VI. THE SABBATH IN CHRIST´S DAY A. CHRIST´S EXAMPLE
- LUKE 4:
- 16 "And he came to Nazareth, where he
had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read."
- MATTHEW 12:
- 1 "AT that time
Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples
were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to
eat."
- 2 "But when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to
do upon the sabbath day."
- 3 "But he said unto them, Have ye not
read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with
him;"
- 4 "How he entered into the house of
God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat,
neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?"
- 5 "Or have ye not read in the law, how
that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath,
and are blameless?"
- 6 "But I say unto you, That in this
place is one greater than the temple."
- 7 "But if ye had known what this
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have
condemned the guiltless."
- 8 "For the Son of man is Lord even
of the sabbath day."
- MATTHEW 12:
- 10 "And, behold, there
was a man which had his hand withered. And they (Pharisees, verse
#14) asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath
days? that they might accuse him."
- 11 "And he said unto them, What man
shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into
a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it
out?"
- 12 "How much then is a man better than
a sheep? Wherefore (Christ said) it is lawful to do well on the
sabbath days."
- 13 "Then saith he to the man,
Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was
restored whole, like as the other."
- 14 "Then the Pharisees went out, and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him."
- MARK 3:
- 1 "AND he entered again
into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered
hand."
- 2 "And they watched him, whether he
would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him."
- 3 "And he saith unto the man which had
the withered hand, Stand forth."
- 4 "And he saith unto them, Is it
lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life,
or to kill? But they held their peace."
- 5 "And when he had looked round about
on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,
he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it
out: and his hand was restored whole as the other."
- 6 "And the Pharisees went forth,
and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him,
how they might destroy him."
- JOHN 5:
- 5 "And a certain man was
there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years."
- 6 "When Jesus saw him lie, and knew
that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt
thou be made whole?"
- 7 "The impotent man answered him, Sir,
I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but
while I am coming, another steppeth down before me."
- 8 "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take
up thy bed, and walk."
- 9 "And immediately the man was made
whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the
sabbath."
- 10 "The Jews therefore
said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not
lawful for thee to carry thy bed."
- 11 "He answered them, He that made me
whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk"
- 12 "Then asked they him, What man is
that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?"
- 13 "And he that was healed wist not who
it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that
place."
- 14 "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the
temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more,
lest a worse thing come unto thee."
- 15 "The man departed, and told the Jews
that it was Jesus, which had made him whole."
- 16 "And therefore did the Jews
persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these
things on the sabbath day."
- JOHN 9:
- 1 "AND as Jesus passed by,
he saw a man which was blind from his birth."
- 2 "And his disciples asked him, saying,
Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born
blind?"
- 3 "Jesus answered, Neither hath this
man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him."
- 4 "I must work the works of him that
sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can
work."
- 5 "As long as I am in the world, I am
the light of the world."
- 6 "When he had thus spoken, he spat
on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the
eyes of the blind man with the clay."
- 7 "And said unto him, Go, wash in the
pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way
therefore, and washed, and came seeing."
- 8 "The neighbors therefore, and they
which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that
sat and begged?"
- 9 "Some said, This is he: others said,
He is like him: but he said, I am he."
- 10 "Therefore said they unto him, How
were thine eyes opened?"
- 11 "He answered and said, A man that is
called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to
the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received
sight."
- 12 "Then said they unto him, Where is
he? He said, I know not."
- 13 "They brought to the Pharisees him
that aforetime was blind."
- 14 "And it was the sabbath day when
Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes."
- 15 "Then again the Pharisees also asked
him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon
mine eyes, and I washed, and do see."
- 16 "Therefore said some of the
Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath
day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?
And there was a division among them."
- 17 "They say unto the blind man again,
What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is
a prophet."
- 18 "But the Jews did not believe
concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until
they called the parents of him that had received his sight."
- 19 "And they asked them, saying, Is
this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now
see?"
- NOTE:
- Be sure to notice
what Christ was doing that the Jews considered breaking the Sabbath. He
was healing and doing good works. He said, "it is lawful to do well
on the Sabbath". Christ was not breaking the Sabbath according to
the way He meant for it to be kept but was breaking it only according to
the way the Jews thought it should be kept.
- TEXT OF INTEREST
- 1 JOHN 2:
- 4 "He that saith, I
know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth
is not in him."
- 6 "He that saith he abideth in Him
ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked."
- NOTE:
- Christ spent more time showing how
to properly keep the Sabbath (fourth commandment), than all other
commandments combined.
- The Jews had so many little picky rules and
regulations about Sabbath-keeping, that the Sabbath had ceased to be a
delight. Christ was trying to show them that it was a delight and that
it was proper to do good works on the Sabbath day.
- ISAIAH 58:
- 13 "If thou turn away
thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and
call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and
shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own
pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:"
- MATTHEW 12:
- "12 How much then is a
man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the
sabbath days."
- God does not change. And the ten
commandments, which are an expression of His character, cannot be
changed either. Christ proved this when He died on the cross and paid
the penalty for us. The law shows us what sin is; and the wages of sin
is death. If the law and the penalty for breaking it could have been
changed, then Christ would not have had to die for us. In MATTHEW 26:39
Christ prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me:" It was not possible, so Christ died for us.
-
Christ rested in the grave over the Sabbath day.- B. WHAT CHRIST SAID ABOUT THE
SABBATH
- MATTHEW 12:
- 10 "And, behold, there
was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it
lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him."
- 11 "And he said unto them, What man
shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into
a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it
out?"
- 12 "How much then is a man better than
a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath
days."
- 13 "Then saith he to the man, Stretch
forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole,
like as the other."
- MATTHEW 24:
- 20 "But pray ye that
your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath
day:"
- NOTE:
- Christ was looking into the future
when Jerusalem would be taken and the Christians would have to flee in
A.D. 70. Christ gives no indication of a change to a so-called
"Lord´s day" (first day). This statement to the
disciples definitely shows Christªs respect for and the attitude He
wanted the Christians to have towards the Sabbath.
- TEXT OF INTEREST
- MATTHEW 15:
- Christ said, in verse 9
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men."
- NOTE:
- Is "Sunday keeping" a
man-made commandment?
- C. EXAMPLES OF
CHRIST´S CLOSE FRIENDS ON THE SABBATH
- LUKE 23:
- 52 "This man went unto
Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus."
- 53 "And he took it down, and wrapped it
in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein
never man before was laid."
- 54 "And that day was the
preparation, and the sabbath drew on."
- 55 "And the women also, which came with
him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his
body was laid."
- 56 "And they returned, and prepared
spices, and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the
commandment."
- LUKE 24:
- 1 "NOW upon the first
day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain
others with them."
- NOTE:
- The women prepared the spices and
ointments on Friday or "preparation" day (verse 54) "and
rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment."
- Christ´s close friends were very
careful about the Sabbath even at His death. Surely this reflects the
attitude of Christ that they had observed.
- D. EXAMPLE OF
CHRIST´S DISCIPLES AFTER HIS ASCENSION
- Acts 16:
- 12 "And from thence to
Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a
colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days."
- 13 "And on the sabbath we went out of the
city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat
down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither."
- Acts 13:
- 14 "But when they departed
from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down."
- 42 "And when the Jews were gone out
of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be
preached to them the next sabbath."
- 43 "Now when the congregation was
broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul
and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in
the grace of God."
- 44 "And the next sabbath day came
almost the whole city together to hear the word of God."
- 45 "But when the Jews saw the
multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things
which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming."
- NOTE:
- Barnabas and Paul preached unto
the Jews in the synagogue, in which the Gentiles were not allowed to
enter. When the meeting was over the Gentiles approached Paul and
Barnabas and asked them to preach the same sermon to them on the next
Sabbath. Wouldn´t this have been the perfect chance for Paul to
say, "The Jews will not accept the change of the Sabbath, but
because the seventh day Sabbath has been changed to the Lord´s
day, which is the first day of the week, we will meet with you
tomorrow". Verse 43 says that "the next Sabbath day came
almost the whole city together to hear the word of God."
- Acts 17:
- 2 "And Paul, as his
manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned
with them out of the scriptures,"
- Acts 18:
- 1 "AFTER these things
Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;"
- 4 "And he reasoned in the synagogue
every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."
Dwight Waterhouse is the compiler of this information.
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