Lord of the Sabbath

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them, “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, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he 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 the 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 it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:1-11



Sabbath. Seventh day of the week. Saturday, then and now. That detail has not changed. "For 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." Exodus 20:11“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy." Exodus 31:13 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the LORD." Leviticus 23:3


Here's where the legalists really became alarmed. They were looking for some infraction of the law, some blasphemy, in order to accuse Jesus. The Sabbath became the issue. "The sabbath served as a holy day and a day of rest for both man and animals, commemorating God's rest after the work of creation....This is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated after the day of Pentecost." (From Ryrie's note on Exodus 20:8-11.) The day of Pentecost was the birthday of the Church (Acts chapter 2). In Acts 20:7, the Church had made Sunday the day of corporate worship, commemorating the resurrection of Christ. Notice, they didn't change the Sabbath, but the day of worship. There's a difference.

Not only had Jesus claimed deity (Luke 5:20) by forgiving sin, but now He claimed sovereignty over the Sabbath day, usurping the traditions of the Pharisees. The Pharisees just couldn't get enough legalism. Power lust was the driving force of their profession. The law of Moses was not nearly enough. They added innumerable regulations and loopholes to the observance of the Sabbath, as well as all of God's original commandments. These were man-made rules, not God's law, and they had before them here the author of the law, who posed the questions: should people starve rather than eat what's available on the Sabbath? Or should a man's infirmity be allowed to continue, rather than be healed on the Sabbath? How does that make any sense? God is not the author of stupidity. And God is not in the business of entrapping well-meaning people, as these Pharisees definitely were.

So the Lord of the Sabbath publicly healed a deformed man, in the synagogue, on the Sabbath! Aha! Now we have him! And from that time forward, they plotted to find a way to get rid of Jesus.

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." Colossians 2:16-17

Now we are in the Church age of human history. Jesus has fulfilled the law. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the completed canon of scripture. Our Sabbath is moment-by-moment, resting in the perfect provision of our Lord. Our worship is in spirit and in truth anywhere, anytime we choose to exercise that privilege. We have all this because we are IN CHRIST. He is the reality.