1. Sabbath (3):
Lord of the Sabbath
by Timothy Chan
(October 2012)

2. Sabbath: What? How?
By now, you might like to ask: “What practical
things should I do in order to keep the
Sabbath”?
The Bible does contain some scant instructions
and general practical guidelines on the Sabbath
day, but it’s mostly silent or vague on the
specifics.
From the last study, you should know by now
that Sabbath is more of a heart attitude than a
set of do’s and don’ts.
But, by nature, we all tend toward legalism ......

3. Legalism
Thom Rainer did an informal Twitter survey in
2009 simply asking: “What do you think when
you hear ‘Southern Baptist’?” — the frequency
of words in the replies are plotted here:

4. Legalism
Thom Rainer did an informal Twitter survey in
2009 simply asking: “What do you think when
you hear ‘Southern Baptist’?” — the frequency
of words in the replies are plotted here:

5. Legalism
Thom Rainer did an informal Twitter survey in
2009 simply asking: “What do you think when
you hear ‘Southern Baptist’?” — the frequency
of words in the replies are plotted here:

6. Legalism
Thom Rainer did an informal Twitter survey in
2009 simply asking: “What do you think when
you hear ‘Southern Baptist’?” — the frequency
of words in the replies are plotted here:

7. Legalism
Q: What is legalism?
“Legalism is the enemy of Jesus Christ ...
legalism is where people take the Scriptures
and they add to it.” (Mark Driscoll)
John Piper defines one aspect of legalism as
“treating biblical standards of conduct as
regulations to be kept by our own power in
order to earn God’s favor.” (John Piper)
“A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can
earn God’s approval and forgiveness through
personal performance.” (C. J. Mahaney)

8. Sabbath and Legalism
Examples among Sabbath laws in the Talmud:
You can’t travel > 3000 feet from your house
Women cannot wear jewelry because that’s
considered “carrying a burden”
If you throw an object in the air, you cannot
catch it with the other hand, only same hand
You can’t take a bath: water might spill onto
the floor and wash the floor as it fell off you

9. Sabbath and Legalism
(Isaiah 28:12-13a ESV) [The LORD] has said,
“This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is
repose”; yet they would not hear. And the word
of the LORD will be to them precept upon
precept, precept upon precept, line upon line,
line upon line, here a little, there a little.
So: “What I can do and can’t do on Sabbath?” is
often the wrong question, the wrong focus.
The correct question/focus is “Who”
(as we study Matthew 11:28-12:14) ...

10. Jesus Gives Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
(Matt 11:28-30 ESV) Come to me, all who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Rest does not come about by following rules, but
by following Christ.
Rest is not earned, but “given” and “found”.
“Sabbath is about more than external rest of the
body; it is about inner rest of the soul.” (Tim
Keller)

11. Jesus Gives Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
The word translated “labor” is kopiaō, which
“signifies labor to the point of sweat and
exhaustion. As Jesus uses it here, it is a
reference to the futility of attempting to please
God through human effort. It describes one
weary of the search for truth, one who has
despaired of trying to earn salvation.” (John
MacArthur)
In other words, the source of labor can be
our legalism.
Q: Do you think you struggle with legalism?

12. Jesus Gives Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
What’s a “yoke”? A yoke is made for two:
“When an ox is yoked, he is no longer free to do
what he wants to do. He is under the direction of
the owner, the driver. To be yoked means the end
of running his own life and seeking his own
way ... When you enter into the yoke with Jesus
Christ you give up the right to determine what
your life may be. You expect him to direct
you.” (Ray Stedman)

13. Jesus Gives Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
“The reason why you cannot enter into the joy
and glory and excitement of the rest which God
has provided in ceasing from your own
activities and resting upon his, is because, in
some way or another, you are protecting some
area of the ego, the self-life, saying, ‘This is
mine; keep your hands off.’ As long as you do
that you cannot have rest.” (Ray Stedman)
Q: How much do you let Christ direct your life?
In what areas in your life do you tend to say,
“Hands off, Jesus! Hands off, God!”?

14. Jesus Gives Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
(Matt 12:1-2 ESV) At that time Jesus went through
the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were
hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain
and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they
said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what
is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
(Luke 6:1b) His disciples plucked and ate some
heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
To pluck grain and rub them was considered by
the Pharisees—the “religious police” in those
days—as “work” outlawed on Sabbath.

15. Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)
(Matt 12:3-5 ESV) He said to them, “Have you not read
what David did when he was hungry, and those who
were with him: how he entered the house of God and
ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful
for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but
only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law
how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane
the Sabbath and are guiltless?
“Have you not read?”—of course the Pharisees
know the Scriptures—but they merely read the
words yet do not discern the meaning of the law.
What’s wrong with the Pharisees is not mainly in
what they do, but in their reasons for doing so.

16. Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)
Often we’re like the Pharisees: we make up and
obey a bunch of rules, but we don’t know why,
and we accuse others for not doing what we do.
“Church members are not allowed to dance,
watch movies, drink alcohol, and smoke.”
“Mature Christians should attend the weekly
prayer meeting.”
“Everyone should commit to serve God more.”
Q: What do you think? Any other examples?
It is a trap: if we succeed in performing our rules,
it’ll lead to pride; if we fail, it’ll lead to guilt.

17. Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)
“The Christian community is largely a
performance-based culture today. And the more
deeply committed we are to following Jesus,
the more deeply ingrained the performance
mindset is.” (Jerry Bridges)

18. Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)
(Matt 12:6-8 ESV) I tell you, something greater than
the temple is here. And if you had known what this
means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you
would not have condemned the guiltless. For the
Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
(Hosea 6:6 KJV) I desired mercy, and not sacrifice
“In other words the whole law exists for the sake
of mercy. All the law is summed up in this one
word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The Pharisees couldn’t see the true meaning of
the sabbath because they didn't have hearts of
love.” (John Piper)

19. Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)
(Mark 2:27-28 ESV) And he said to them, “The
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the
Sabbath.”
“If your heart isn’t a heart for man—if it is not a
heart of love—you cannot see the meaning of
the sabbath. For the sabbath is a gift of love to
meet man’s need, not an oppressive burden to
make him miserable or proud.” (John Piper)

20. Healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-13)
(Matt 12:9-13 ESV) He went on from there and entered
their synagogue. And a man was there with a
withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to
heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him.
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep,
if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of
it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man
than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your
hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was
restored, healthy like the other.
Jesus turned the question of permission into a
question of compassion.

21. Healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-13)
“When Jesus broke man-made Sabbath
regulations, he always went in this direction: he
healed, he fed, he claimed the right to rescue
creatures fallen into wells or to lead to wells
creatures falling down with thirst. Jesus
pursued those things that give life. ...... So I
submit this as Sabbath’s golden rule: Cease from
what is necessary. Embrace that which gives
life.” (Mark Buchanan)

22. Killing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:14)
(Matt 12:14 ESV) But the Pharisees went out and
conspired against him, how to destroy him.
(Mark 3:6 ESV) The Pharisees went out and
immediately held counsel with the Herodians
against him, how to destroy him.
Note: the Pharisees and Herodians were
supposed to despise each other.
“As they see it, healing on the Sabbath is
forbidden, but plotting murder is perfectly
acceptable. This is legalism at its most
flagrant.” (Mark Buchanan)
Q: Why do you think they need to kill Jesus?

23. Killing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:14)
Two reasons they want to kill Jesus are found in:
John 5:16-18
(John 5:16-18 ESV) And this was why the Jews
were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing
these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered
them, “My Father is working until now, and I am
working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all
the more to kill him, because not only was he
breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God
his own Father, making himself equal with God.
1. Jesus equated himself with God.
2. Jesus broke their Sabbath laws.

24. Killing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:14)
The Pharisees plan to kill Jesus to maintain the
safety of their legalistic beliefs and practices.
“Our rules become our substitute savior, and
keeping those rules becomes our self-salvation
project, with Jesus safely outside the picture.
With enough rules and regulations set up, we
don’t need Jesus. After all, Jesus scares us—he’s
so unpredictable, so uncontrollable. ... So we
spend our lives trying to manufacture an
existence that we can control.” (Tullian
Tchividjian)

25. Killing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:14)
“Most of us convince ourselves that we’re
actually honoring Jesus with our rules and
regulations, that we’re paying attention to him
and pleasing him more than ever. But all the
while, we’re only demonstrating that we
believe in ourselves much more than we do in
Jesus.” (Tullian Tchividjian)
Q: Which of your “religious practices” and
“moral codes” could stay the same regardless
of whether Jesus is your crucified and
resurrected Savior or not?

26. Sabbath: What Christ Has Done
To summarize the lesson about Sabbath in Matthew
11:28-12:14, Sabbath rest is all about what Christ has
done, not what you do.
Psalm 92 is a “Song for the Sabbath”; it goes:
(Ps 92:1-5 ESV) (A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.)
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing
praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your
steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness
by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to
the melody of the lyre. For you, O LORD, have
made me glad by your work; at the works of your
hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O
LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!

27. Story of Samuel and Eli
Story of prophet Samuel when he was young:
Samuel was put in the care of Eli the priest
after he was weaned (1 Sam 1:24-25).
He “grew in the presence of the Lord” and
grew “in stature and in favor with the Lord”
and “ministered before the Lord” (1 Sam
2:21, 26; 3:1).
When Samuel was 12 years old,
he heard the Lord’s voice but
thought it was Eli calling (1
Sam 3:2-14).

28. Story of Samuel and Eli
The most curious verse in this story is 3:7:
(1 Sam 3:7 ESV) Now Samuel did not yet
know the Lord, and the word of the Lord
had not yet been revealed to him.
“We encounter an ancient problem that plagues
us still, that is as old as the garden and as
contemporary as this morning’s news: we can be
very busy for God and still not know him. ......
Absurd.” (Mark Buchanan)
Q: Have you neglected to know God?

29. References
The Rest of God (Mark Buchanan)
Jesus + Nothing = Everything (Tullian
Tchividjian)
“Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep It
Holy” (John Piper)
“Flesh Tank and Peashooter Regulations” (John
Piper)
“The Lord of the Sabbath” (John MacArthur)
“The Seventh Day” (Ray Stedman)
“Gospel-Driven Sanctification” (Jerry Bridges)