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Manual for Life - Lord of the Sabbath
you can hear a MP3 recording of sermon here
Matthew 12:1-14
Sunday, 28th October, 2012

 If you were here last week, you will remember that we came to those great words of Jesus.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

If you missed it you can read my script or listen to what I said online.

 

And we are going to start right there because Matthew does not jump from one event to another at random. Jesus is speaking about rest, and in the mind of his hearers rest meant one thing, Sabbath. So we join the disciples out on a stroll on the Sabbath and discover how easy it is to turn the concept of rest into a monster of rules and regulation and oppression and hard work.

 

READ Matthew 11 :28-12:14

 

 

Shabbat is a lost cause in 21st Century England. You might notice that the shops close early on Sundays but little else indicates that one day of the week is different. Even churches have little impact, as numbers of people attending dwindle. So what is this business of Shabbat or Sabbath or Sunday about?

 

It is written large across the Bible. Lets start in Genesis 2:1.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

Three key words appear here which we need to keep in mind. Finished the work; rested; made it holy.

 

So the Sabbath is not a religious law it is a universal principle of creation. Work needs a finishing point; there is a place for rest in creation and we need to set that time apart.

 

Irritating isn’t it that so many jobs never get quite done. Ironing is one of them; just as you put the ironing board away you get the washing in and start again. In fact household jobs tend that way, cleaning the house is like painting the Forth Bridge. As soon as you ‘finish’ one cycle the next begins. Put the rubbish bins out and more rubbish begins to accumulate. But God says, Finish a task! And if it’s good enough for him, it is good enough for you! Sabbath is a bout finishing a week’s work and recognising that it can be put aside for one day. It is good psychology. It is also good theology because on the cross Jesus cried out “It is finished!” And the work of salvation was complete. There is no more to be done, no further sacrifice, no more steps your salvation was complete on that terrible day we call Good Friday. So Sunday celebrates the finished work of Jesus on the cross. If you are a Seventh Day Adventist you will insist on observing this on the Saturday, the traditional last day of the week but Christians like us changed the day to Sunday, a weekly celebration of the resurrection.

 

Secondly, it is a day of rest. The Christians have long argued the case for Sundays to be a day of rest for the community because it is not considered a religious duty but a universal principle for the good of humanity. God rested from the work of creation, so we, made in his image, rest from our work. What that means in practice we will consider but we need to continue to argue the case for Keeping Sunday Special. And we have loads of evidence that supports our claim. Work output increases where one day in seven off is observed. The Russian Communists actually tried a 10 day week but reverted back because it didn’t work. Modern business practice tends towards working 24/7 and we like everything except us to be running 24/7 but humans do not work well like that. Whether the business runs 24/7 is different to what every employee needs. Every person in the world is entitled to one day off in seven, even mums! And working towards that has to be our objective.

 

Thirdly, God made the seventh day holy. He set it apart from the others. Sunday must be different. It is not only a day off it is a holy-day. This is where we come to the passage in Matthew.

 

In the Ten Commandments we know that the Sabbath is specifically set apart, over and above the festivals of Passover, Atonement and First Fruits.

The Big Ten contains this:

Exodus 20:8-11

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11For 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.

This clearly re-iterates the principles of Genesis 2:1

If you read on, this extends to the agricultural principle of fallow fields.

Exodus 23:10-12

10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unploughed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.

 

This underlines the fact that the Law is intended to provide for the poor and provide protection for the marginalized on society. It says quite clearly that you having a day off and making other people work for you is not on. God’s law has equal opportunities written into it. It even provides for wild animals!

 

But interpreting that law lead to a host of regulation, mainly about the definition of ‘work’ or ‘labour’. So trying to enshrine the principle of the command into a legal framework led to defining how far you can walk and how much you can carry before you are in breach of the principle.  By Jesus’ day a ‘Sabbath day’s journey’ was well understood and how much you could carry was the weight of a dried fig. Much disputed was exceptions to the rule. For example, the priests were permitted to carry out their duties, and rescuing livestock and persons was permitted.  Also argued was carrying out actions that would be part of a normal working practice.  So the disciples raise  eyebrows over the simple task of

pick some heads of grain and eat them.- Harvesting, winnowing, processing food. Clearly work!

 

Jesus’ answer touches on the key problem. It is what exceptions are acceptable, not to the Pharisees but to God.

Example one is David. He was on the run from King Saul and he and his band of terrorists 

4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.

But David is the good guy and hero! So history, says Jesus supports the understanding that there is a greater principle than the narrow view the Pharisees were promoting. That principle is that

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Example two is the priests in the temple who were permitted to slaughter, butcher and burn sacrifices and all the associated clean-up activities on the Sabbath.

So where the worship of God is concerned, it is acceptable to set aside the command for a higher principle – that of the day being holy for the worship of God. 

Jesus then states that he is greater than the temple. The problem is that we find it easy to tick boxes and observe rules. It means that we can worship when our hearts are not engaged in worship. Jesus calls for mercy rather than sacrifice. That is a prophetic call that rings down through the ages.  Proverbs 21:3

To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22

22 But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Isaiah 1

11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed;
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

 

Today, we have exactly the same problem. We approve of actions because we can see them rather than attitudes of the heart.

Jesus was blunt on this point.

Matthew 5

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

I expect we all fail on this one. It is easier to go through the motions of church services than to tackle the problems of relationship and deal with them before the Lord. To have communion but not want to fellowship with those we have fallen out with in the fellowship. We have to swallow our pride, admit we are wrong and seek forgiveness. This morning, it is not your attendance here that matters, what matters is your love for God and that is reflected in your love for your neighbour,  each other and your enemies. 

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

He is Lord of every day and hour of your life. But he is Lord of the Sabbath and he decides what is right and proper for you to do today. If you accept his salvation, you accept his authority. If he lead you through the grain fields on the Sabbath, then it is not inappropriate to eat of the corn. What is not appropriate is the judgemental attitude that says my Sunday observance is superior to yours and you should do what I say, not what God says.

 

But the story unfolds further today.  Here is Jesus answer to what you should do on the Sabbath.

 

This is a turning point in Jesus ministry. Up to now, he was observed by the religious police of the day. Now he sets out to upset their security. He goes to the heart of the religious community of the Galilean community, the synagogue and tackles the Sabbath issue head-on.

 

The battle lines are developing. In this one instant, Jesus becomes the enemy of the Pharisees. Why is it so important? Because the Lord of the Sabbath came to seek and to save the lost. He did not come to burden his disciples with rules of obedience but to offer himself as a gift of grace. And when faced with the man with a withered hand, he wants to heal. But he wants everyone to know that healing is more important than observing Sabbath rules.

The Pharisees have their question:

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Matthew clearly believes they were spoiling for a fight. The man was a pawn in their game. He was someone to save in Jesus’ view.

His answer:

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 

His answer is pragmatic and straightforward. What sting is in the tail. The man is more important than their rules. Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” The rules were being used as a weapon to prevent people enjoying the freedom Jesus was bringing. Jesus is clearly saying that the Law permitted good to be done on the Sabbath. They were interpreting the Law wrongly as they were seeking to prevent good rather than encouraging it.  This was true in so much of their thinking. People arriving in Jerusalem needed to buy animals for sacrifice and convert Roman idolatrous coinage to acceptable temple coinage.  That justified turning the Gentile area of the Temple into a market. They turned a place of prayer into a market because they did not value the freedom for Gentiles to worship highly enough. Here the need of the man is for healing but they thought he was better off by being oppressed by petty rules.

 

We must be aware that we like to make rules. And we find it easier if we keep our rules rather than seek to save the lost. In 2008 we abandoned normal services to explore our vision for mission under the banner of Hope 2008. There was some criticism. Most of the criticism I received was “not on a Sunday” EVEN a prayer event in the church.   Well, in 2014, Hope together will call us to reach out of the walls of this building and go where the people are. I hope that we have moved on and are more excited about the salvation of people in our community than what we can or can’t do together on a Sunday.

 

Lets step back and reflect on this passage. The Sabbath was God’s idea for reminding us of the completed work of creation and salvation. It is a day of rest, a change from the routine. And it is a day to be holy to God. It is not a day for rules about what you can or cannot do, it is a space to worship and remind ourselves of those things which are central in our lives. Let’s make Sunday Special by choosing to be turning away from the sin in our lives, turning to our God in prayer and reflecting his love and compassion for the man with a withered hand.

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