TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
314
SUNDAY
Lesson material is Based upon outlines of International Sunday School Lessons, copyrighted by the International Council of Re ligious Education; used by per mission.
S C H O O L
LESSONS
For the Children A llison /I rrowood
Points and Problems H omer A . K ent
Outline and Exposition B. B. S utcliffe
has come, His followers are so iden tified with Him that they now rest and worship on the first day of the week in which He arose from the dead. It is interesting to note that, immediately after Christ’s resurrec tion, the disciples began to observe the first day of the week, not the Jewish Sabbath. There is no com mandment in the New Testament about keeping the Sabbath. By exam ple and sound reasoning, the first day of the week displaces the “shadowy” Sabbath. Christians are interested in the body of truth centered in the Christ of the first day resurrection. 2. "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:28). The little word “also” needs emphasis here. The American Revised Version uses the word “even.” Christ is Lord of us all, even of the Sabbath, which was soon to be superseded by another day. What He desires most is to be Lord of men’s hearts. For the Children MEMORY VERSE: “This Is the day which the Lord hath made; we will re joice and be glad in it.” (Psa. 118:24). To some boys and girls, Sunday is no different from any other day in the week. To others, Sunday is a dull, bor ing day which they hate. Surely Christian boys and girls who truly love the Lord Jesus Christ will obey the commandment, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). Keeping God’s day holy will be pleasant to them; to worship Him and to serve Him in His house will bring happiness to them. With a happy man mentioned in God’s Word, they will say, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” How to A ct on S unday E xodus 20:8; M ark 3:1-5; P salms 92:1,2; 118:24.
No emergency could ever justify one in breaking the laws of purity, or love, or human life. There is danger today lest we turn the legalism of the Pharisees into the license of law breakers. Christianity controls by mo tives, not laws; its symbol is a feast, not a fast; its spirit, joy not gloom; its sphere, liberty not law. Hence, be cause the Sabbath was made for man, the Son of man is its Lord. III. T he P ractice of the S abbath (M att . 12:9-13) In the presence of a man with a withered hand, Jesus was asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?” In replying, He pointed out that any one would rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, and -that a man was better than a sheep. Since it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath, He healed the withered hand. Doing good would not break the Sabbath, but refusing to do good would break it. Points and Problems 1. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). Some earnest Christians find it difficult to answer the question, “Why does the Church not observe the seventh day of the week as its day of rest and worship in view of the commandment before us?” The solution lies in the fact that the 'Old Testament Sabbath days are but a shadow of things to come. Paul declares this to the Colossians; “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy- day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Col. 2:16, 17). When that which easts the shadow is reached, the shadow is of no further impor tance. With the coming of Christ, many shadows disappeared, the Old Testa ment Sabbath among them. Since He
LESSON FOR AUGUST 4 Jesus Teaches the Right Use of the Sabbath L E S S O N M A T E R IA L : Ex. 20:8: M a rk 2:23-28; M att. 12:9-13. G O L D E N T E X T : " T h is is the d ay w hich the Lord hath m ade; we w ill rejoice and be glad in it " (Psa. 118:24). Outline and Exposition i T he P recept of the S abbath (Ex. 20:8) The seventh day, the Sabbath, was to be remembered with special rever ence. Spiritually, it denoted a com pleted work of salvation that secured rest. It has been proven* that one day’s rest in seven is beneficial for animals, and, it has been said, even for machinery. Under the old order, work came before rest; under the new, it comes after rest. The desire to work full seven days indicates greed, less than six signi fies folly. The supposedly wise econo mists of modern times need to study again the meaning of one day’s rest in seven. “Except the law had said’’ we would not know the wrong in working less than six days. . II. T he P urpose of the S abbath (M ark 2:23-28) As they passed through a corn field on the Sabbath day, the disciples took some ears, and began to eat them. At once the Pharisees objected, claiming, that they were thereby breaking the law of the Sabbath. Jesus answeied this charge by re ferring to the case of David when he was without food. He taught that the Sabbath was made for man, that is, for man’s good, and not man for the Sabbath. The commandment of the Sabbath was in a class by itself, ne cessity for food furnishing a reason to break it without guilt; this did not apply to the other commandments.
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