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and not man for the Sabbath" (v. 27). God did not first make the Sabbath and then fit man into it; but He made man, and because man needed a day of rest and remembrance, He made the Sabbath for his blessing. Since the resurrection of Christ, believers observe Sunday as the Lord’s Day. Like * the Sabbath, it is not meant to be a burden but a blessing. Primarily, it should be a day of worship, service, and rest. Golden Text Illustration M atthew 5:11 I recall a humble hero, unknown to fame, who had all the stuff out of which martyrs are made. He was subjected to petty persecution on ac count of his Christian faith. His name was placarded on the fences of the whole countryside as “tfaitor,” be cause he had abandoned his ances tral faith. “Tsuchida, the Christian traitor,” was the formula. When asked how such advertising affected him, he replied with tears in his eyes, that he never saw his own name thus coupled with that of* the Lord, but that he felt himself most unworthy of-the honor; that if his neighbors had seen any thing in him to suggest that those names should go together, he
helpful in this lesson. He says, “The Sabbath day rests upon divine grounds —the ground of creation and law. Neither of these is the Christian’s place. If he is a child of creation, he is a sinner; and if he is on law ground, he Is lost because under the curse. The Christian belongs to a new creation, outside the foundations of the Sabbath day.” Points and Problems 1. "Why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?" (Mk. 2:24). In the Pharisees we see perfect examples of formalists. They thought merely of that which was outward in their religion. They had added many traditions of their own to the Mosaic law which had all but covered up the real meaning and purpose of the law. In the incident before us we see an evidence of this. What the disciples had done was made lawful 'by Moses without any distinction of days (Deut. 23:25J. But the Pharisees had denied its lawfulness on the Sabbath. Christ showed them from their own law that it was not unlawful (vs. 25, 26). Ad herence- to the plain teachings of the word of God will keep men from fanatical ideas and error. 2. 'The Sabbath was made for man.
was not lawful under ordinary cir cumstances. The Sabbath was not an end in itself, but a means to an end —the good of man. The Pharisees put the means before the end; the Sab bath in the place of the Sabbath’s Lord; the ceremonial observance in place of the moral requirement, and the value of ritual in place of the spiritual values. The Sabbath law is different from other laws. For example, it never would be right to lie, or steal, or com mit murder, and so forth; but, under certain conditions, David was blame less in eating the showbread, for it was made for man, not man for it. We must exercise great care lest we turn this teaching of Jesus into license. II. T he R ueer of the S abbath (2:27, 28) In the beginning, man was made as part of creation, all of which was made for him, and all of it placed under him (cf. Psa. 8). This dominion included the Sabbath as well as other works of God’s hands. The Sabbath was made for, or on account of, man. The Pharisees would change this re lationship and demand that man be under the law of the Sabbath, as though it were superior to its ruler. Jesus, being the Son of Man, was Lord even of the Sabbath. In the light of the view held by the Pharisees, this was a tremendous assertion, yet be ing what He is, He could make no lesser claim. He was, moreover, the owner of all He had made, including- the Sabbath. III. T he C ompassion O f G race (3 :1 -6 ) Lookirig for'every opportunity to ac cuse Jesus of a crime, His opponents eyed Him as He entered again into the synagogue where was a man with a withered hand. They were not moved with any pity because of the man’s affliction. Commanding the man to stand forth in the midst where all could see, Jesus asked the Pharisees whether or not it was lawful to do good, or to do evil, on the Sabbath day. There could be but one answer; to refuse to help meant to harm, and to refuse to res cue meant to murder. Hence they held their speech. Their shameless lack of compassion stirred Christ’s anger, and their hardness of heart caused Him grief. He had anger for their sinful ness, pity for their unbelief, and grief for their hardness. He healed the man in the sight of all the people. But such was the hardness of the people’s hearts that—bitter enemies of each other though they were—the Pharisees and the Herodians came to gether in their mutual enmity, hatred, and murderous intent against Jesus. The scene is often repeated today. A note bv J. N. Darby will be found
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