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Lesson: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
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Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:8-12

Golden Text: Mark 2:27-28

1. The apostle John begins his book talking about the Word. Did this Word exist from the beginning? (John 1:1-3) Was this Word with God? Was this Word God? Was He in the beginning with God? Did the Word make all things? Did the Word become flesh and dwell among men? Verse 14. Was the Word full of grace and truth? Was this Word Jesus Christ?

Note: The English word for "Word" comes from the Greek word "Logos" which means spokesman, speaker, talking, exhortation and message. The "Word" in this passage is talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Spokesman for God.

2. When the Word, Jesus, the Creator, was finished with the work of creation what did He do on the seventh day? (Genesis 2:1-3). Did He rest from all of His work? Did He bless the seventh day and sanctify it?

3. When God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, and He stated the Fourth Commandment, did he say to "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy?" (Exodus 20:8-11). Does this seventh day now have a name? What is the name? Are you commanded to work for six days? What are you supposed to do on the seventh day? So is the seventh day special? Verse 11, Did God work on the first six days creating the heavens and the earth? Did God rest on the seventh day? Did God bless the seventh day Sabbath and make it holy?

Note: When we read the Bible, what is the first thing that we find that Jesus made holy? The answer is: a 24 hour period of time called a day, but it is not just any day, it is the seventh day. Let’s notice three things that Jesus did on the seventh day: He rested on the seventh day, He blessed the seventh day and He made the seventh day holy.

Jesus even blessed the seventh day by giving it a name. The seventh day of the week is the only day that Jesus gave a name to. He called it the Sabbath.

4. While Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grain field, what did they do on the Sabbath? (Mark 2:23). Did the Pharisees accuse Jesus and His disciples of doing something unlawful on the Sabbath? (Verse 24).

Note: To the Pharisees, this was unlawful that Jesus’ disciples had plucked some grain. They challenged Jesus on this question. The Pharisees were legalists and saw no difference between the act of plucking one head of grain, or harvesting their whole grain field. Obviously there is a difference and that difference is in your intent, your attitude and your frame of mind.

5. Did God make provisions for the poor and the strangers by commanding the farmers not to totally reap their grain fields and their vineyards? (Leviticus 19:9-10).

Note: The corners of their fields were left unharvested to meet a human need for those who were poor and hungry. You can read the book of Ruth to see how beneficial this law was in providing for the poor and the strangers of which Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi were recipients.

6. Did Jesus ask the Pharisees about what David did when he and his men were hungry? (Mark 2:25). What did David do? (Verse 26). Was the showbread placed on the table of showbread in the tabernacle? (Leviticus 24:5-9, 1 Samuel 21:6). Was it renewed every Sabbath by one of the priests? Was the old showbread then removed and eaten by the priests?

Note: David and his men were hungry and here was an exception to the rule. The exception to the rule was that there was a human need, and on a rare occasion, this human need can take precedence over the law. This does not set the law aside, it is an exception to the rule.

7. What did Jesus say to the Pharisees in regard to the Sabbath? (Mark 2:27-28). Did Jesus say that the Sabbath was made for man? Did He say that "the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath?"

8. Did Jesus keep the Sabbath? (Luke 4:16). Was it His custom to do so?

9. Did Jesus set a perfect example for us and should we follow Him? (1 Pet 2:21). Should we keep His commandments? (1 John 2:3-6). If someone says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is he a liar and the truth not in him?

10. Did Jesus make the Sabbath at creation and include it in the Ten Commandments? (Exodus 20:1-17).11. Did Jesus do many "good works" on the Sabbath? (Matthew 12:8-14). Did He heal many people on the Sabbath?

Note: One of the things that the Sabbath pictures is freedom, and healing on the Sabbath gave the people who were healed freedom from their afflictions. Notice that in verse 12, Jesus said that "it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 12. Did Jesus indicate that the Sabbath would continue after His death? (Matthew 24:20).

Note: In prophesying the destruction that was to come upon Jerusalem in 70 A.D., which was forty years after Jesus’ death, Jesus told His followers: "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." This statement shows that the Sabbath would continue as a commanded holy day for God’s people. Jesus indicated that an emergency flight, though not strictly prohibited, would not be in "keeping the Sabbath" with God’s purpose of His holy day.

13. In the future, Jesus will return to this earth and will reign as Kings of kings and Lord of lords and will establish the Kingdom of God and He will rule from Jerusalem for one thousand years. What day will the people worship Jesus on? (Isaiah 66:23, Ezekiel 44:24).

14. The writer of Hebrews in chapter four is using the theme of "rest" in comparing the reward of the saved, which is the millennial Kingdom of God, to God resting on the Sabbath Day. This theme of "rest" reaches a conclusion in Hebrews 4:9: "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9 NIV). The Greek word for "Sabbath-rest" is "Sabbatismos," which means "to observe the Sabbath!" The Jewish New Testament Commentary on page 673 says: "This passage shows that Sabbath observance is expected of believers."

In Conclusion: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath because He created it, He rested on it, He made it holy, He blessed it, He kept it, He gave it a name and He made it a part of the Ten Commandments.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath!

Scriptures

Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:8-11, ""Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Golden Text: Mark 2:27-28  "And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. {28} "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.""

All Questions unless noted: See Scripture Reading.

1.) John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning with God. {3} All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made".... {14} "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

2.) (Genesis 2:1-3 KJV) "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. {2} And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. {3} And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

3.) (Exodus 20:8-11 KJV) "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: {10} But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: {11} For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

4. (Mark 2:23-24 ) "Now it happened that He went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. {24} And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?""

5. (Leviticus 19:9-10). "'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. {10} 'And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God"

6. (Mark 2:25-26 ) "But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: {26} "how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?""

(Leviticus 24:5-9 ) ""And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. {6} "You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. {7} "And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the LORD. {8} "Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. {9} "And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the LORD made by fire, by a perpetual statute.""

(1 Samuel 21:6 ) "So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away."

7. See Golden Text.

8. (Luke 4:16 ) "So 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 to read."

9. (1 Pet 2:21 ) "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps"

(1 John 2:3-6 ) "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. {4} He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. {5} But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. {6} He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."

10. The Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20:1-17 ) "And God spoke all these words, saying: {2} "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. {3} "You shall have no other gods before Me. {4} "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; {5} you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, {6} but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. {7} "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. {8} "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. {12} "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. {13} "You shall not murder. {14} "You shall not commit adultery. {15} "You shall not steal. {16} "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. {17} "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.""

11. (Matthew 12:8-14 ) ""For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." {9} Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. {10} And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"; that they might accuse Him. {11} Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? {12} "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." {13} Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. {14} Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him."

12. (Matthew 24:20 ) ""And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath."

13. (Isaiah 66:23 )."And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD"

(Ezekiel 44:24 ) ""In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths."

14. (Hebrews 4:9 NIV) "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;"

(Hebrews 4:9 ) "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."

(Hebrews 4:9 NNAS) "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."

G4520. sabbatismos, from a der. of G4521; a sabbath rest:-- Sabbath rest(1).