Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5) - 119 Ministries

[Music] hello and welcome to another teaching from 119 ministries our ministry believes that the whole bible is true and directly applicable to our lives today if you would like to know more about what we believe and teach please visit us at testeverything.net if you enjoyed this video don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to our channel by hitting the button down below we hope you enjoy studying and testing the following teaching [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeshua the messiah more commonly known as jesus christ was a torah observant jew this means that he kept the law of moses which includes observing the sabbath day every week luke records that it was yeshua's custom to attend the synagogue services on the sabbath luke 4 verse 16 and he came to nazareth where he had been brought up and as was his custom he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day and he stood up to read yeshua not only attended synagogue services on the sabbath regularly but also participated in the public reading and teaching of scripture yeshua's customary participation in the synagogue services is evident throughout the gospels in the book of acts we see that the apostles likewise regularly attended and participated in the synagogue services on the sabbath alongside jews and greeks luke records that this was paul's custom just like it was yeshua's custom not only did the apostles themselves continue to regard the sabbath as god's holy day but they also expected gentile followers of messiah to meet on the sabbath alongside the jewish believers during the jerusalem council in acts 15 james implies an expectation that the gentile believers would take part in the synagogue services every sabbath to be instructed in moses's teaching for more on this see your teachings the lord's day part 1 sabbath and sunday in scripture and acts 15 obedience or legalism if yeshua intended to get rid of or change the sabbath we would reasonably expect him or his apostles after him to have made that clear instead throughout the gospels and the book of acts we see the messiah and the apostles continuing to observe the sabbath this is precisely what we would expect if they considered the biblical commandment to still be relevant nevertheless the synoptic gospels do record an incident involving the sabbath this event has led some to conclude that yeshua endorsed violating the sabbath here's a summary yeshua and his disciples were walking through the grain fields on the sabbath and his disciples plucked heads of grain to eat the pharisees confronted yeshua and his disciples and accused them of violating the sabbath yeshua defends his disciples giving the example of david entering the house of god and eating the bread of the presents which was meant only for the priests matthew includes yeshua's additional example of the priests being guiltless even though they work in the temple on the sabbath and yeshua's statement that something greater than the temple is here matthew also includes yeshua admonishing the pharisees that they would not have condemned the guiltless if they knew what it means when scripture says i desire mercy and not sacrifice mark includes yeshua's additional statement that the sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath finally yeshua declares that he the son of man is lord of the sabbath in addition to saying yeshua permitted violating the sabbath some even argue that this incident demonstrates yeshua's intention for the sabbath to eventually be abolished entirely for instance while commenting on these passages popular christian pastor and theologian john mcarthur says this jesus rather than acquiescing to their concern over a violation of the sabbath points to other violations of the sabbath in verse 8 of matthew 12 he says the son of man is lord of the sabbath he can do anything he wants with the sabbath he can institute it he can make commands for restrictions he can require death for violation of those commands as in the mosaic law or he can set it aside totally he can obrogate it he can nullify it and there is the transition that is taking place in the new testament jesus is announcing the end of the sabbath does this incident really suggest that yeshua is announcing the end of the sabbath that interpretation is unlikely for several reasons first as we've already seen it appears that the apostles continued to observe the sabbath long after yeshua's resurrection and ascension again this is what we would expect if they thought observing the sabbath was still required of them second in matthew 24 20 yeshua presupposes the sabbath's ongoing relevance for his followers during the historical events surrounding jerusalem's destruction in 70 a.d decades after yeshua's earthly ministry for more on this see your teaching fleeing on the sabbath third yeshua unequivocally affirmed the continuing authority of the sabbath commandment as part of the torah in matthew 5 17-20 he said not a single iota or dot would pass away from the torah until all is accomplished that is until the end of the age in consummation of the kingdom when heaven and earth pass away so all of the torah including the sabbath remains essential for today he also admonished his followers to do and teach even the least of the torah's commandments this was only a few chapters before the confrontation recorded in matthew 12. why would yeshua announce the end of the sabbath commandment shortly after he affirmed its enduring validity for more on this see your teachings the lord's day part 1 sabbath and sunday in scripture and heaven and earth in the law of god fourth since sin is transgression of the torah by definition breaking the sabbath is considered a sin yet scripture teaches that yeshua was without sin thus yeshua being lord of the sabbath surely can't mean that he is free to disregard this biblical commandment since that would make him a sinner by definition for more on what sin is see are teaching what is sin fifth scripture defines a false prophet as one who tries to turn god's people away from doing what god commanded them since god commanded his people to observe the sabbath day anyone who comes as a prophet and announces the end of the sabbath is a false prophet by definition since yeshua is not a false prophet he can't have endorsed the violation or abandonment of the sabbath for more on this see you're teaching the deuteronomy 13 test with all of that considered let's take a closer look to see what is actually going on in these passages matthew 12 1-2 at that time yeshua went through the grain fields on the sabbath his disciples were hungry and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat but when the pharisees saw it they said to him look your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath as we can see the controversy was not that the disciples were plucking heads of grain which the torah permitted the problem in the minds of the pharisees was that the disciples were plucking heads of grain on the sabbath but why was this an issue do the sabbath laws in the torah prohibit such an activity no nowhere does the torah prohibit plucking heads of grain on the sabbath when we look at what the torah does say about the sabbath we see that regular work was forbidden and this included harvesting apparently the pharisees considered the disciples activity to be a type of harvesting in the later rabbinic literature particularly the mishnah there are 39 classifications of prohibited work on the sabbath these prohibited activities include reaping and threshing the talmud elaborates on these prohibitions it was taught in a tosefta with regard to the labor of reaping one who reaps and one who picks grapes and one who harvests dates and one who collects olives and one who gathers figs have all performed one type of labor as they all involve picking fruit rav papas said one who threw a clod of earth at a palm tree and severed dates is liable to bring two sin offerings one due to severine which is a subcategory of the primary category of reaping and one for extracting which is a subcategory of the primary category of threshing as he removes something edible the date from its cover its cluster so according to rabbinic literature removing fruit from its source was considered a forbidden activity on the sabbath as it was considered a type of harvesting based on the pharisees accusations it seems likely that at least some perhaps many of these sabbath restrictions were already in force in the first century so according to these rabbinic restrictions the disciples act of plucking heads of grain constituted a violation of the sabbath however the disciples activity was a violation of only man-made restrictions not the torah in fact in the torah itself plucking heads of grain is a distinct activity from harvesting deuteronomy 23 verse 25 if you go into your neighbor's standing grain you may pluck the ears with your hand but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain the reason for this law in deuteronomy was to foster a community of love and trust between neighbors owners of fields were not to be greedy with god's blessings produced from the land instead they were to allow hungry passers-by to pick some of the grain or fruit from the fields for their personal needs however these travelers were not to be greedy either they couldn't disrespect the owners of these fields by taking a sickle to the grain and harvesting large amounts of their neighbor's produce that would be tantamount to stealing as the scholar jeffrey tegay writes since a sickle cuts several stocks at once this could easily yield more than one can eat on the spot which is all one is entitled to take the bible clearly indicates that harvesting involves gathering much more produce than what one would be able to eat on the spot thus unlike the rabbinic rulings the torah itself indicates that harvesting which involved taking a sickle to the grain is something different from merely plucking heads of grain with your hand the disciples were not harvesting and therefore they were not violating the sabbath according to the torah the pharisees were condemning the disciples based on their own unreasonably strict man-made rules that yeshua's disciples were in fact not violating the sabbath makes the most sense in light of yeshua's response to the pharisees as we continue you'll notice that yeshua defends his disciples against the pharisees accusation he says his disciples are innocent of wrongdoing his argument is not that the sabbath is no longer important or that he has the authority to abolish it no his argument is that his disciples are not violating the sabbath at all and that the pharisees accusation is baseless furthermore it's not a coincidence that this controversy immediately follows yeshua's invitation in the previous chapter of matthew to take his yoke of teaching upon oneself and to learn from him yeshua's yoke is easy and his burden light his yoke provides real rest this is in contrast to the heavy burden of the pharisees teaching and this confrontation with the pharisees is intended to highlight that difference let's continue matthew 12 verses 3 through 4 he said to them have you not read what david did when he was hungry and those who were with him how he entered the house of god and ate the bread of the presents which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him but only for the priests in defending his disciples yeshua appeals to when david and his men were weary from battle and they entered the house of god and ate the bread of the presence this act violated the torah since that bread was for the priests alone to eat how does this example support yeshua's argument while david's act was a violation of the torah the pharisees likely considered it to be justified in light of the situation david and his men were in the midst of battle and their lives may have depended upon acquiring the sacred bread from the high priest for food most jewish teachers agreed that some laws of the torah could be justifiably suspended based on the principle of pikuach nefesh or preservation of life again the pharisees likely considered david's situation to have been a necessary exception to the laws governing the bread of the presence preservation of life justifies the transgression of laws that should otherwise be kept it appears that yeshua himself agreed with this principle as he uses it a little later to support his argument that it's lawful to do good on the sabbath matthew 12 11-12 he said to them which one of you who has a sheep if it falls into a pit on the sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out of how much more value is a man than a sheep so it is lawful to do good on the sabbath when yeshua mentioned david eating the bread of the presents he was highlighting the pharisees neglect of the torah's weightier matters which is something he regularly criticized to them for yeshua wanted to demonstrate that even though sabbath observance is important mercy and kindness are more important matthew records that the disciples were hungry and human needs must be prioritized above other rules this is especially the case if those other rules aren't clearly expressed in the scriptures themselves like these rabbinic rules against plucking grain in their effort to safeguard the sabbath the pharisees ended up condemning the innocent on the basis of their man-made restrictions that didn't emphasize human well-being yeshua's appeal to david also exposed the pharisees inconsistency and hypocrisy the pharisees understandably would have considered david's actions to be justified even though he violated the torah how much more ought they to have considered the disciples actions justified when all they violated were man-made rules yeshua gives another example in defense of his disciples matthew 12 verses 5-6 or have you not read in the law how on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath and are guiltless i tell you something greater than the temple is here the priests were required to do some work on the sabbath such as administering the sabbath sacrifices and yet they are considered innocent however nowhere does the torah indicate that it's a violation of the sabbath for priests to perform their duties the pharisees likely reasoned that the laws of the sacrificial system supersede their laws pertaining to the sabbath and thus yeshua simply used their logic here's what we read in the rabbinic literature the temple service overrides shabbat as shabbat offerings are sacrificed at their appointed time yeshua's argument is simple according to the pharisees the requirements of the temple service are of greater importance than their rules regarding the sabbath in light of this the priests are justified in disregarding the pharisees rules regarding the sabbath yeshua is greater than the temple therefore yeshua's disciples are justified in disregarding the pharisees rules regarding the sabbath remember this confrontation is about whether or not yeshua's disciples violated the sabbath yeshua wants to demonstrate that the pharisees have unjustly condemned his disciples who are guiltless if the pharisees were willing to consider the priests innocent of transgressing the sabbath since yeshua is greater than the temple how much more ought they to have considered yeshua's disciples innocent let's continue matthew 12 7 and if you had known what this means i desire mercy and not sacrifice you would not have condemned the guiltless here yeshua quotes hosea and says that if the pharisees had understood hosea's message they would not have condemned his disciples what is that message that mercy or compassion must take precedence when it comes to torah observance again the issue seems to be the pharisees neglect of the torah's weightier matters the pharisees were so fixated on safeguarding the sabbath that they abandoned the greater principles of the torah namely compassion the irony of this is that the pharisees approach actually distorted the very purpose that god intended for the sabbath to begin with this is ultimately yeshua's point the pharisees through their misplaced priorities and excessive regulations had turned the sabbath into a meaningless and burdensome ritual this is not what god desires the sabbath is intended to be a day of joy and rest it was a day to express one's love not only toward god but also toward one's neighbor the sabbath is to be enjoyed as a gift from god observed with heartfelt gratitude if the pharisees understood this they would not have condemned yeshua's disciples once again yeshua's point in giving these examples is to defend his disciples as being innocent of any sabbath violation if yeshua meant for these examples to support some supposed right to disregard the sabbath he wouldn't say his disciples were guiltless rather we would expect him to perhaps agree with the pharisees and say something to the effect of yes my disciples are guilty of breaking the sabbath but it doesn't matter because the sabbath isn't important anymore now that i'm here he doesn't say anything like that instead he goes to some length to show that his disciples did not violate the sabbath yeshua does not disregard the sabbath only the pharisees improper interpretation of it the quotation from hosea is meant to indicate that the pharisees failed to understand what god really desires with regard to the sabbath as the scholar j andrew overman writes matthew stresses that the disciples of jesus are guiltless and have not violated the law the problem is that the pharisees do not understand the law properly this is made explicit by the application of hosea 6 6 in this context by matthew jesus and his disciples do not break the law they break with the pharisees over interpretation of the law but not with regard to its validity or importance the law and its application in matthew's view are to be understood primarily in terms of jesus's demand for compassion it is this core value that guides the application of the sabbath laws god did not intend the sabbath as a day to scold others for not conforming to man-made rules god desires the sabbath to be a day for joy and healing and mercy the sabbath is a day to show compassion and do good as clearly demonstrated a little later with the story of yeshua healing the man's hand on the sabbath and that brings us to another statement from yeshua which is found in mark's account of this incident mark 2 27 and he said to them the sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath yeshua's point here is that god made the sabbath to benefit humanity this approach counters the pharisaic approach to the sabbath which had turned the day into a burden through unreasonable man-made rules and a disregard for important principles like mercy as a side note what's fascinating about yeshua's statement in mark is that it expresses the sabbath's universal and permanent nature yeshua essentially says that god established the sabbath at creation for all mankind not just those physically descended from abraham numerous scholars have recognized that this statement in mark affirms the sabbath as a creation ordinance creation ordinances are commandments that god gave in the beginning before the fall and are widely regarded as being binding on all mankind at all times roger beckwith writes jesus however does not say that the sabbath was given to israel but that it was made for man the word made suggesting a connection with the making of the world and the word man suggesting humanity as a whole what jesus's choice of words seems to imply therefore is that when god made the world he also made the sabbath and that he made it not just for israel but for mankind if so he endorses the natural interpretation of genesis 2 3 in the manner of aristobalus and philo and declares the sabbath like marriage to be a creation ordinance of general and permanent validity samuel bakayoki echoes these remarks by this memorable affirmation then christ does not obrogate the sabbath commandment but establishes its permanent validity by appealing to its original creation when god determined its intended function for the well-being of mankind roy gaine also writes the following it is clear that god instituted the sabbath for all human beings on planet earth because he instituted it in the beginning long before israel existed along with basic elements of human life such as marriage and labor finally scholar and presbyterian minister o palmer robertson has some worthwhile remarks as jesus indicated pointedly the sabbath came into being for the sake of man because it was for the good of man and the whole of creation god instituted the sabbath neither antinomianism nor dispensationalism may remove the obligation of the christian today to observe the creation ordinance of the sabbath so far from abolishing the sabbath in mark yeshua affirms the sabbath as a creation ordinance he teaches us that the sabbath is part of the creative order it was established from the beginning as a gift intended to benefit all of mankind forever let's continue matthew 12 8 for the son of man is lord of the sabbath yeshua's concluding remark in this exchange with the pharisees is to announce that he is lord of the sabbath pastor john macarthur thinks yeshua was declaring that he had the authority to nullify the sabbath but as we've seen this doesn't align with yeshua's overall argument yeshua defends his disciples and says they are innocent of the pharisees charges if you were making the argument that he and his disciples had the right to disregard the sabbath he would have simply said so instead he denies the pharisees accusation a better understanding is that yeshua declares himself to be the lord that is the ultimate authority regarding how to interpret the sabbath he not the pharisees has the authority to determine what it means to keep the sabbath this interpretation fits the overall theme that can be traced through all of yeshua's conflicts with the religious leaders of his day the gospels present yeshua as the supreme interpreter of the torah yeshua possesses the definitive interpretation and true meaning of the torah in contrast to the teachings of the scribes and pharisees we see this clearly in the sermon on the mount yeshua fulfills the torah that is brings it to its intended meaning and application in contrast to the shallow or outright erroneous interpretations of the torah from the pharisees yeshua explains what it really means to keep the torah's commandments he teaches that one's righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and pharisees and then goes on to explain what that means by expounding on various torah laws contrasting his teaching with theirs consider the very end of yeshua's sermon on the mount when he finishes his teaching the people were amazed and already beginning to recognize his authority matthew 7 verse 28-29 and when yeshua finished these sayings the crowds were astonished at his teaching for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes yeshua was not just another religious teacher like the scribes and pharisees he didn't just give his opinion yeshua's teaching on the torah carried authority and authority the pharisees lacked the pharisees teachings were merely words of men whereas yeshua's teachings were the very words of god recall god's promise to raise up a prophet like moses deuteronomy 18 18 i will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers and i will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that i command him when yeshua taught he spoke as the very prophet foretold by moses whose words were god's own words yeshua's possession of this divine authority does not indicate that he usurps or disregards the authority of the torah as we've seen rather he establishes the torah and because of his authority is able to clarify its true meaning and application this theme is clearly evident in the confrontation with the pharisees in matthew 12 mark 2 and luke 6. in contrast to the pharisees improper interpretations of the sabbath yeshua explains the purpose of the sabbath and what it really means to keep it in accordance with god's will he explains that his disciples are not guilty of breaking the sabbath they violated only the pharisees improper interpretation of the sabbath laws yeshua concludes his answer to the pharisees by asserting his authority explicitly he the son of man is lord of the sabbath by the way it's not a coincidence that yeshua calls himself son of man in this context this title brings to mind daniel's prophecy where one like a son of man is seated alongside the ancient of days and given full authority and power over all creation later in matthew we see that yeshua's resurrection settled indisputably the reality of his ultimate authority for all to see just prior to his ascension he declares all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me this authority includes giving the definitive interpretation of the sabbath laws as the scholar i howard marshall writes surely the point of the saying is that here jesus claims an authority tantamount to that of god with respect to the interpretation of the law once again the issue comes down to interpretation the pharisees dared to accuse yeshua's disciples of transgressing the sabbath based on their misplaced priorities and added man-made restrictions that had turned the sabbath into a burdensome yoke yeshua defends his disciples says they are innocent and asserts his authority as the rightful interpreter of the commandment in conclusion contrary to the pharisees accusation yeshua's disciples did not violate the sabbath they violated man-made restrictions developed by the pharisees on the basis of the pharisees improper interpretations of the sabbath instructions yeshua defended his disciples using examples from scripture to demonstrate their innocence far from nullifying the sabbath yeshua affirms its universal and permanent validity finally yeshua declares his lordship over the sabbath he not the pharisees has the authority to interpret the true meaning of the sabbath and how to keep it we pray you have been blessed by this teaching and remember continue to test everything shalom [Music] it is because of you our generous supporters who make it possible to offer these high quality teachings completely free of charge if you feel led to support 119 ministries so that we can continue this effort please visit testeverything.net and click on the support 119 tab learn how you can partner with us to take the whole word of god to the nations [Music] you

Channel: 119Ministries

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Keywords: 119Ministries, torah, bible, hebrew roots, Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5), threshing, disciples, scribes and pharisees, breaking the sabbath, plucking grains, Shabbat, Sabbath, 4th commandment, fourth commandment, 7th day sabbath, seventh day sabbath, Sabbath rest, Yeshua, YHWH, Pharisees, Working on the sabbath, Sabbath laws, God's Law, Messianic

Id: owoFcFu2qec

Length: 32min 44sec (1964 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 17 2021