February 26, 2023

“THE SON OF MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH”
MARK 2:23-3:6

The importance of getting this right;
MATTHEW 5:19
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…

The Mosaic Sabbath

The origin;
GENESIS 2:2–3
2 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy…

The theological foundations;
EXODUS 20:8–11
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

DEUTERONOMY 5:12–15
12 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

The seriousness of the Sabbath;
EXODUS 31:15 (See also Ezekiel 20:21-23)
15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

The purpose of the Sabbath;
EXODUS 31:17
17 It 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.

EZEKIEL 20:12, 20
12 Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them... 20 and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

ISAIAH 58:13
…call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable…


The stories;
LUKE 6:1
1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.

DEUTERONOMY 23:25
25 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.

The violation of tradition;
MARK 7:8–9
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men…

The Bread of the Presence
1 SAMUEL 21:4, 6 (See also Leviticus 24:5-9)
4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread…6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

Jesus’ argument: If God did not rebuke David, who “violated” one of God’s explicit commands for the sake of he and his men, how much less would God object to one greater than David violating a man-made regulation, also for the sake of his people?

The Christian Sabbath

Why the First Day and not the Last Day?

Christ was raised on the First Day;
MATTHEW 28:1
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

All of the Risen Christ’s appearances were the First Day;
JOHN 20:19
19 …the first day of the week…Jesus came and stood among them…

The Spirit was given and the Church birthed on the First Day;
ACTS 2:1
1 When the day of Pentecost [first day of week] arrived, they were all together in one place.
From the beginning, the Church met on the First Day;
ACTS 20:7
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread...

1 CORINTHIANS 16:2
2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

John’s vision of the Revelation was given on the First Day;
REVELATION 1:10
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

Man’s first full day of life was God’s first day of rest. Under the Old Covenant, God “works toward” our rest. Under the New Covenant, man “works out” of God’s rest. God “works” for our rest. Our work “comes out from” His rest.
What the Sabbath means to the New Testament Christian

The question we face is not should we keep the Sabbath, but what does Sabbath-keeping look like?

1. Jesus has set us free from man-made religious obligations

MATTHEW 23:4
4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

LUKE 4:18 (See also Isaiah 61:1)
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives…

2. Jesus has “worked” on our behalf, and through belief, we are commanded to “enter the rest” of our great Liberator

ISAIAH 40:28
…The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

HEBREWS 4:3, 9-10
3 For we who have believed enter that rest...9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

PSALM 23:2–3
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul…

MATTHEW 11:28–30
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…

3. The spirit of the Sabbath (in both its Old and New Covenant “expressions”) is to make one day of seven different by not engaging in regular work, but physically resting as a means of acting on faith, while refreshing our soul in Christ

EXODUS 20:8, 11
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

4. He is the lord of the Day, therefore the Day must be decidedly about him

MARK 2:28 (See also John 1:3)
28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

JOHN 5:27
27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

COLOSSIANS 2:16–17
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

5. The Sabbath is ultimately a spiritual reality. Like other spiritual realities, it is evidenced in physical behaviors. Because of this, there is no place for “Sabbath police.”

COLOSSIANS 2:16–17
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath…

ROMANS 14:5
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

6. It is not legalism to insist on being in the gathering of God’s people unless providentially prevented

EXODUS 20:8
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

7. Jesus did not lower the bar, he raised it

MATTHEW 5:48
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The New Testament never relaxes any moral command of the Old Testament. Rather, the New Testament “raises the bar,” teaches us that the command has been fulfilled on our behalf by Christ, and then expects the Christian to abide in Christ and “live out” the command in the power of the Spirit.

2/26/2023