Sabbath Controversy #1: Expostion

Driving home: But you know what these elders, these rabbis had done? They took every phrase of the divine directive and they said, now when it says, thou shalt do no work, they took that statement and they said, now that means, and th…

Martin quotes Alfred Edersheim's work to illustrate the ridiculous extent of rabbinic Sabbath regulations, such as forbidding women from looking in mirrors or tailors from carrying needles, to show the Pharisees' legalistic mindset.

So that you had, as it were, the simple command of God, then you had the children, the children of their laws, and then those children had a bunch of grandchildren until every little statement of rabbinic tradition, I'm sorry, every statement of God's law had been so overburdened with these traditions of the elders as to make it almost impossible for a Jew to be aware of, let alone to keep all of the Sabbath regulations of the scribes and of the Pharisees. For example, in what is recognized by all responsible Christian scholars as a classic work, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfr...

18:30 - 19:33 Read in full sermon

Driving home: My friends, listen. These people took every one of those regulations seriously. And that's why Jesus said of these very people, they bind burdens upon men too heavy to be borne.

An example from Talmudic law about not using stilts on the Sabbath (lest one fall and 'work' by picking them up) is used to further highlight the absurdity and burden of the Pharisees' rules.

And I could go on and read incident after incident out of this summary. I'll not weary you with it, but you get some of the flavor of it. If a man were using stilts to walk across a stream in normal conditions, he couldn't do it on a Sabbath because if he fell off, picking up the stilts would be working on the Sabbath. You say, Pastor, that is ridiculous!

20:15 - 20:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus, like a good physician, first addresses the immediate symptom (the disciples' actions) and then moves to the deeper, underlying spiritual disease (the Pharisees'…

Jesus's approach to the Pharisees' questions is compared to a good physician who first treats immediate symptoms and then addresses the root causes of a disease, illustrating Jesus's method of answering the immediate question before tackling deeper doctrinal issues.

And as we approach the passage, I want you to notice that as with the question of fasting, our Lord first of all addressed the immediate question in order to defuse the issue, and then He addressed the deeper issues that lay beneath the surface which must be reckoned with if they are really to resolve the problem. You see, it's like a good physician. Now there are a lot of physicians who are in good positions. Thank God there are some good ones.

23:51 - 24:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus corrects the Pharisees' fundamental misunderstanding, stating that 'the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' Martin explains this means the Sabbath is a…

Martin quotes A.B. Bruce's 'The Training of the Twelve' to summarize Jesus's teaching that the Sabbath was meant to be a blessing and a boon to man, not a burden, reinforcing the gracious nature of the institution.

For the sabbath, it was made to promote his highest interest and to serve his ultimate good. Listen to the beautiful summary of this part of the statement of our Lord from A.B. Bruce's classic work on the training of the twelve.

45:40 - 45:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus corrects the Pharisees' fundamental misunderstanding, stating that 'the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' Martin explains this means the Sabbath is a…

The original Sabbath in Eden is presented as an example of a day for Adam to pause from labor and soak in God's glory, even in his unfallen state, illustrating the Sabbath's purpose for man's highest good.

It was not a day taken from man by God in an exacting spirit, but a day given by God in mercy to man, God's holiday to his subjects. All legislation enforcing its observance, having for its end to ensure that all should really get the benefit of this blessing, that no man should rob himself and still less his fellow creatures of this gracious blessing. So when God said, in it you will do no work, neither your servants, neither your animals, that was for the blessing of man. Even as the original sabbath in Eden, that creation ordinance was for the blessing of Adam, even in his unfallen state, a...

46:23 - 47:50 Read in full sermon

The point: View the Lord's Day as a wonderful gift from a gracious God, not an expression of tyranny.

Martin recounts a conversation with Mr. Spence, who expressed gratitude for the Sabbath, stating he would 'make one just to keep my sanity' if God hadn't mandated it, illustrating a healthy, non-legalistic appreciation for the Lord's Day as a gift.

A Christ-one, with reference to your views of the appointed day of rest? Do you view it as a wonderful gift from a gracious God? Or do you view it as some kind of an expression of spiritual and personal tyranny that God should require one day in every recurring cycle of seven to be set apart from the normal labors, to be given, not to inactivity, but to a different kind of activity, the activity of physical and spiritual rest and refreshment and worship? It seems to me that it's a terrible indication of a state of the human heart that would resent having that privilege mandated by God. I shall...

58:57 - 60:10 Read in full sermon

The point: See the Lord Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath, not to abolish it, but to purify, elevate, and give it back to us, dripping with His blood and throbbing with His Spirit's life.

Marriage and labor are used as analogies to explain that Christ, as Lord, does not abolish God's gifts but purifies, elevates, and gives them back to us, 'soaked in His blood and throbbing with the life of His Spirit,' applying this principle to the Sabbath.

In redemption He doesn't abolish God's gifts to men. He purifies them and elevates them and gives them back to us, soaked in His blood and throbbing with the life of His Spirit. Isn't that what He does with the gift of marriage? The gift of marriage is given back to us in His blood and throbbing with the life of His Spirit.

61:26 - 61:51 Read in full sermon