LORD OF THE SABBATH

Do you remember the old blue laws? When I was a child, most stores were closed on Sunday. If a store did happen to be open, like the old Lawson stores in our neighborhood were, many sections of that store would be covered over with sheets of cloth or paper to restrict or limit purchases to only necessities. Sundays were special. Sunday was viewed as equivalent to the Old Testament Jewish Sabbath Day. It was to be a day of rest and worship. In many homes, Sunday was observed with almost the same rigidity as the Pharisees forced upon the Jews. Today the pendulum has swung almost to the opposite extreme where not only in our society but also in many Christian homes there is almost no importance placed on the Lord's Day. There are some questions we should ask ourselves. (1) What was the purpose of the Sabbath? (2) Is the Christian commanded to observe the Sabbath? (3) Is the Lord's Day the Sabbath? (4) What should our attitude be toward the Lord's Day? To help us answer these questions let's look at Mark 2:23-28.

Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath in route to worship at the synagogue. The disciples were hungry and decided to pluck some of the grain. While the Old Testament law regarding the keeping of the Sabbath in no way prohibited picking a handful of grain to satisfy one's immediate hunger, the traditional law added many rules and regulations that were nothing more than man-made traditions. These traditions were rigid concerning Sabbath observance. The Talmud, the book of Jewish traditions has 24 chapters listing various Sabbath laws. On the Sabbath, you could not travel more than 3,000 feet from your house. You were not allowed to carry anything that weighed more than a dried fig. You couldn't carry a needle for fear you might sew something. Taking a bath was forbidden. Water might splash on the floor and wash it. Women were not to look in a mirror; they might pull a gray hair. Having been observed by the Pharisees, the disciples were charged by the Pharisees with violating two of man's traditional Sabbath laws - plucking the grain and rubbing them in their hands. Christ addresses the charges levied by the Pharisees by stating that...

I. The Sabbath was not meant to restrict necessities (verse 25-26)

A. David in fleeing from Saul (I Samuel 21:1-6) took five loaves of the showbread that was to be eaten only by the priests and gave them to his men.

B. The man of God, David was justified in breaking the ceremonial law because his need for sustenance was greater than keeping the ceremonial law. (He broke the ceremonial law not to indulge a lust but to meet a genuine need)

C. Meeting true human need and compassion takes precedence over custom, ritual, ceremony and tradition.

D. Hosea 6:6 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

II. The Sabbath was made to serve man not man serve the day. (verse 27)

A. The extreme warping of the original intent of the Sabbath by tradition is seen in history when Antiochus Epiphanes massacred a group of Jews under the command of Judas Maccabaeus as the Jews refused to defend themselves on the Sabbath.

B. Sabbath - transliteration of Shabath - to cease or desist - hence rest or cessation from labor.

C. Exodus 20:9-11 "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

D. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15) the Lord reminds His people that they had been slaves in Egypt and that He had brought them out from there. In commanding them to observe the Sabbath, the weekly rest would remind them of a time when as slaves they were unable to rest. The association between Israel's slavery in Egypt and the Sabbath is restated in Ezekiel 20:5-12.

E. Two of the greatest needs of man are for rest and worship - neither, of which Israel was free to do in Egypt.

F. Leonardo Da Vinci - Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment

G. Psalms 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him..."

H. God's original intent was for the Sabbath to be a blessing not a burden.

I. Matthew 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

J. The Sabbath was to benefit man to help him gain rest and to have a revived sense of God's presence.

III. The Sabbath is not the Lord's Day.

A. No where in Scripture is the Christian commanded to observe the Sabbath.

B. The Sabbath was essentially Jewish, which explains, its absence in New Testament instructions to Christians.

C. The Sabbath was the sixth day - began at sunset Friday and ran through sunset Saturday. The Lord's Day is the first day of the week corresponding to our Sunday.

D. J. Vernon McGee tells this story about a man who wanted to argue about the Sabbath. The man said, "I'll give you $100 if you will show me where the Sabbath day has been changed." McGee answered, "I don't think it has been changed. Saturday is Saturday, it is the seventh say of the week, and it is the Sabbath day. I realize our calendar has been adjusted, and can be off a few days, but we won't even consider that point. The seventh day is still Saturday, and it is still the Sabbath day." He got a gleam in his eye and said, "Then why don't you keep the Sabbath day if it hasn't been changed?" McGee answered, "the DAY hasn't changed, but I have been changed. I've been given a new nature now, I am joined to Christ; I am a part of the new creation. We celebrate the first day because that is the day He rose from the grave." That is what it means that the ordinances have been nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:14

E. The early church set aside the Lord's Day as a day of rest, worship, and celebration of Christ's resurrection.

F. Acts 20:7 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

G. 1 Corinthians 16:2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."

H. Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"

IV. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath and every other day!

A. Jesus is the great Creator of the universe. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. He created the heaven and earth and all things in six days. He sanctified the seventh day and made it the day of rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

B. In affirming His Deity, Christ declares He is Lord and is greater than the Sabbath. He therefore has the right to overrule man-made rules and tradition.

C. Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

D. Romans 14:5-6 "One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. [6] He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks."

E. Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

V. The Principle of setting aside a portion of the week to rest and worship is biblically sound.

A. The important thing is that we set aside time for rest and worship. These are two things we desperately need. As human beings, our Creator did not design us to work seven days a week. Our bodies and souls both need rest, and taking off one day out every seven is good for us. Those of us with workaholic tendencies may find it difficult to get into the habit of a regularly scheduled day off, but we need it. It should always be something to which we look forward.

B. Every day as believers we should take time to read the Bible, pray, and express our praise to God. But, it is important to have at least one day in seven, which we set aside so that we can have an extended time to worship and focus upon the Lord both corporately and individually.

C. Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

D. Mark 6:31 "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

E. Warren Wiersbe - The ability to calm your soul and wait before God is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life. Our old nature is restless...the world around us is frantically in a hurry. But a restless heart usually leads to a reckless life.

VI. Christ as Lord of the Sabbath offers true rest to whoever comes to Him.

A. Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

B. As the Sabbath gave Israel the opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from slavery in Egypt; so the Lord's day provides an opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from the slavery of sin that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.