbath – perfectly.
Christ Corrected The Legalistic Teachings of The Pharisees Concerning The Sabbath
Secondly, see that Christ corrected the legalistic teachings of the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath.
That is what we see going on here in Matthew 12. Jesus is correcting the Pharisees who had a wrong view of the Sabbath. To put it differently, this is not Jesus against Moses, but Jesus against the Pharisees who interpreted Moses wrong. This is not Jesus against the law of Moses (or the moral law), but Jesus against legalism. This is not Jesus changing the Sabbath as it was given to Adam and Moses, but Jesus providing the proper interpretation of the Sabbath law.
If you were to read through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you would find that Jesus was often at odds with the religious leaders of his day over the proper observance of the Sabbath. They accused him of breaking it, but he labored to show that their view of it was flawed.
When the Pharisees saw Jesus and his hungry disciples plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath day “they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:2, ESV).
Now pay attention to how Jesus answered them. He did not say, “well that was Moses opinion, but I have mine”, nor did he say, “I am doing away with the Sabbath, it does not apply to my followers”, but instead he appealed to the Old Testament scriptures themselves to demonstrate that his actions were indeed lawful. Their interpretation of Moses was wrong, and his was right.
Jesus had three things to say to the Pharisees, and when he said them he made it clear that there were three activities appropriate for the Sabbath day: acts of necessity, acts of worship, and acts of mercy.
The first remark is found in verse 3: “He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?” (Matthew 12:3–4, ESV).
Jesus is referring to a story that is recorded for us in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. David (before he was king David) and his men were on the run. They were fleeing king Saul, who wished to take David’s life. They were hungry. They were destitute. They were desperate. And when they came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, David asked for bread for himself and for his men, but there was no common bread, only holy bread. Under normal circumstances it would not have been lawful for David and his men to eat the holy bread, but given the unusual circumstances it was given to the men, and rightly so. Evidently the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant could be broken when human life was threatened. Evidently the law was flexible enough to bend so that mercy could be shown to those in need. Ordinarily David and has men would have broken the law were they to have eaten the holy bread which was for the priests alone, but given the circumstance it was right for them to eat it so that life might be preserved. It was necessary that they be given the bread given the circumstances.
Jesus and his disciples were in a similar situation. Being poor they were hungry and in need of food. They were not engaging in the work of harvesting, but were only plucking what they needed to eat given their circumstance. Jesus’ argument was that the Pharisees were too ridged in their interpretation of the law of Moses. They encouraged obedience to the law (which was good and right) but left no room for dealing with things necessary for life.
The second thing that Jesus had to say to the Pharisees is found in verse 5. Again, Jesus does not oppose the law of Moses, but appeals to it, saying, “have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?” (Matthew 12:5, ESV).
Here Jesus refers to the work that the Old Covenant priests were to do on the Sabbath day to carry out the worship of God. Read for yourselves in Numbers 28:9-10 or 1 Chronicles 9:32 and see that the priests had work to do in the temple on the Sabbath day to make the worship of God possible. Were they guilty of violating the Sabbath by their work? No! They were “guiltless” because their work promoted and made possible the worship of God. Remember that Sabbath day was and is a day for holy convocation. It was and is a day where God’s people are to gather for worship. The priests under the Old Covenant (and elders and deacons under the New) have a certain kind of work to accomplish on the Sabbath day to make the corporate worship of God possible.
I hope you are beginning to identify the error of the Pharisees. It’s as if they were concerned only with keeping the details of the Sabbath law while missing entirely point of it. They were committed to the idea of rest (ceasing from work) while missing the fact that there is a kind of work that is appropriate for the Sabbath day. Remember, God rested from his work of creation on the seventh day, but he did not enter into a state of idleness. He entered into the contemplation of his finished work, the enjoyment of it, and he continued in his work of providence as he upheld the universe that he had made. It was as if the Pharisees were trying to promote idleness. Jesus corrected them by making it plain that there are activities appropriate for the Sabbath day, namely acts of necessity, and worship.
David and his men were guiltless when they ate the holy bread because the circumstance made it necessary for them to do so. Also, the priests were guiltless when they labored in the temple on the Sabbath day, for their work made the worship of God possible, which is the central activity of the Sabbath day. They labored in the temple and were guiltless, and Jesus remarked, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here”, referring to himself as the thing greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6, ESV).
The third thing that Jesus said to the Pharisees is found in verse 6 where he made it clear that the Sabbath day is a day to show mercy. There he is heard saying, “And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7, ESV).
The Sabbath day is a day to show mercy to those in need. Christ and his disciples were need. How wrong it was for the Pharisees to condemn them as the plucked the heads of grain. Instead of criticizing them, they should have shown them mercy.
The story of the man with a withered hand in verses 9-14 is positioned here in order to illustrate the principle that the Sabbath day is a day to do acts of mercy.
“[Jesus] went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’—so that they might accuse him. 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.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him” (Matthew 12:9–14, ESV).
The Sabbath day is indeed a day to cease from our labors, but it is also a day for holy activity. On it we are to engage in worship. On it we are permitted also to engage in acts of necessity and mercy.
Indeed, our confession is correct when it speaks to activities proper to the Sabbath day. Chapter 22 paragraph 8: “The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs aforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all day, from their own works, words and thoughts, about their worldly employment and recreations, but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.” Matthew 12:1-13 is listed as a proof text.
Christ Claimed To Be Lord Of The Sabbath
Our third and final answer to the question, how did Jesus approach the Sabbath day, and what did he have to say concerning it? is that Christ claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath.
What does it mean that Christ is Lord of the Sabbath?
One, Christ is Lord of the Sabbath because he was the one (the eternal Word of God come in the flesh) who instituted the Sabbath at the beginning.
Two, Christ is Lord of the Sabbath because he was the one (the eternal Word of God come in the flesh) who gave the law (including the Sabbath law) to Moses.
Three, Christ is Lord of the Sabbath because he was the one who would finish the work given to him by the Father and enter into the rest typified by the Sabbath day.
Four, Christ is Lord of the Sabbath because he is the one who has opened up the way to the eternal rest typified by the Sabbath day for God’s chosen people.
Five, Christ is Lord of the Sabbath and therefore has the right to institute a new Sabbath day. I will reiterate what I said before: Christ changed the Sabbath day, not before to his death and resurrection, but after it. Prior to his death and resurrection Christ was obligated to obey the law of Moses. He was not free to alter it, only to obey it. This he had to do in order to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law on behalf of his people. That said, Christ did have the authority to change the Sabbath day once he kept the covenant of works and instituted the New Covenant, which is the covenant of Grace. Christ, having finished his work of new creation, and having established a new covenant, instituted a new Sabbath day, for he was indeed Lord of the Sabbath. And what is this new Sabbath day called? It is appropriately called the Lord’s Day. It is the day that belongs to Christ Jesus our Lord, for on that day – the first day of the week – he rose from the grave.
Application
What should we do in response to these things?
One, let us truly believe that a Sabbath rest remains for us today.
Two, let us understand that Christ, being Lord of Sabbath, did change the day from the event day to the first as a commemoration of his resurrection, wherein he finished his work of a new creation.
Three, understand that the Lord’s Day Sabbath is a day for rest, but it is also a day for holy activity. The Lord’s Day is a day to cease from our work so that we might come together and worship.
Four, let us allow for some flexibility in our Sabbath keeping. It is a day for rest and worship – this is true – but acts of necessity and acts of mercy are also permitted. The rigidity of Pharisees in their approach to the Sabbath day was inapropriate,
Five, though it is true that we must guard against legalism, it is also true that we must guard against antinomianism, which is a serious problem in our day (and region). Friends, it is a sin to break the Lord’s Day Sabbath. God’s law is still to be kept. It is a sin to forsake assembling together for worship on the Lord’s Day without good reason (being providentially hindered).
