Chapter 38
THE WEEKLY SABBATH
(Matthew 12:1-14)
Before we begin our study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, we ask you to please bless this time with You and the study of Your Word. Lord, please grant us the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the heart to receive the things You are teaching us. Father, we thank You for hearing our prayer.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
For our study of the weekly Old Testament Sabbath we will:
1. Briefly review its establishment and purpose.
2. Review the regulations for observing the Old Testament Sabbath.
3. See that the Old Testament Sabbath became legalistic.
4. Discover that the required lambs and bread were pointing to Jesus Christ.
5. Explore the rest the born-again believer now has in Jesus Christ.
6. Address the born again-believer’s observance of the Sabbath.
THE ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF THE WEEKLY SABBATH
The weekly Sabbath was established for a threefold purpose:
1. After God finished creating the heavens and the earth, He, to commemorate His rest, instituted the Sabbath. This is recorded in,
Exodus 20:8-11
"[8] Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. [11] 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."
2. The Sabbath was also to be a time for the Israelites to commemorate their deliverance from their bondage to the Egyptians. To see this let we go to,
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
"[12] Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. [13] Six days you shall labor and do all your work, [14] 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. [15] Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that 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."
3. The Sabbath was also intended to be a sign between God and the people of Israel. This sign was instituted so the people of Israel would remember that it was the Lord their God who made them holy i.e. set them apart for Himself.
Ezekiel 20:12
"[12] Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy."
With the above in mind, let is now explore the,
REGULATIONS FOR OBSERVING THE SABBATH
As we read the Old Testament, we find that to celebrate the weekly Sabbath there were three specific things that were to be done.
First, on the day of the weekly Sabbath additional burnt offerings were to be made. To see this let us read from,
Numbers 28:9-10
"[9] On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil. [10] This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering."
Secondly, twelve fresh loaves of bread, often called the showbread, were to be placed on the table inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle,
Leviticus 24:5-9
"[5] Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. [6] Set them in two rows, six in each row, on the table of pure gold before the LORD. [7] Along each row put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be an offering made to the LORD by fire. [8] This bread is to be set out before the LORD regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. [9] It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of their regular share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire.""
Let us notice the following verse,
8 ... In other words, the bread was to always be before the Lord in the Tabernacle. Specifically, the twelve loaves of bread, which was one loaf for each tribe, were placed inside the Tabernacle.
9 ... The old bread was to be eaten by the appointed priests, which were Aaron and his sons. This, along with other sacrifices, was also for their food.
The third and most far reaching regulation that affected every single person of the nation Israel was the strict cessation from work. No work was to be done during the twenty-four-hour period from the sunset before the day of the Sabbath to the sunset of the Sabbath day. To see this let us reread,
Deuteronomy 5:12-14
"[12] Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. [13] Six days you shall labor and do all your work, [14] 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
Unfortunately, over time the Sabbath not only became ritualistic but also,
THE SABBATH BECAME LEGALISTIC
In other words, over time as various situations arose, the priesthood developed and instituted a myriad of rules and regulations to further define the type of work that was to be avoided on the Sabbath. For example, it was against the law to carry anything on the Sabbath. To see this let us read what happened when Jesus cured the paralytic who was by the Sheep Gate pool,
John 5:2-10
[2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. [3] In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. [4] For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. [5] Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” [7] The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” [9] And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. [10] The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
Let us notice the following verses,
8 ... Jesus told the man to pick up his mat/bed and walk.
9 ... After being an invalid for thirty eight-years can you imagine the joy and happiness the man must have felt that he could now walk!
10 ... Unfortunately, it was against the law to carry a burden on the Sabbath. So, rather than sharing the joy of the healed man and praising God for His Mercy the Jews reprimanded him for carrying his mat.
In fact, the laws and traditions for keeping the Sabbath became so strict that even if a person or his family was hungry, they were not even allowed to pick heads of grain to eat,
Matthew 12:1-2
"[1] At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. [2] When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.""
In reflecting upon these types of strict regulations, one comes to realize that all the rules and formalities imposed a tremendous burden upon the people. Because of this strictness, the true meaning and purpose of the Sabbath became clouded. Consequently, God would periodically send one of His prophets to remind Israel of the,
TRUE INTENT OF THE SABBATH
To gain more insight into God's intent for establishing the Sabbath let us read from His prophet Isaiah,
Isaiah 58:13-14
"[13] If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, [14] then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken."
This was one of the reasons Jesus was so upset with the religious leaders. He found that the Sabbath was no longer the intended delight or joy. Instead, He found that the priesthood not only made the rules and regulations of the Sabbath a burden but in reality, enslaved the people to them.
As a result, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly teaches us is that the Sabbath was created for man not man for the Sabbath. To see this let us read from,
Mark 2:27
"[27] Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
To amplify upon this let us read from,
Matthew 12:9-13
"[9] Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, [10] and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" [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? [12] How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." [13] Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other."
With this Old Testament background let us now explore that,
THE SABBATH POINTED TO JESUS CHRIST
To see this we will explore two of the regulations God gave for the observance of the weekly Sabbath to,
1. See that the sacrifice of the lambs was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
2. Discover that the showbread teaches us that Jesus is constantly in the Tabernacle of Heaven making intercession to God the Father for you and me.
With the above in mind let us now see that,
THE SACRICE OF THE LAMBS WAS A FORESHADOWING OF JESUS’ SACRIFICE FOR US.
To see this, let us read what John the Baptist said after he had baptized Jesus. To do this we go to,
John 1:29-31
[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
And again,
[35] Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. [36] And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
This now brings us to the showbread. Let us recall that, on behalf of the people of Israel, the showbread was placed inside the Tabernacle to always be before the Lord. Thus,
THE SHOWBREAD WAS A FORESHADOWING OF JESUS, THE TRUE BREAD OF LIFE
To see this, we begin by reading an excerpt of what Jesus said after He miraculously fed five thousand men along with the women and children with only five barley loaves of bread and two small fish,
John 6:35
"[35] Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
The Bible also teaches us that Jesus, the Bread of Life, is now at the right hand of God in the Tabernacle of Heaven. To see this, let us read what Stephen saw and proclaimed just before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. It is recorded for us in,
Acts 7:55-56
"[55] But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. [56] "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.""
In addition, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father constantly interceding on our behalf. This is recorded in,
Romans 8:34
"[34] Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
With the above as a foundation let us now explore,
THE REST OF THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER
We begin this portion of our study by reading an invitation Jesus gave for us to come to Him and receive His rest,
Matthew 11:28-30
"[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."
As we reflect upon what Jesus said one might ask, "What is this promise of rest that He speaks of?"
To answer this question we will see how,
JESUS CHRIST FULFILLED THE PURPOSES FOR THE SABBATH
First there was,
The cessation from work
As we read earlier one of the purposes of the Sabbath was to commemorate the Lord's rest at the end of the creation. To do this the Israelites were not to work. To refresh our memory we go to,
Exodus 35:2(a)
"[2] For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD..."
This rest was also a foreshadowing of the rest we enter into when we cease from striving to justify ourselves before God. To see this let us recall that to commemorate God’s finished work of creation, the Israelites, on the Sabbath, were to cease from doing their physical work. In like manner, we too are to rest from our labor of trying to earn the salvation that Jesus Christ has already accomplished for us.
On the surface this truth for the born-again believer might seem self evident. However, throughout the New Testament we are reminded over and over again to not slid back into the mode of trying to justify ourselves before God. For example, let us read the following excerpt from the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Galatia.
Galatians 3:1-5
"[1]You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. [2] I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? [3] Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? [4] Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? [5] Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
Let us notice the following verses,
2 ... Paul asked the question to the church in Galatia and now to us: "When you received the Holy Spirit was it because you were following God's commands and statutes or was it strictly by your faith in Jesus Christ?"
3 ... Knowing we are justified by faith, Paul asks the question; "Why are you reverting back to human effort to justify or perfect yourself before God?"
5 ... Paul now asks, "Does God work miracles because of how well we comply with His Laws and Statutes or through belief and faith in Him?"
In other words, God has already accomplished for us all that was required for us to be saved from our sins. Consequently, we must never forget that the gift of God's salvation in Jesus Christ is just that ... a free miraculous gift for you and me. As a reminder, let us read from,
Ephesians 2:4-9
"[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast.
Let us notice the following verses,
4 ... God is rich in mercy with great love for us.
8(a) ... By Grace, that is unmerited favor, we have been saved. There is no work we did or can do; it is God's free gift. In other words, it is a work that God has already done and is available to each one of us through faith.
8(b) ... Even the faith we have in Jesus is not ours ... it is God's gift to us.
9 ... No one can boast of the work they did to earn their salvation.
Thus, when, through faith, we have received Jesus Christ and the work He did for our salvation, the born again-believer has now entered into God's rest. To see this, let us read from,
Hebrews 4:9-10
"[9] There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; [10] for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his."
Therefore, our mode of living should be as the Apostle Paul described in,
Galatians 2:20-21
"[20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!""
The second purpose of the born-again believer’s Sabbath is to,
Commemorate our deliverance from sin and Satan
Earlier in this chapter we found that the second purpose of the Old Testament Sabbath was for the nation of Israel to take time to commemorate the miraculous deliverance God gave them from their bondage to the Egyptians. This too was a foreshadowing that pointed to the time when the born again-believer would be able to commemorate their deliverance from their bondage to sin and Satan.
To see this, let us recall that on the Sabbath two unblemished, that is perfect, lambs along with an ephah of fine flour, which implies flour without yeast, were to be offered to God the Father. These offerings were a foreshadowing of the sacrifice our Lord Jesus Christ made on our behalf for the forgiveness of our sins and to deliver us from our bondage to sin and Satan. To refresh our memories, let us begin by rereading the testimony John the Baptist gave concerning our Lord Jesus Christ,
John 1:29
"[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
To expand upon what John the Baptist said, let us read from,
Colossians 1:13-14
"[13] For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
This brings us to the third purpose of the born-again believer’s rest which is to commemorate that,
The Holy Spirit is our sign that we have been set apart for God
Let us recall that the third purpose God had for the Old Testament Sabbath was that it was to be a sign that He set apart the Israelites to be His people. Now the Holy Spirit is our sign that we have not only been set apart for God, but we are now His children. This is recorded in,
Romans 8:15-16
[15] For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” [16] The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Before we proceed to the next topic let us pause for a moment and read the following.
SUMMARY
1. The sacrifice of the lambs was a foreshadowing of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. He did this to deliver the born-again believer from the penalty and power of sin and from their bondage to Satan.
2. The showbread was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, the Living Bread, who is constantly in Heaven interceding for us at the right hand of God the Father.
3. The cessation from work was a foreshadowing of the rest that the born-again believer now has in Jesus Christ.
Thus, we discovered that all the regulations and activities for keeping the weekly Old Testament Sabbath were all foreshadowings that pointed to the time when Jesus Christ would come and bestow God's Grace and Mercy upon all those who belong to Him.
Given the above let us now address the born-again believer's obligation relative to,
THE OBSERVANCE OF THE WEEKLY SABBATH
In addressing this subject we must never lose sight of what we just learned; that is the Old Testament weekly Sabbath, as it was with the other Old Testament feasts were foreshadowings to help us, the born again believer, to better understand the good things we have in Jesus Christ. Consequently, the Holy Spirit warns the believers to not be caught up in the bondage of serving man's traditions and rules. To see this, let us read from,
Colossians 2:8-17
"[8] See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. [9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, [10] and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. [11] In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. [15] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. [16] 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. [17] These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
Let us notice the following verses,
8-9 ... Make sure no one enslaves you with various man-made rules, regulations and/or traditions.
10 ... We have been given the fullness of Christ!
11-14 ... We are alive in Christ. Specifically, we are no longer dead in our sins and are born again with the Holy Spirit living and dwelling within us. Thus, we are forgiven and accepted into God's Kingdom.
16-17 ... Do not let anyone impose upon you rules, regulations and laws that appear to make you righteous but are really of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. This is recorded in,
Colossians 2:23
[23] These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
In other words, as recorded in verse 17 ... The reality is in Jesus Christ!
This does not mean we should not be sensitive to those who observe the weekly Sabbath to remind themselves of who God is and all that He has done for them. However, it does mean we must be careful to not become enslaved by man's traditions and rules concerning its observance. To see this we go to,
Romans 14:4-5
"[4] Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. [5] One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
It must be noted that the freedom we now have in Christ should not be misconstrued to imply we should not periodically gather with other believers. Consider the following exhortation to those who isolated themselves in,
Hebrews 10:24-25
"[24] And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. [25] Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
There are no specific New Testament commandments for the day or frequency for when we are to gather together. For example, to daily gather together, the early church formed a community. This is recorded in,
Acts 2:44-47
[44] Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, [45] and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. [46] So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
On the other hand, to partake of the Lord's Supper, the disciples in the port city of Troas of Western Asia Minor gathered together on the first day of the week.
Acts 20:7(a)
"[7] On the first day of the week we came together to break bread..."
CLOSING
Let us now close this chapter by reading from,
Romans 11:33-39
[33] Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
[34] “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
[35] “Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
[36] For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen and Amen