Still on the Attack ~ The Sabbath… (3 thigns) vs. 2:23 – 3:6

• Breaking the Sabbath… vs. 23-26
  • The Disciples were hungry…
    • Much like walking through the tubo – if your hungry you grab a piece and eat
    • The problem was not eating the grain – that was allowed – Deuteronomy 23:25
    • Luke 6:1 – “…plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.”
    • The problem was rubbing the grain in their hands (harvesting)… on the Sabbath!
  • What is the Sabbath…
    • In the beginning – Genesis 1 & 2 – God established the 6-day workweek…
      • God worked 6 days to create the World – man is only to work 6 days a week
      • The 7th day is a day of rest – it came to be known as the Sabbath…
      • We still have the word in Illongo – Sabado means Sabbath – the day of rest
      • It was God’s command that man rest on the 7th day of the week…
    • The 7^th day – Saturday or Sunday…
      • Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath (day of rest)
      • The first church celebrated Sabbath on Sundays – resurrection of Jesus – Acts 20:7
      • That is why we consider Sunday to be our day of rest…
  • Now it was against the Law to do any work on the Sabbath…
    • Exodus 35:2 – “Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”
    • The Pharisees had decided that rubbing grain was work – harvesting / threshing
    • It may seem funny to think that such a simple act would break the Sabbath but…
      • The challenge was the Bible said you couldn’t work on the Sabbath…
      • But as for what constituted “work” – that’s where the Pharisees stepped in…
      • They defined what “God meant” when He said you could not work (39 do not’s)
      • In Israel today: there are Shabbat elevators (pushing a button is work)
      • You cannot spend any money – that’s work (credit cards are OK)
      • You cannot toast your bread or cook rice! (you are not allowed to kindle a fire)
    • Pharisees defined what “work” meant – but they missed the purpose of the Sabbath
      
• The Lord of the Sabbath… vs. 27-28
  • Jesus answered the Pharisees accusations by redefining the Sabbath…
  • David & the Showbread…
    • King David got hungry one day (like the disciples) – while running from Saul
      • He came to the tabernacle and asked for some food… I Samuel 21:2-6
      • The only food they had was the 12 loaves of Show Bread…
      • Only the Priests were allowed to eat that Bread – Leviticus 24:9
      • In spite of being against the Law – David ate the bread – he was Hungry!
      • David’s hunger was more important than the law concerning the “Priests Bread”
    • The point Jesus is making: Man is more important than the Sabbath…
      • “He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath…’”
      • God did not create us to follow the Sabbath – He gave the Sabbath to us!
      • It was meant to give us a day to unwind – rest – recover
      • It is no longer required – but it is probably a really good idea
      • If God, who created us, gave us a day to rest – it’s probably a good idea to take it
      • It really does not matter which day – Sabado / Domingo / Hwebes
  • Matthew 12:7 – Mercy and not Sacrifice…
    • Having corrected them – we are told in Matthew Jesus challenged the Pharisees
      • If you had known what this means…
      • Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
      • Pharisees made the mistake of thinking God was most concerned about the law
      • Rather than realizing God was most interested in the hearts of men…
      • Pharisees condemned men because they broke “their interpretation of the law”
      • But they missed the real purpose of the Law – to teach men about God
    • Jesus would call them “Blind Guides”…
      • Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe [from your garden spices], and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”
      • The Pharisees were supposed to teach others how to follow God (guides)
      • But they strained out the mosquito, only to swallowed the Caribou
      • Meaning they would make sure to follow the smallest details of the law…
      • But they missed the more important matters of the Word – they missed Jesus!
      • Often in the church we find people overly concerned about unimportant things
        • People want to judge what you wear – where you live – who you know
        • What kind of work you do – what church you go to 
        • They are only concerned about the outside and appearances
        • But they miss what really matters – which is our heart for Jesus!
        • Our goodness is not based on where we go to church, or what we wear
        • It is not based on what we eat, or how much money we do or don’t have
        • The only thing that matters is our relationship with the Lord!
  • Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath…
    • The real purpose of the Sabbath was to point us to Jesus!
      • Colossians 2:16-17 – “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
      • If you see the shadow of your best friend do you run up and hug the shadow??
      • Of course not! – But the shadow does tell you your friend is close…
      • The Sabbath was a shadow of Jesus – He is where we find true rest!
      • Pharisees only saw the shadow – they thought it was only about the Sabbath
      • They missed who was right in front of them – they missed Jesus!
      • Don’t be so concerned about your traditions that you miss Jesus
        
• Healing on the Sabbath… vs. 1-6
  • Catching Jesus in the act…
    • Jesus went into the synagogue (Luke says the next week) – to prove His point
    • Inside was a man who had (Imperfect) a withered hand…
      • This man had not been born with a bad hand – injured (stoke, accident, disease)
      • He knew what is was to have a healthy hand – but now he was disabled…
      • No doubt a financial hardship – as well as an emotional one
    • The Scribes & Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if He would heal him…
      • After their encounter the week before – they were ready to ‘bust’ Jesus
      • According to their interpretation of the Law you could not heal on the Sabbath 
      • The most you could do was to save a life if someone was dying…
      • Any more than that and it would constitute work
  • ‘Step forward’ – Jesus was not intimidated – He defiantly had the man step into plan view
    • Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil – save life or kill…
      • To not help out a man who is hurting – when you can – is evil 
      • To not save a life – when you can – is to kill
      • Jesus could help – so if He did nothing He would be doing evil on the Sabbath…
    • The point Jesus makes – how much better to do good on the Sabbath!
      • I imagine the man with the withered hand agreed! – He did not care what day it was!
      • How terrible to leave this man to suffer – for the sake of silly rules!
      • But in the religious leaders attempt to follow their rules – they had lost sight of love
      • They would leave a man to suffer – whom Jesus could be made whole
    • Jesus looked on them in anger (only mentioned here in Mark)…
      • Jesus was infuriated with the leaders because of their lack of compassion
      • Yet Jesus’ anger was tempered by his grief – at the hardness of their hearts…
      • It was the leaders rules that hardened their hearts – so they could not see…
      • They thought they were serving God by not healing a man who was suffering
      • Foolish thought – but they had been blinded by their self-righteous rules
      • Bare foot youth and a brand new carpet in the church…
      • You can come to church – if you dress the right way / say the right things…
      • It is wrong when we are more concerned about our rules than about others
      • The point of the Bible is to point us to Jesus – not keep us from Him!
  • Healing on the Sabbath…
    • Jesus commanded the man to stretch out his withered hand
      • When he did it was made whole…
      • In total Jesus healed 7 times on the Sabbath…
      • He did it so often you might wonder what he did the other 6 days of the week
    • Jesus did it to make a point…
      • Jesus did not come to live up to the Pharisees rules – He came to save lives
      • The Pharisees were so caught up on looking right on the outside they missed Jesus!
      • The “church” had gotten lost in it’s traditions and rules and forgotten why
      • We go to Church on Sunday (maybe even twice a week) 
      • We take communion once a month – We read our Bibles… pray…
      • But why do we do all these things – just because…
      • Are we so caught up in the traditions that we miss Jesus…
      • What message do we give to others – the Gospel of what they must do
      • Or the Gospel of who they should know – do we tell them about Jesus!
  • Jesus had shown the Pharisees they missed the heart of the law – to know God
    • Jesus also showed how they cared more for words then for men…
    • They went out and plotted with their bitter rivals – the Herodians (secularists)
    • Unable to formulate a comeback against Him… they began to plot how to kill Jesus…

Loving the people… vs. 7-12

• Jesus withdraws…
  • Jesus saw the malicious intensions of the religious leaders – so He backed away…
    • One of 11 times recorded in the Mark that Jesus ‘withdraws’…
    • Jesus walked a fine line – these men would crucify Him – but it was not the right time
  • But the multitudes heard…
    • Word of Jesus miracles had spread far and wide…
    • They came from Jewish cities – Jerusalem & Idumea (Edom – only mentioned here in NT)
    • They came from Gentile cities – Tyre & Sidon – literally everyone from everywhere!
  • Jesus had the disciples prepare a small boat – concern the multitudes would crush them
    • He healed the sick – cast out all unclean spirits…
    • Jesus did not care about the peoples background, nationality, creed, or politics
    • He just met the people where they were – and healed them!
    • We are not known as Jesus’ disciples because of our denomination or doctrine…
    • John 13:35 – “Your love for one another will prove to the world you are my disciples.”
    • Rather than get caught up in our traditions – labels – denominations
    • The example Jesus gave was to simple love people – meet them where they are…