Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath (Part 1 of 3)

One. Jesus mean when you said about the Sabbath that it was made for man, not man for the Sabbath and why did the Pharisees get so angry will find answers to these questions today on Truth for Life weekend.

Alistair Begg is teaching a message titled Jesus Lord of the Sabbath Gospel of Luke chapter 6 verse 11 Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields in his disciples began to take some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the Col.'s. Some of the Pharisees asked why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath Jesus answered, then, have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry. He entered the house of God and taking the consecrated bread and what is lawful only for priests to eat the also gave some to his companions.

Then Jesus said to them, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath on another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with a shriveled hand, get up and stand in front of everyone, so he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, I ask you which is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy. He looked around at the mall and then said to the man stretch out your hand. He did so, and his hand was completely restored, but they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Amen. You may want just to keep your Bible open right there on your lapses were about to study it together let us come to God in prayer before we come to his word gracious God and father with our Bibles open. We pray that the spirit of God will come now and be our teacher.

So desperately need to hear from you for in some cases, our lives are in disarray. Some of us are convinced in our unbelief. Some of us are unsettled, unsure, unclear what we certainly do not need is someone making things even harder to understand since we are immensely capable of doing so. We pray that you will guard and guide my tongue take my words and speak through the take our minds and help us to think through the take our lives and bring them into line with the truth of your Word, the Bible, for we pray in Jesus name for his sake on if you look at the 21st verse of chapter 5, the Pharisees and teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy. They are very disappointed with Jesus and the things that he saying and doing in the fact the advance of the same chapter of why they said do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners in the 33rd verse, they tell Jesus that they are disciples are the kind who are the fasting variety. As with John's disciples and their confronting Jesus because his disciples don't seem to be doing what they ought to be doing in here when we go into these two events that are recorded for us by Luke in chapter 6 we find the same thing. Some of the Pharisees questioning him. In verse two, and then in verse seven, watching for a reason to accuse Jesus and then in verse 11. Totally furious. As a result of what is happened and beginning to plot and discuss ways they might remove Jesus from his position of influence.

Now it is this confrontation between the reality and vitality and joy and freedom which Jesus as their Savior comes to bring in contrast to all of the dull orthodoxy and formality and legality which the religious leaders have been propounding to their people for so long. Jesus, as we have already seen and will continue to see in this gospel is so gracious to those who are penitent. He displays compassion to those who cry out to him.

He didn't disclose his forgiveness on those who acknowledge their sins and their native, but he reserves his most stinging rebukes for those who are overtly religious, and yet who, by their very lives. It possess little of the reality that they are professing with their lips. On another occasion, listen to the way in which he describes these individuals, he says to those who are his disciples about the Pharisees and the religious leaders, you must not imitate their lives, don't imitate these people, for they preach, but do not practice the pileup backbreaking burdens and leave them on other men's shoulders, yet they themselves will not raise a finger to move them and then addressing them what miserable frauds. You are you, scribes and Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence and these are the words of Jesus himself.

He was there were surely Jesus was loving and compassionate. Yes, he certainly was with a kind of a woman who was taken in adultery exceptionally so did urging her to her new life and bestowing his forgiveness upon her, and as we see in dealing with tax collectors and sinners.

He is magnificent in this regard, but when he confronts religious hypocrisy at any level. He condemns it outright, and these individuals are like, he says later in that same diatribe tombstones. Very nice and clean on the outside but if you were to dig up the grave you would discover that it is dead men's bones, and he said that is exactly what you folks are like and so conflict is building and will continue to build. And indeed, it will never cease throughout Jesus's earthly pilgrimage and it will end as we know in the hypocrisy of a trumped up trial and in the dreadful events of Calvary itself know the nature of the conflict as it is here before is in these 11 verses has to do with the Sabbath and these two incidents both take place on the Sabbath. I want you to turn with me if you would in your Bibles into the Old Testament and let's just be clear about the background to what the reference is regarding these things in the gospel of Luke chapter 6 at Genesis chapter 2 and verse two describing the completion of the work of creation read Genesis 22 by the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done, turn forward one book to Exodus chapter 20, you discover that what God has established in the Sabbath as a creation ordinance. He now following the sin of man lays down as part of his moral law.

Exodus chapter 20 in verse eight. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work on the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. Neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals or the alien within your gates. Why but in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy than of course the next commandment concerns the honoring of your father and mother in the next concerns the nature of murder in the next natural adultery and then stealing and telling lies, and so on.

I just want you to notice of the fourth commandment fits right in between the third and the fifth Deuteronomy and chapter 5 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, there are some of you have learned the first five books of the Bible and it is reiterated what we have just read comes from the 12 Larson goes through the point I want us to notice is in verse 15, where God says I want you also to remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. In other words, he says not only is there the remembrance of the cessation of God's work in creation, but that is the remembrance of God's mighty work in redemption and when you remember this day. He says you will recall, not only God cessation from the work of creation, but you will recall the wonder of redemption having been redeemed by his outstretched hand and brought from the bondage of Egypt is just one final Old Testament references that I want this to be unduly tedious Isaiah and chapter 58 and in verse 13.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day to call the Sabbath, a delight in the Lord's holy day Hon. if you want to read by not going your own way and not doing as you please. Or speaking idle words then you will find your joy in the Lord and I will cause you to write on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father, Jacob, the mouth of the Lord has spoken out with that as a backdrop, you can turn back now to Luke chapter 6 the word Sabbath. Our English word Sabbath simply means rest or cessation from work, did you ever wonder why God took six days to create everything ever just sit and think. I wonder why God took six days to create everything clearly did not need to take six days God is able to create instantaneously. Ask Neil all and he could do as he chose, but he decided that he would take six days. Did you ever wonder why it was that it says he rested on the seventh day.

Clearly God did not rest because he was tired, but it is impossible for him to be fatigued so the Bible does not say that God rested on account of tiredness, but simply that he rested from his work of creation, and in doing these things, he establishes a pattern, a cycle of life which has to do with six days of work and one day of rest, a pattern which is we've seen began as the very plan of creation from the beginning of time.

God establishes this or Adam and Eve in the framework of their existence prior to the fall into sin, then what began as a creation ordinance becomes a divine commandment. The parallel passages in this to this section here in Luke introduce one or two side notes. For example, in Mark's gospel.

Mark records that Jesus did not simply say the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath, but he also said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath is one of these phrases to get started I buy all kinds of people and have the time you wonder if they know what it is they're saying. And certainly you wonder why it is that they seem to be able to make application of it in some of the most diverse ways. What is Jesus saying there.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Well, in other words, it was given, not to the Jews per se. It wasn't given to Israel. It wasn't given to the chosen people, but the Sabbath was given initially to mankind in general. In other words, it was given to everybody because it is for everybody's good and a very cycle of events that God has created within the mechanism of time is purposeful invite if you ever wondered why there are seven-day weeks because if you divide seven � 365. It doesn't really go. Could we have got it in a different fashion world divided nicely and everybody could feel comfortable. Why is it done in this way, what is the purpose in this and is there an abiding element to it. So much so that this morning as we sit here the incidents that are before is now in Luke six are not matter simply of historical import whereby we may observe them and learn a little, but they are actually matters of abiding impact whereby we don't have to understand them and make application to our life's now these two incidents both take place on the Sabbath unit is verse 11 Sabbath Jesus was and then verse six on another Sabbath he went into the synagogue.

The first incident involves the disciples picking corn second the healing of the man with a shriveled hand in verses one through four. Jesus declares his authority as Lord of the Sabbath and then we might say that in verses six and following Jesus demonstrates that authority in the healing of this man's shriveled hand was always very important that we understand the verses within the light of the surrounding context. Those of us who were present last time will recall that chapter 5 ends with Jesus giving these pithy statements concerning the patching of clothes concerning new wine in new wineskins concerning the whole issue of why it would be that people were present at a wedding reception would say no to the food when a wedding reception is supposed to be an occasion of great joy and he was warning against the idea that you could take the old die mentions of external religiosity and simply add to it if you like a little bit of Jesus and his teaching know. He says that will not do.

You don't take a patch from a new piece of clothing and so on to old clothing you will destroy both you do not pour new wine into old wineskins.

It will blow the wineskin apart as it ferments and matures, you must put new wine into new wineskins.

Now, immediately comes into this issue of the Sabbath Pharisees were big on fasting. The disciples were big on feasting the Pharisees were some sad looking characters and the disciples were glad characters and, indeed, as you read verse one. In light of that, you have this picture in your mind, or at least I hope you do Jesus and his disciples going through the cornfields and just a happy, carefree journey and the picking up of these bits and pieces as they go along. Picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands eating the grain maybe throwing them bits and pieces at one another. Maybe dropping them in one another's hair. The sense of abandon as they go through these things are the background to this is in Deuteronomy 2325 in interns are Lemmie quoted for you. The law of God said if you enter your neighbor's cornfield. You may pick the ears with your hands but you must not put a sickle to his standing corn.

In other words, it's okay for you to believe it, but don't go in there with the combine harvester and take it all down and putting in Lori's entropy back to your back garden that is illegitimate, but in terms of just simply going through picking up a little please rubbing it between your hands and so on. All of us have plenty says and we can share in that way now, in light of that, the disciples are doing what they're doing and then notice our friends are back in verse two the Pharisees pop up again. Some of the Pharisees asked that you find yourselves think these characters keep coming from Ms. is not aware they are also the Pharisees are there and you can imagine Jesus and his disciples just going through the cornfields. The corn was as high as an element type, and all of a sudden, from around one of the bends. When the just begun to eat some of the stuff for five these guys are standing right in front of and are not there to say hey good morning lovely day nice corn having a wonderful day. Are you good to see you had no thrall and independent in why anybody would ever want to be involved with them is hard to tell why are your disciples, why are you disciples doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. Now the question primarily has to do with the when the final phrase on the Sabbath, but it is interesting that it also has to do with what doing what is on lawful heaven.

We simply ran from the law of God and discovered that what they were doing was not unlawful and if so how then can these Pharisees declare what they were doing to be wrong or the answer is simple because the Pharisees weren't content simply to have the law of God.

They had a souped-up version of the law of God.

They had their own version and as time passed, he added to it more and more accretions, more and more little bits and pieces that they tagged on to the express plan of God, which had been given for the good of those who would obey him. You can just imagine them are going and going into their books, you know, bringing out the little black book from somewhere and going.

Yes, violation one A-1 B to C to D and to acquire doing this you bad people see what they had done was this, they said since you're not allowed to read the tightened up the idea of reaping so the accuse the disciples of reaping because they said picking was the same as reaping, thrashing, was a violation, and what they were doing with their hands was, according to the Pharisees thrashing that was violation to winnowing was a violation whereby you through the gray not remember and the good stuff stayed in the hospital away and so what they were doing and throwing bits and pieces away was actually winnowing violation number three and grinding was what they were doing with her teeth and that was of course violation number four, so they were absolutely ham hamstrung because the Pharisees had encumbered the law of God with accretions of their own invention that was not unique to the Pharisees that is going on all through time and is present today in many circles of Christianity and we are not immune from it in this place, God intended the Sabbath would be for the good of all who would obey him. He didn't design it to be a legalistic joy crusher were listing the Truth for Life.

We can Pallister bed will be back to close today's program in just a minute. We all know someone who struggles with the claims of Christianity. Somebody who may have been drawn from their faith by cultural or relational pods is a book we want to recommend to you today that is perfect for you to share with them so that those who have questions about Christianity can get answers. It's called seven reasons to reconsider Christianity. This book makes a compelling case for why Jesus is arguably the most influential person in history. The authors Warman uses a personal style to invite skeptical readers to rethink some of the common misconceptions about Christian beliefs and he presents solid reasons for why the Bible is not just true but why it's good news.

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And this, you see the kind of technicality that these Pharisees love well is the man going to die noise. Clearly not going to die. Set a shovel then for some time, then it is not going to die and violates them the them the letter of the law because it is only if the illness is life-threatening and Healing May Take Pl. in Jesus as a way with all that kind of legalistic nonsense here.

This man has the opportunity to be healed. It would be sinful to leave him in his pitiable condition, but you want to use the synagogue and you want to use the law as a means of putting a barrier between those who are in great need and deliberation that they may discover is not a dreadful thing when people will seek to employ the word of God in the worship of God's people and use it at the very antithesis to what God intends for it to be done with it happens all the time. The spirit of Pharisaism alive and well in contemporary evangelicalism seizing the law of God to add to it our own accretions to build into it our own giblets and the user then as a means of saying, or you can stay hungry and you can stay shriveled and the reason that you can is because of this, Jesus is no that maybe your kind of Sabbath where people remain hungry and their hands remain shriveled by my kind of Sabbath is where the enjoy the corn and where their hands are made to work again and the heated infarct Pharisees of every hue, and in every generation have a great problem with liberty about the p.m. thanks for listing this weekend. Join us next week and for part two of today's messages will confront the spiritual dangers of legal then and now the Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life with the learning is prolific