A Survey of the Old Testament Law----- "Honor your father and mother"

The Sabbath Commandment that we talked about last time—many times we think of it as being a Commandment that is concerned with man’s relationship with God. But I think it’s just as much concerned with God’s relationship to man. The Sabbath was the day when the people were to put down their plowshares and pruning hooks and come together to worship God. And while they were worshipping God, He was at the same time dwelling among the people, in the cloud that covered the Ark of the Covenant. So Sabbath worship was to be a day where the people of Israel would be reminded of the covenant God made with them and their forefathers. In fact, when Moses is preaching these commandments to the people in Deuteronomy 5, he explains that the Sabbath was set aside as a reminder of how God acted on their behalf when He brought them out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 5:15—“And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” So the Sabbath was for the people to remember the mighty acts of God not only in Creation but also when He brought them out from under the yoke of Pharaoh.


Now we are on to the 5th Commandment, and the one which is probably broken by almost every single person before they reach the age of 5. If one were to go their entire life, not breaking any of the other 9, they would almost definitely be guilty of this one. And if we remember that the Ten Commandments were not given to show us how good we can be, but were given to show us how wicked we really are, we would see that this commandment more then even any of the others really shows us what kind of spirit we are born with—that we have to be reminded to honor those who gave us life. Exodus 20:12—“Honor your father and your mother.” In Ephesians 6:2, the apostle Paul calls this the first commandment with a promise. What is that promise? “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” How many of us never, ever, ever disobeyed their parents? Yeah, right! Children are born to disobey their parents. They don’t have to be taught how to say “No!” The fact that we need this commandment should be enough to show us that we are sinful people.


A child must learn how to respect their parents, and that teaching rests in the hands of the parents. That’s not just my opinion, that’s the truth—a truth we find in Scripture. Proverbs 29:15—The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 22:15—Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him. In other words, children don’t need to be taught how to be disobedient. It’s bound up in their heart; it’s part of their DNA; it’s in their nature to disobey. And they have to have it corrected out of them. A fellow by the name of Gustav Oehler, a German theologian, sums up the reason for this commandment:

“In this demand for reverence to parents, the fifth commandment lays the foundation for the sanctification of the whole social life, as it teaches us to acknowledge [that there is] a divine authority in [our whole social life].”

It’s simple—if a child does not learn to respect his/her parents early, then what happens is when they get older, they do not learn to respect any kind of authority. If a parent does not teach their child respect, that child is likely to get into all kinds of trouble as they get older. BUT—if that child IS taught to respect not only their parents but all their elders, then they will be much more likely to stay out of trouble and be a productive member of society. If you read the Book of Proverbs, you will find that it is filled with probably more verses that talk about children, and how to raise them, and the joys of obedient children and the sorrows caused by rebellious children than nearly any other book in the Bible.

Proverbs 10:1—A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.
Proverbs 15:20—A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Proverbs 17:25—A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.
Proverbs 28:7—Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.


But before we talk about how children are to honor their elders, we’re gonna talk to the parents first. If you look around today, you see many parents giving in to everything their child wants, not teaching them that they may have to wait for something, or that they may not get it at all, because they don’t want their child’s feelings to get hurt. They buy new cars for their kids when they turn 16. And that’s why we have so many kids growing up that have no respect for anything or anybody, and who think that all they have to do is ask for something and they are supposed to automatically get it handed to them. So they don’t learn how to obey. And the parents wonder why!


Proverbs 19:18—Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction.
Proverbs 22:6—Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 23:13—Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
Proverbs 29:17—Correct your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your soul.
Proverbs 13:24—He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.


Let me give you an example of that one: when I was about 5 or 6 years old, I called my sister a bad word. She went and told dad, who…um…disciplined me promptly. He called me into the room and laid his hand on my backside. Needless to say it was a looooong time before he heard another bad word come out of my mouth.


But while we need to be firm with discipline, we must remember a few things. First, it must be done for the right reason. The main reason for disciplining our children should be so that they learn right from wrong. It should never be done because they're making you “look bad” in front of your friends or because they're “getting on your nerves”. They're children—they're supposed to “get on your nerves”. So when a parent punishes a child for that reason, they are going to find themselves fighting a losing battle because (1) that child is always going to do something to “get on their nerves”, and (2) they're not going to be guiding their children properly.


However, discipline does not necessarily mean punishment. To ‘discipline’ means, “To instruct or educate; to inform the mind; to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits…to instruct and govern; to teach rules and practice…to correct; to chastise; to punish.” Punishment is simply one form of discipline—but it is not the only form. And if we are to discipline our children as a way to guide them and instruct them, we must do so with gentleness when appropriate, but also with the “rod of correction” when necessary. Listen to Proverbs 13:24—He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Promptly. Not “Wait until we get home and you're gonna get it.” We discipline—instruct, correct, punish if need be—the child right then and there. Not out of anger, not because we think they're a “nuisance”. But so they will know how to act in the future.


But because so many parents are abandoning their responsibility to discipline their children, we live in a time that the apostle Paul talked about in 2nd Timothy 3:1-2—But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy &c. And by neglecting their responsibility, parents are setting their children up for failure in life, or for prison or, most importantly, by not allowing Christ into their life, they are preparing them for an eternity in Hell. Children need to be taught to respect their parents primarily because left to themselves, the only thing they will want is their own way every time, and getting what they want in whatever way they can.


King Solomon knew this when he wrote the Proverbs. Proverbs 1:10-19--10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; 12 let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit; 13 we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil; 14 cast in your lot among us, let us all have one purse”—15 My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird; 18 but they lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk secretly for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.


The apostle Paul wrote about this in 1st Timothy 6:9-10—9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And that will be the desire of the heart of a child that is not taught properly. If children don’t know how to respect their parents and if they aren't taught how to respect their parents and all those in positions of authority, does that let them off the hook when they get in trouble? Well, contrary to what we see happening in the criminal court system in this country, the answer is “No.” Children who disobey and are rebellious are accountable for their own actions. That’s why they need to be taught, like Solomon taught his son, to avoid the rabble-rousers and the riff-raff of the world.


1st Corinthians 15:33—Bad company corrupts good morals. I'm sure we've all heard the expression “One bad apple.” If you take a bunch of bad apples, and you put a good apple in the middle of them, will the goodness of the good apple make the bad apples better? No. What will happen? The badness of the bad apples will cause the good apple to spoil. Bad company corrupts good morals. Paul says again in 1st Corinthians 5:6-7—Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump. So what we have so far is this: children, left on their own, do not know how to respect figures of authority. But even if they are not taught how to respect authority, they are nonetheless responsible for their own actions. So the apostle Paul has these words for parents. Ephesians 6:4—And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The best way to train a child is to teach them, as early as possible, to teach them about God. Because if they know God, and if they have a healthy respect for Him who is the ultimate authority, then it will be much more likely that they will learn to give the respect to leaders in the church, and to legal authorities, and ultimately their parents.


Deuteronomy 6:4-9--"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." The best way to train your child in the ways of God is simple—sit down with them and read to them from the Scriptures. And you don’t have to be a trained professional to do it. You don’t need years of study and seminary. When we train our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and we train them up in the way they should go, what is the result? Deuteronomy 6:10-12--"10 So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— 12 then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage." If children respect their parents, and they respect their elders in the church and they respect the legal authorities, they are less likely to do those things which will shorten their lives. True? They’re less likely to get into drugs and into gangs and into other sorts of behavior that will cause their lives to not be so long.


Which brings us back to our passage in Exodus. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” If one honors their father and mother—and all their elders, for that matter—they will have a life that will be filled with the goodness of God. The child that does not respect their parents will not respect their teachers. The child that does not respect their teachers will not respect the Law—whether the Law of God or the laws of men. The child who does not respect the legal authorities does not respect God. Romans 13:2—Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.


Finally, I want to mention that this commandment requires obedience from not only children but from adults as well. Because this commandment is not only to encourage children to obey their parents, but it is also a warning to us to give respect and honor to not only our physical parents, but also to all of our elders. If children are not taught to respect God’s servants, that nation is going to have a difficult time surviving. Our friends Keil and Delitzsch wrote that

“By father and mother we are not to understand merely the authors and preservers of our bodily life, but also the founders, protectors, and promoters of our spiritual life, such as prophets and teachers, to whom sometimes the name of father is given…the guardians of our bodily and spiritual life, the powers ordained of God, to whom the names of father and mother (Genesis 45:8; Judges 5:7) may justly be applied, since all government has grown out of the relation of father and child, and draws its moral weight and stability, upon which the prosperity and well-being of a nation depends, from the reverence of children towards their parents.”

If we do not respect the servants of God, then we do not respect God. In one of His parables, Jesus uses a vineyard to illustrate the nation of Israel, He describes God as the owner of the vineyard, and he compares the wicked rulers of Israel to vinedressers who beat the servants of the owner of the vineyard. Matthew 21:38-41—“38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" 41 They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus lets them know that they are correct. And then He goes on to tell them in Matthew 21:43—"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." The nation that does not respect God, and does not respect His servants, will lose any and all blessings they may be receiving from Him.


Now, the responsibility to give proper respect to our parents—does it end when we become an “adult”? No, it does not. That responsibility includes not only giving them respect and honor, but caring for them financially as well. It means that when the parents get older, and cannot care for themselves, their children are to care for them. In fact, Jesus had to scold the Pharisees for not taking care of their parents. Matthew 15:1-6--1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition." As always, Jesus takes an opportunity to teach us something, and He does so in response to the false teachings of the Pharisees. Here, they were trying to trap Jesus and His disciples in the tradition of “One must wash their hands before they eat!”


But listen to how Jesus turns their traditions back on them and shows that they are the ones who are disobedient to God because of their traditions. Matthew 15:1-3—1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Notice something here—He does not deny that His disciples were indeed “transgressing” the traditions of the elders. However, He is quick to point out that the Pharisees were transgressing the commandments of God because of the traditions of their elders. Matthew 15:3-6—“3 Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” What the Pharisees were doing was this: we know they always wanted to look religious and pious in the eyes of men. So what they would do was, if they had to decide whether to give to help their aging parents, or give that money to the service of God, which one would make them look more religious and more noble in the eyes of their friends? They would tell their parents something like this: “What’s that? KUB said they're gonna cut off your lights if you don’t pay your bill? Well, I would help but I was gonna take this and put it in the offering plate this week. I'll pray for ya!” Jesus said, “No, don’t do that! You will dishonor God by dishonoring His commandment and by dishonoring your parents. Take that money you would have put in the plate, and give it to help your parents instead. That is the commandment.” That’s what God meant when He said through the prophet Malachi, in Malachi 6:6—“I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”


The apostle Paul echoes these sentiments in 1st Timothy 5:8—But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So the commandment to honor and respect and support our parents does not end when we reach “adulthood”. It is an obligation we are to keep as long as our parents are living. We take care of our parents first—that is what Christ is saying. John Calvin put it this way:

“Paul heightens the criminality of their conduct, by saying, that he who forgets his own is worse than an unbeliever. This is true for two reasons. First, the further advanced any one is in the knowledge of God, the less is he excused; and therefore, they who shut their eyes against the clear light of God are worse than unbelievers. Secondly, this is a kind of duty which nature itself teaches; for they are natural affections. And if, by the mere guidance of nature, unbelievers are so prone to love their own, what must we think of those who are not moved by any such feeling? Do they not go even beyond the ungodly in brutality?” (Calvin's Commentaries, commentary on 1st Timothy 5:5-8)

If children learn to respect authority from the top—God—down to the parents, then that respect will also work form the parents up to God. And if a nation of children learns to respect authority, especially the authority of God, then they will be blessed by God. Psalm 33:12—Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. And that responsibility resides with the parents. Let me close with an example of what happens when a child is raised not by parents but by institutions.

“The child was born on November 12, 1934 to sixteen-year-old Kathleen Maddox. He was entered into the ledgers as No-name Maddox. He was a classic abused child, left by his mother for days during the first years of his life. In 1939 his mother was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. When she returned, No-name was eight years old. His life became a long line of run-down hotels, and brutal uncles who came to live with his mother and drank heavily. When he was twelve his mother tried to place him in a foster home. But since one wasn't available, he was sent to the Gabalt(?) Home for Boys in Indiana… After ten months at Gabalt, he ran away but his mother rejected him. He then drifted into a life of crime. At thirteen he was caught for armed robbery and sentenced to an institution from which he escaped. At sixteen he had a long series of crimes under his belt. Finally in federal prison he was attacked and raped. At seventeen he pressed a razor blade against a fellow inmate's throat and sodomized him. He was transferred again and again and classified as dangerous with a long record of violent activity. Finally at the age of thirty-three he was released from Terminal Island Prison in California against his wishes. He had become obsessed with the satanic, he told his jailers that prison was his only home. [We know] No-name Maddox [by the name] Charles Manson.” (John MacArthur, "God's Pattern for Children--Part 2", GC 90-105)

Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord so that they may honor their father and mother and that their days may be long and that it may be well with them.


Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Prayers for the Persecuted (3/21/11)

3/17/2011 Ethiopia (ICC) Ethiopian Muslim Group Says More Attacks Against Christians Are Coming-

After a string of coordinated attacks on Ethiopian Christians, Muslims announced through loudspeakers that this attack is only the beginning and should be viewed as only a warning to the Christians.

On March 18, 2011 armed Muslims entered the home of an elderly Christian leader who founded a church near the town of Asendabo. When the militants began to assault the church leader, his grandson rushed to intervene, screaming at the men to leave his grandfather. The Islamists turned their attention to the young man. He sustained three wounds to his head and one on his hand before the men proceeded to rob the home and leave the young man for dead. His family was forced to make a three-hour journey on foot to take to a hospital in a nearby city, where he is still receiving treatment.

Muslims in the area have threatened that more attacks are coming and more Christians will be killed in the future attacks. Full Story

Pray that the Christians in this area remain steadfast and strong in their faith in Christ.

Pray the Muslim community sees the love of Christ displayed among the Christians and that their hearts will be changed towards worshiping Christ through their display.

Pray for the comfort of those who have been attacked and persecuted as a result of their faith.

3/17/2011 China (ChinaAid) Letter from Underground Chinese Church After Raid-

"The officials wouldn't listen to us and continued to hit the people with their batons. Everything was turned upside down and it was a scene of chaos! The officials handcuffed many people by force, and beat anybody who talked. Right on the spot, they destroyed any evidence of their illegal law enforcement (video and audio recording). Many camcorders, cameras, and cell phones were confiscated by force and destroyed. Are we supposed to believe that these law enforcement officers of our Party and our state are called people's police? How can people's police beat the people like this?"

These are the words of the Chinese underground church who issued a letter following an attack on a group studying the laws on religious affairs in China. Nearly 100 riot police officers and 80 plainclothes people burst into the home and burst into a violent attack on the believers in the house. Full Story

Pray for China as the persecution against the Christian population still continues.

Pray for the hearts of the Chinese people, as the numbers of those coming to know Christ increase daily. Pray that the Gospel continues to spread throughout the country despite fierce opposition.

Pray for the comfort and healing of those injured in these raids.

3/17/2011 Egypt (ChristianToday) - Coptic Christians Attacked by Egyptian Military After Suspending Demonstrations-

Dozens of Christian demonstrators have been attacked by Egyptian Armed Forces despite agreeing to suspend a sit-in protest outside the state-run television building that lasted 9 days.

The Coptic protestors came under fire on Monday, as the youth cleaned up the site and families from other provinces packed up their belongings, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.

Dr. Gameel Ebeid of the Coptic hospital in Cairo treated 15 victims of the assault, 14 of which suffered from broken feet and head wounds caused by electrified batons. Full Story

Pray for Egypt as the instability of the country over the past year has taken its toll on the Christian community there.

Pray for the future Egyptian government as there is deep concern over the future tolerance of the Christian church in Egypt.

Pray for the acting government as they appear to have taken a hard stance against the Christian population.

3/17/11 Pakistan (UCA) Asia Bibi Fears She's Next, After Pakistani Minister's Slaying-

Speaking from her prison cell, Asia Bibi has voiced her "pain and concern" following the assasination of Minister Shahbaz Bhatti in Pakistan. Bibi compared Bhatti to slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who defended her publicly "and paid with his life," her lawyer told Fides news agency.

Posters have appeared inside the jail showing images of Taseer and Bhatti with a large question mark and the threatening phrase: "Who will be next?" Full Report.

Pray that Asia remains reassured of God's sovereignty and grace in this situation, as some hope was lost with the assasinations of those who have supported her.

Pray that Asia may be released from prison and that she will be protected from militants who are passionate about seeing her punished for allegedly blaspheming Allah.

Pray for Asia's family as they have had to endure this grueling and heartwrenching situation.

3/16/2011 North Korea (ChristianToday) Campaign to End Persecution of Christians in North Korea-

Release International has launched a new campaign calling upon North Korea to protect the human rights of Christians.

The One Day campaign is asking people to sign a petition calling for religious freedom in the reclusive communist country, where all forms of Christian meeting, literature and Bibles are forbidden.

As one of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world, believers there are frequently detained, tortured and sent to labour camps because of their faith.

Entire families have been known to have been imprisoned beacuse one member of the family was found to be a Christian or in possession of a Bible. Full Story

Pray for the desperate situation in North Korea, as both intense persecution and hunger have become the norm in the country.

Pray for the North Korean government and that God would soften their hearts towards Christians.

Pray for the church in North Korea and that it will continue to grow despite what appear to be overwhelming odds.

3/18/2011 Iran (ChristianToday) Iranian News Website Suspended After Reporting Burning of New Testaments-

Mohabat News, the only active news agency inside Iran that reported on the recent mass arrests of Christians in the country, was suddenly suspended today. It is unclear why the website has been disabled, however in the past authorities have been known to shut down websites run by human rights groups and critics of the regime under the guise of defending the nation against "cyber warfare"

In recent months, a staff member of Mohabat News was allegedly threatened via an email from the Revolutionary Guard, which stated that he and his family would be targeted, and "bad things" would happen to them as a result of Mohabat's output.

The suspension came the day after the agency reported the seizure and burning of 600 New Testaments by authorities in western Iran on February 7, 2011. Full Story

Pray that Gospel continues to spread as much as it has in Iran. Nearly 300 Christians have been arrested in 34 cities in Iran since June 2010, yet the Gospel continues to spread and the church is growing.

Pray that although the New Testaments may have been burned, that the Word of God will continue to be distributed throughout the country and that God's Word will "not return void to Him."

Pray for the Mohabat News Agency as they have been the sole voice of the persecuted church within in Iran.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law----- "Remember the Sabbath Day" (part 2)

Last time we saw that the reason God commanded the people of Israel to keep the Sabbath was as a reminder that in six literal, 24-hour days God created the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. That God did not take thousands of years to do one thing, then another thousand years to do something else, and so on and so forth. That the seven-day week that our life revolves around is the exact same seven-day week that was the beginning of everything that we call time. And just as God rested on the seventh day—not because He was tired, but because He was done creating everything He wanted to create—God commanded the people of Israel to work six days and rest on the seventh. Of course, the day of the week that the Israelites rested on and set aside for worship was Saturday—the seventh day of the week. But most Christians, for the last 2000 years, have met to worship on Sunday. And of all of the Ten Commandments, this is the one that has been the most widely-debated. Was the Sabbath day changed from Saturday to Sunday? If so, who changed it and why? Or, is it still supposed to be Saturday, and are we breaking this commandment by meeting on Sunday instead of Saturday? Well, we’re going to see part of the answer to these questions today.


For now, let’s read the words of the LORD our God. Exodus 20:8-11—“8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. 10 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.” The debate over the breaking of this commandment goes back even father than the earliest days of the church. Not only was this one of the issues where the Pharisees were most vehemently opposed to Christ, but even in the years leading up to Christ walking the earth, there were mountains of books written about the subject of what could and what could not be done on the Sabbath. The Jewish religious leaders at the time had written thousands of volumes trying to explain the Old Testament Law. These books were called Talmud. And in the Talmud, there were 24 chapters devoted to the subject of what constituted “work.” These chapters were so burdensome and so detailed that for one of the most distinguished rabbis in all of Israel, it took nearly 2 ½ years just to study one chapter!


Well, back in 1881, a fellow named Alfred Edersheim wrote a masterpiece called “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.” He devoted one section to detailing what all the different rabbis and their students taught about what was and what was not to be considered “working on the Sabbath.” There were many different groups that taught different things, depending on who the rabbi was that they followed. Listen to how nit-picky some of the Sabbath regulations had become:

“As the most common kind of labour would be that of carrying, this is the first point discussed. The Biblical Law forbade such labour in simple terms. But Rabbinism developed the prohibition [against carrying] into eight special ordinances, by first dividing ‘the bearing of a burden’ into two separate acts - lifting it up and putting it down - and then arguing, that it might be lifted up or put down from two different places, from a public into a private, or from a private into a public place…If an object was thrown into the air with the left, and caught again in the right hand, [did] this involve sin[?] [T]here could be no doubt a man incurred guilt if he caught it with the same hand with which it had been thrown, but he was not guilty if he caught it in his mouth, since, after being eaten, the object no longer existed, and hence catching with the mouth was [allowed]…”

And as if these regulations weren’t enough, listen to this:

“[One] school also [outlawed the making of] any mixture, the ingredients of which would not be wholly dissolved before the Sabbath. [So], the Sabbath law was declared to apply even to lifeless objects. Thus, wool [was not to] be dyed if the process was not completed before the Sabbath. Nor was it even lawful to sell anything to a heathen unless the object would reach its destination before the Sabbath…[therefore, one rabbi] was careful to send his linen to be washed three days before the Sabbath. But it was lawful to leave olives or grapes in the olive or wine-press.”

So you kinda get the idea. By the time Jesus came and walked the earth, all these different schools of teaching had degraded the keeping of the Sabbath to nothing more than a list of rules that no man could follow. Their problem was this—these were man-made laws and regulations. These were not commands given by God. And not even those who created these rules and regulations could obey these commands. Jesus said of these men, in Matthew 23:3-4—“3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” In other words, they created this huge burden out of keeping the Sabbath, and they couldn’t even carry it! They had basically made work out of not working. And Jesus would show us that these rules and regulations were not what God intended when He gave the commandment concerning the Sabbath. Because what these rules and regulations did was this: they prevented people from doing good for others on the Sabbath for fear of breaking the Law of God and receiving the penalty of death.


But in Matthew 12, we see a confrontation between Christ and these self-appointed judges concerning what was considered “work” and what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. The subject of keeping the Sabbath was easily the one subject where the Pharisees were most vicious in their attacks against Christ. Matthew 12:1-5—1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?” John MacArthur says this about the Pharisees’ response to the disciples’ actions:

“Now this is what the Talmud said, if you roll wheat in your hands to remove the husks, it is sifting and that is forbidden. If you rub the heads of wheat, it is threshing and it is forbidden. If you clean off the shell, it is sifting and that is forbidden. If you throw the chaff into the air, that is winnowing, it is forbidden. So just in picking and rolling and rubbing and discarding, they had been reaping, threshing, sifting, grinding, winnowing and preparing food. And their real question, the real underlying question is...why do You and Your disciples live in such overt, open defiance of our religion? Why do You challenge our religion? Why do You challenge our authority? It is an implied threat. It is not a legitimate question, they don't want an answer. It is a scornful indictment, implying a threat.”

But Jesus points out the Pharisees’ hypocrisy: See, the Pharisees were totally devoted to worshipping in the temple. They were there every Sabbath day, every Passover, every time the temple was open, they were there. But they forgot one thing—that in order to have a complete temple worship service on the Sabbath, this forced the high priest to do work on the Sabbath. Look what Jesus says in verse 5—“…on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless.” All that temple service was a foreshadowing of Christ—that is, all the ceremonies and offerings and rituals were a picture of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. They were a kind of visual prophecy. Now, watch this: these Pharisees spent all their time worshipping in the temple, and look at what Jesus says in Matthew 12:5-6—“5 …on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless. 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.” This, I'm sure, reminded these Pharisees of Haggai 2:7-9—“7 I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts…9 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts.”


Serving Christ, obeying the commandments of Christ, and following the way of Christ are far greater than killing animals and burning their flesh in the temple. Because even the temple itself was only a temporary picture of Christ. In fact, the entire OT Law was only a picture of Christ. Galatians 3:23-25—23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Think about a map. If I have a map of Knoxville in my hands, do I actually have the city of Knoxville itself in my hands? No. But when I arrive in the city of Knoxville, I will know it because I will see the streets and landmarks and other details that are pictured on my map. The OT Law and the sacrifices and offerings—and yes, even the Sabbath—was a picture, a map of Christ. These things were not Christ, but they were given so that when Christ arrived, if one kept this map in front of them, they would recognize, by all the things that He said and did, that He was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for. But these fellows were blind, willfully ignorant, even though they had the truth staring them right in their face. Have you ever known someone that, you could tell them it was pouring down rain, you could come in soaking wet, and they'd still have to look outside? That’s what kind of men these Pharisees were. Jesus showed them, from the Hebrew Scriptures that they valued so much, that He was the Messiah—but they would not listen. He tells them in John 5:39-40—“39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” And here, He is going to tell them, point blank, that they do not understand the Scriptures that they claim to be experts of. Matthew 12:7—“But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.”


Many times Jesus told the Pharisees that even though they were teachers of the OT Scriptures, they had no clue what it meant. And this is one of those places. Because what He’s saying here is that God does not want us to just show up at a building one day out of the week with our ‘sacrifice’—He wants us to live a life that is marked by mercy toward others and love toward God and toward our neighbor. When these same Pharisees questioned Him about this, He told them the same thing. Mark 12:28-31—28 Then one of the scribes came, and…asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And He said in another place, “On these hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Now, I tell you all these things to lay the groundwork for what we’re about to see. And what we are going to see is that the OT Sabbath, that we read in Exodus 20:8-11, was fulfilled in Christ. The first 4 of the 10 Commandments deal with our relationship with God. The last 6 deal with our relationship toward others. Which is why Jesus said that the two great commandments are to Love God and to love your neighbor. Christ fulfilled the first four commandments, and never broke the other six.

• God said “You shall not have any other gods before Me”—Christ was God in the flesh, and the only way to the Father.
• God said “you shall not make for yourself any graven image”—because Christ is the image of the invisible God.
• God said “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain”—Christ was the manifestation of the name of God on earth.
• And when God said “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”—Christ is our Sabbath, our rest.

He says in Matthew 12:8—“For the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” Christ did the work of creating (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17). After Christ finished creating He rested from that work, and the Sabbath is subject to the authority of Christ. Now, this that we are reading in Matthew 12, we see it recorded also in Mark 2. And Christ says something there that Matthew does not record. Mark writes these words of Christ in Mark 2:27-28—“27 The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” In other words, all those burdens and regulations that the Pharisees had added to the keeping of the Sabbath—that you pick something up but you could only put it down in a certain place, and that you could collect rain water from a bucket but not water that had run down the wall—all these rules and regulations had made man subject to the authority of the Sabbath. But that was not what God intended. God meant for the Sabbath to be subject to man. Not that man could go changing it just for the sake of changing it. But the reason that we now worship on Sunday instead of Saturday is that Christ has set us free from the Law of sin and death, triumphing over death by His resurrection, and we worship on what the apostle John called “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10) to celebrate His victory over the grave when He rose on the first day of the week.


Now, lest we forget, the OT Law was not abolished—it was not just crumpled up and thrown away (Matthew 5:17). But, those of us in Christ are no longer under the penalty of that Law (Romans 6:14), since Christ fulfilled the righteous requirements of that Law (Romans 8:3-4) and has become our righteousness (2nd Corinthians 5:21). So what does that have to do with keeping the Sabbath? I'm glad you asked. There were many parts of the OT Law that Jesus explained in more detail. Adultery and murder are two examples, as well as the Sabbath. He showed us and taught us what it really means to keep the Sabbath. And if anyone was going to keep the Sabbath, it would be Christ, since He kept the Law perfectly and never violated it once. So if Christ did some kind of work on the Sabbath, that it was not lawful to do, He being born under the Law (Galatians 4:4) then He would have sinned and could not be our Savior. And, to go a step further, if God the Father did work on the Sabbath, would He not be violating His own Law? And by commanding the priests to do work in the tabernacle and in the temple, on the Sabbath, would He not be commanding those men to sin by breaking the Sabbath? I say all this for a reason: in John 5, we see Christ healing a man on the Sabbath, and listen to how He responds to His accusers. John 5:16-17—16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." The reason I've been so deliberate in saying that God rested from the work of creation is because it’s not as if God had not been doing anything after that first 7th day. He was even working every single day—including every 7th day of every week. Now, does that mean that God broke His own law by working on the Sabbath? No. Look at what Jesus said in Mark 2:27—“The Sabbath was made for man.” The purpose of the Sabbath was so that man could take a day off from the day-to-day grind of life, and rest and enjoy the presence and worship of the LORD our God. John MacArthur--

"Jesus dropped the bomb of all bombs on their self-righteous minds in [Mark 2:]28, 'So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.' 'I am,' He says, 'the sovereign ruler over the Sabbath.' The Son of Man, again the messianic title; the Lord of he Sabbath, a stinging, impossible blasphemy to them. But He is the Lord of the Sabbath because He is God. 'I am the sovereign of this day. I designed this day. I am the Creator.' Doesn't John say that at the beginning of his gospel? 'Everything made was made by Him, and without Him was not anything made', so it was He who ceased to work, it was He who rested. It was He who ordained this day to be blessed and separated from work. 'I am the sovereign of this day. I am the interpreter of the will of God for this day. You do not rule the Sabbath. You do not set the standards of behavior for the Sabbath, I do. I interpret God's will and God's Word.' Yes Jesus is the interpreter of God's will. He is the interpreter of God's Word. He is the interpreter of God's Law, not men."

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law----- "Remember the Sabbath Day"

Just to kinda summarize what we’ve see these last few weeks, the name that God has revealed to us is YHVH—"I AM". Whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is righteous—He IS. It also refers to the fact that He is eternal—from eternity past to eternity future, He has no beginning, He will have no end. It’s not that He WAS and He WILL BE—although that is true. But, more correctly, He IS. We saw that Jesus was the manifestation of that Name here on earth. His name is not some magical incantation, but is the only name by which we are saved. We saw that when we use God’s name in taking an oath that we are bound by that oath, even to our own hurt. And if we discover down the road that making that promise will cost us something, God’s name and God’s reputation are greater to be defended than our reputation, and as Peter said, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully, when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. (1st Peter 2:19-20). So now we know what God means when He says “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.”


Let me read for you from the Westminster Confession of Faith, written in 1646, which may very well be the greatest “Statement of Beliefs” ever written. This is what it says under the sections entitled “Of Lawful Oaths and Vows”:

• II. [It is only by] the name of God…by which men ought to swear, and therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence; therefore to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name, or to swear at all by any other thing, is sinful, and to be [despised]…a lawful oath, being imposed by lawful authority, [however,] …ought to be taken.
• III. Whosoever taketh an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an act, and therein to [testify to] nothing but what he is fully persuaded is the truth. Neither may any man bind himself by oath to any thing but what is good and just, and what he believeth so to be, and what he is able and resolved to perform.
• IV. An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words, without equivocation or mental reservation. It can not oblige to sin; but in any thing not sinful, being taken, it binds to performance, although to a man’s own hurt: nor is it to be violated, although made to heretics or infidels.
• VII. No man may vow to do any thing forbidden in the Word of God, or what would hinder any duty therein commanded, or which is not in his own power, and for the performance of which he hath no promise or ability from God.

This brings us now to the 4th Commandment, and the one which has been more hotly debated over the last 2000 years than any of the other 9. We find this command in Exodus 20:8-11--"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." We’re going to save for later the discussion over whether or not we as Christians are to keep a Saturday Sabbath. Today, however, let’s look at the reason why God gave this commandment in the first place.


We find that reason in Exodus 20:11—“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.” There are some in the church who try to take the Bible and make it fit into the Darwinian concept of Evolution, and the belief that the earth is “billions of years” old. They do not believe that the Bible is sufficient, in and of itself, stand up to “science”, as if the ideas of men are superior to the word of God. So rather than take the time and effort to defend the Scriptures against the enemies of God—the Darwinians—they mingle the two together, and what you come up with is about as close to heresy as one can get. In fact, what these people do is, for all intents and purposes, they call God a liar, because He says here that He took how long to create the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them? "Six days."


The Hebrew word for “day” is “yom.” If you ever hear the term “Yom Kippur”—that is the “Day of Atonement”. It is the word used here, and it is the word used in Genesis 1, when it says “The evening and morning was the first day…the second day…&c.” Thing is, the people who mingle Darwinism with the Bible, here’s their argument: they take 2nd Peter 3:8, which says with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Then they take the creation story found in Genesis 1, and they twist them together into a mashed-up pretzel and come up with this idea—that when the Bible says that God created in six days, that really means six “one-thousand year periods”, because with the Lord one day is as a thousand years…etc. But this is why God gave us a brain and logic. In Exodus 20:11, God says that “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them,” correct? And “rested on the seventh day,” correct? According to verse 9, when were the people to labor and do all their work? “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” And they were to rest when? “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.” HERE’S MY POINT: Does God tell Moses, “Six thousand years you shall labor, but take the next thousand years as a Sabbath?” No. He says, “In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth…and rested on the seventh day…six days you shall labor…but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.” When the people of Israel heard Moses speak this word from God, saying that God created the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days, do you think anybody asked, “Well, did He mean six literal days, because ya know, the word ‘yom’ can simply mean a period of time. Let’s call a council and discuss this.” Nobody would be that foolish. When they heard this word, they understood, they knew that God was telling them that He created the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six literal DAYS!! God made it as clear as He possibly could to the people, that the seven-day week was not simply “symbolic” of the creation process, but was in fact the exact amount of time that God created and rested. He created in six DAYS, He rested on the seventh DAY.


Now, the skeptic will ask this question: “So you think the earth looks exactly the same now as when it was crated?” This is actually a trick question. And one which is very easily rejected, because the answer is “No, we don’t believe the earth looks exactly the same as when it was created.” First of all, there was a world-wide flood. This flood changed the shape of pretty much the whole world. 2nd Peter 3:4-6—Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that existed then, perished, being flooded with water.


Then they will say, “So, why does the earth look older than it is? Did God make the earth look older just to trick us?” No, He simply created and “old” earth. Think of it this way: When God created the birds of the air, did He create eggs? Or birds? He made birds. When He created frogs, did He make tadpoles? Or frogs? He made frogs. When He made the fish in the sea, did He make fish eggs? Or fish? He made fish. When He made man, did God create a baby? Or did He create a full-grown man? He created a full-grown man! Now let’s apply this to the earth and the universe itself: God created a fully-functioning, fully-developed planet, and fully-developed stars and fully-developed planets and, consequently He created a fully-developed universe. That is why it looks “old.” And for the record, all this talk about “carbon dating” and “radiologic dating”—it is actually a faulty science. Because they are trying to measure “billions of years” with a stopwatch. The methods of radiological dating can only measure a few thousand years at best—and even then it’s a crap-shoot. Usain Bolt can run 100 meters in like 8 seconds. Does that mean he can run a mile in 2 minutes? That’s what they try to say when they measure the age of the earth using radiological dating. Basically. But, this is what we read in Romans 1:20-22—20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools. So, no, the earth does not look “exactly the same” as when it was created.
Another mistake the Darwinists make is this: they claim that lizards evolved into birds and that wolves evolved into whales. I'm not kidding! Here again, the “Theistic Evolutionist” runs into trouble, because if we read the Genesis account, birds were created before lizards and whales were created before wolves. Watch the order here. Genesis 1:20-23--20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Now, notice something first—evening and morning were the fifth day; not “the morning and the evening were one day.” This is why the Jewish day begins at sunset. The Saturday Sabbath actually begins Friday at sundown. This will be crucial and will figure into things when we talk about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.) What do have in verse 21? On the fifth day, God created fish and birds. Let’s read on.


Genesis 1:24-25--24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So on the sixth day God creates the land animals. Day 5: fish and birds; Day 6: land animals. Therefore, lizards could not evolve into birds because—to show the foolishness of the whole “one day is a thousand years” argument—lizards could not become birds because birds came 1000 years before lizards. Wolves could not become whales because whales were created 1000 years before wolves. And the whole “monkeys-to-man” nonsense? Genesis 2:7—And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Does it say that God “caused monkeys to turn into men”? No. It says that God formed man from the dust of the earth. Not only that, but consider this as well: Life begins at conception. If man evolved from monkeys, then that means the first “man” was born to a less-evolved being, and received life from that being. But what does the word of God say? That man received life from God Himself, man became a living being at what point? When God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being. Man did not receive life until God gave it to him. If he was in the womb of his monkey-mother, he would have already been a living being. Period, paragraph, end of story.


One more thing: does the fact that God rested on the seventh day mean He got tired after all that work? Isaiah 40:28—Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. So why did He rest the seventh day? Because He was done! Just like the old saying, “Where do you always find what you're looking for? In the last place you look.” Because you don’t keep looking for something after you find it! Likewise, God had created, in those six days, everything He wanted to create. So He rested from His work of creating. He rested because He was done! The real question is not “How could He do all that in only six days”—the real question is “I wonder why He took so long?”


So, let’s bring this back to our passage in Exodus. God gave a command to Moses, Exodus 20:8-11--“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.” Because God worked 6 days to create the earth and the universe and He rested on the seventh, the people of Israel were to work for six days—Sunday through Friday—and rest on the seventh, or the Sabbath, which began at sundown on Friday and ran through all of Saturday, and ended at sunrise on Sunday morning. So, when the sun went down Friday evening, you put down your tools, you penned up your cattle, you shut down until sunrise on Sunday morning.


Here’s some bonus info for you, since we don’t have time to begin our next section. The Passover, no matter what day of the week it fell upon, was also a Sabbath. This is an important fact when we get to talking about the crucifixion of Christ. That particular year, the Passover fell on Friday, so Christ was crucified on Thursday—NOT FRIDAY! There are men whom I deeply respect and admire who still hold to a Friday crucifixion. Now, we are not going to be judged of God by our opinion of what day of the week Christ was crucified. And it’s not enough to break fellowship over. But, I would rather we be accurate about it.


How many days was Jesus in the tomb? Three. How many nights was He in the tomb? Three. On what morning did He rise? Sunday. So, let’s count backwards. When the women got to the tomb at sunrise,day was just breaking, and Jesus was already gone. He rose before sunrise, so we don’t count Sunday as one of the "three days." He was in the tomb Saturday night, Saturday day. Friday night, Friday day. How many days and nights is that? Two days and two nights. We have a problem with a Friday crucifixion. If we include Thursday night and Thursday day—guess what we have now? Three days, three nights. They had to take His body off the cross before sunset, or they would have been handling a dead body on a Sabbath--a big no-no by the Old Testament Law. Now follow me here. In John 19:30-31—30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Deuteronomy 21:22-23—“22 If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day.” We know that Jesus did not sin, but that God placed upon Him all the sins of all who would ever believe in Him. But what we see is this: that even in death, our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law, including the Sabbath, of which He said, “The Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). Which will give us a good lead-in for next week when we discuss whether or not we are bound to observe the Saturday Sabbath.


Jesus is Lord. Amen.