Christ on the Sabbath

Driving home: Surely, if the scrupulous Pharisees could do no better than this with all their eagle eyed observance of Jesus, then Jesus Sabbath keeping must have been exemplary.

Martin quotes Alfred Edersheim's description of the Pharisees' meticulous and burdensome legalism, especially regarding the Sabbath, to illustrate the oppressive context in which Jesus lived and taught.

Alfred Adersheim in his really famous monumental study of the life and times of Jesus, the Messiah, says this of the Pharisees in the time of Christ, quoting him. They provided for every possible and impossible case. They entered into every detail, a private family and public life and with iron logic, unbending rigor, and the most minute analysis they pursued and dominated man laying on him a yoke, which was truly unbearable and nowhere was this more true than in the manmade rules and regulations that were invented by the Jewish lawyers with reference to the Sabbath. Well, to the Sabbath. Let ...

20:05 - 21:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Surely, if the scrupulous Pharisees could do no better than this with all their eagle eyed observance of Jesus, then Jesus Sabbath keeping must have been exemplary.

Martin provides examples of Pharisaic rules regarding how far one could travel on the Sabbath (2000 cubits) and how these restrictions could be circumvented by establishing a 'new home' with food or linking buildings with rope, demonstrating the absurdity of their man-made laws.

Alfred Adersheim in his really famous monumental study of the life and times of Jesus, the Messiah, says this of the Pharisees in the time of Christ, quoting him. They provided for every possible and impossible case. They entered into every detail, a private family and public life and with iron logic, unbending rigor, and the most minute analysis they pursued and dominated man laying on him a yoke, which was truly unbearable and nowhere was this more true than in the manmade rules and regulations that were invented by the Jewish lawyers with reference to the Sabbath. Well, to the Sabbath. Let ...

20:05 - 21:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Surely, if the scrupulous Pharisees could do no better than this with all their eagle eyed observance of Jesus, then Jesus Sabbath keeping must have been exemplary.

Martin gives the example of riding a donkey on the Sabbath, provided it was saddled the day before, to further illustrate the arbitrary and legalistic nature of Pharisaic Sabbath rules.

new home because there is a meal all ready for me. And from there, you could travel a further two thousand cubits. And this rule got even more and more complicated. If in some way you linked buildings together with a piece of rope or a beam, then you could claim your neighbor's home to be linked with your own, thus making the two one. And in that way, it was possible to travel all the way down the street before you actually started your two thousand cubits. Some other examples. You could ride your donkey on the Sabbath day, providing you saddle him the day before. The way you dress was careful...

21:08 - 22:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Surely, if the scrupulous Pharisees could do no better than this with all their eagle eyed observance of Jesus, then Jesus Sabbath keeping must have been exemplary.

Martin describes the Pharisaic rule that women could not wear pins or jewelry on the Sabbath, lest they take it off to show a friend and thus 'carry a burden,' highlighting the extreme and impractical nature of their regulations.

new home because there is a meal all ready for me. And from there, you could travel a further two thousand cubits. And this rule got even more and more complicated. If in some way you linked buildings together with a piece of rope or a beam, then you could claim your neighbor's home to be linked with your own, thus making the two one. And in that way, it was possible to travel all the way down the street before you actually started your two thousand cubits. Some other examples. You could ride your donkey on the Sabbath day, providing you saddle him the day before. The way you dress was careful...

21:08 - 22:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Surely, if the scrupulous Pharisees could do no better than this with all their eagle eyed observance of Jesus, then Jesus Sabbath keeping must have been exemplary.

Martin explains that putting a cloth on a cut finger was allowed, but if it was done to aid healing, it broke the Sabbath, showing the fine, often illogical, distinctions made by the Pharisees.

new home because there is a meal all ready for me. And from there, you could travel a further two thousand cubits. And this rule got even more and more complicated. If in some way you linked buildings together with a piece of rope or a beam, then you could claim your neighbor's home to be linked with your own, thus making the two one. And in that way, it was possible to travel all the way down the street before you actually started your two thousand cubits. Some other examples. You could ride your donkey on the Sabbath day, providing you saddle him the day before. The way you dress was careful...

21:08 - 22:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And by this perverse legalism, they had made what was intended to be a blessing for man, a tremendous burden.

Martin shares the rule about dipping a radish in salt but not leaving it too long, lest it be considered 'pickling' and thus 'work,' illustrating the ridiculous extent of Pharisaic Sabbath regulations.

But for example, you were allowed to dip a radish in salt, but you could not leave it in the salt too long or you might be pickling it. And that was work on the Sabbath. If you found some dirt on your dress, you could brush it off, but you couldn't rub it. You could throw something in the air and catch it with the same hand. But if you caught it with the other hand, that was considered work. If you were moving hay for the animals, you must use a different hand than the one you normally use. So if you're right-handed on the Sabbath, you had to use your left hand to move the hay. Now listen to t...

22:18 - 23:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And by this perverse legalism, they had made what was intended to be a blessing for man, a tremendous burden.

Martin gives the example that one could brush dirt off a dress but not rub it, further demonstrating the arbitrary and minute distinctions in Pharisaic Sabbath law.

But for example, you were allowed to dip a radish in salt, but you could not leave it in the salt too long or you might be pickling it. And that was work on the Sabbath. If you found some dirt on your dress, you could brush it off, but you couldn't rub it. You could throw something in the air and catch it with the same hand. But if you caught it with the other hand, that was considered work. If you were moving hay for the animals, you must use a different hand than the one you normally use. So if you're right-handed on the Sabbath, you had to use your left hand to move the hay. Now listen to t...

22:18 - 23:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And by this perverse legalism, they had made what was intended to be a blessing for man, a tremendous burden.

Martin illustrates that throwing something in the air and catching it with the same hand was allowed, but catching it with the other hand was 'work,' highlighting the illogical nature of the rules.

But for example, you were allowed to dip a radish in salt, but you could not leave it in the salt too long or you might be pickling it. And that was work on the Sabbath. If you found some dirt on your dress, you could brush it off, but you couldn't rub it. You could throw something in the air and catch it with the same hand. But if you caught it with the other hand, that was considered work. If you were moving hay for the animals, you must use a different hand than the one you normally use. So if you're right-handed on the Sabbath, you had to use your left hand to move the hay. Now listen to t...

22:18 - 23:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And by this perverse legalism, they had made what was intended to be a blessing for man, a tremendous burden.

Martin describes the rule that if moving hay for animals, one must use a different hand than normally used (e.g., left hand if right-handed), showcasing the burdensome and nonsensical nature of the regulations.

But for example, you were allowed to dip a radish in salt, but you could not leave it in the salt too long or you might be pickling it. And that was work on the Sabbath. If you found some dirt on your dress, you could brush it off, but you couldn't rub it. You could throw something in the air and catch it with the same hand. But if you caught it with the other hand, that was considered work. If you were moving hay for the animals, you must use a different hand than the one you normally use. So if you're right-handed on the Sabbath, you had to use your left hand to move the hay. Now listen to t...

22:18 - 23:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And by this perverse legalism, they had made what was intended to be a blessing for man, a tremendous burden.

Martin provides the most ridiculous example: an egg laid by a hen being fattened for the table could be eaten, but an egg laid by a hen kept for laying eggs could not, as the latter was 'working' on the Sabbath. This vividly illustrates the extreme and absurd legalism Jesus confronted.

But for example, you were allowed to dip a radish in salt, but you could not leave it in the salt too long or you might be pickling it. And that was work on the Sabbath. If you found some dirt on your dress, you could brush it off, but you couldn't rub it. You could throw something in the air and catch it with the same hand. But if you caught it with the other hand, that was considered work. If you were moving hay for the animals, you must use a different hand than the one you normally use. So if you're right-handed on the Sabbath, you had to use your left hand to move the hay. Now listen to t...

22:18 - 23:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your own understanding and practice of Sabbath observance to ensure it is not pharisaical or legalistic, but true to Scripture.

A listener shares a personal anecdote about encountering a 'Sabbath elevator' in Israel that automatically stops on every floor so Orthodox Jews don't have to push buttons (which would be 'work'), illustrating how Pharisaical legalism still manifests today.

Mm-hmm. We were checking in on the Jewish Sabbath. We were on the 22nd floor. We were just about to get into this elevator, this hotel elevator.

38:35 - 38:56 Read in full sermon