The Sabbath is Made for Man

The sermon text for today is from the Gospel reading. The setting was Jesus and his disciples walking through a grain field. As they began to pluck and eat the grain, the Pharisees saw what was happening and accused Jesus of breaking the law of the Sabbath. The Pharisees were out to get Jesus; they were always looking for a way to trap Him. The Pharisees were jealous of the man named Jesus. The Pharisees had spent long years of study in the rabbinical schools, while Jesus had not. They were experts in the "Law" and were always studying what they could do and what they could not do. What do they get for all these years of studying? Rodney Daingerfield says it best "I get no respect!" The people were all following and talking about Jesus. They were going to Jesus with spiritual questions instead of going to the Pharisees. Jesus was getting all the attention and they didn’t like it! And oh – did they want to see this man fall!

We too have a lot of Pharisee in us! The scenes in our lives today are all too familiar. It may be that a new employee is out performing all the other employees and now they are jealous and even feel threatened for their own jobs. The old employees try to keep up and "show-up" the young employees. Meanwhile, the management is talking about how great the new employee is doing and giving them the slaps on the backs that the others have NOT been getting. The old employees begin watching the new employee like a hawk, looking for cracks or mistakes. Sometimes, like the Pharisees, older employees have "set-up" the new employee to take him or her down and to get the new employee off the "pedestal". We find our selves in the same shoes of the Pharisees. It may be on the job, in politics such as a President, maybe a friend, or maybe even a new member or church worker, it may be over an issue within the church or a difference in opinion at a church council meeting. Sometimes when we spot a crack, mistake, or flaw – we will sit back smile on the inside while not showing any emotion on the outside.

Why are we this way? After all, we are Christians! Yes we are, but at the same time we are sinners. We can’t help it -- we were born this way. King David writes in the book of Psalms, chapter 51, verse 5, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." So yes, we were born into sin and we are still sinners today, even though Christ has washed us clean through his life, death, and resurrection. As stated in our confession and absolution: "we are sinful and unclean". This is reflective in God’s Word as found in 1 John 2:8-9: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Now going back to the Pharisee out in the grain fields with Jesus and the disciples, it must be noted that the Pharisee is addressing the Third Commandment "Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy. The Pharisee is not attacking a little unknown law, but the Third Commandment. The Pharisees just doesn’t get it regarding Jesus and His purpose. You see, the Pharisee basis his hope and salvation in living out the law! The Pharisees and many Christians today view the Old Testament as a book of rules and regulations to be kept in order to earn salvation. They do not understand that the Law does not save a person, but only the Gospel. Because we are born into sin, we too want to follow laws and rules to get into heaven. It is in our nature. Here in Louisiana, part of the Bible Belt, a fortress for the Baptist and other denominations, . . . we (you and I) are forced to live under the legal hold of the "Blue Laws". The law has bound us as to what we can do and cannot do. It is easy for us as Christians to become Pharisaical and to shift our hope away from Christ and more to ourselves and make Salvation contingent on how we live and what we do and by what we don’t do! As I said earlier, we have a lot of Pharisee in us, and it is important that we keep our focus NOT on what we do, but on what Christ has done for us. Like the Pharisee, can we live a perfect life? Think about it… never breaking a Law – and putting our faith in ourselves by basing our Salvation in our own works!

The wages of sin is death… one sin and your out! Let me ask you this,… Do you think that you could ever, ever earn your way to heaven by doing good works? The answer is NO! Now going back to the Pharisee, why is he confused? Again he is trying to earn his way to heaven by not breaking the laws. Now we need to focus on the misconception. What is the purpose of the Law? Is it to show us how we are supposed to live? Well, we want to say yes, but the answer is NO! The purpose of the Law is to hold a mirror in your face and to SHOW YOU THAT YOU ARE A SINNER! THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW SHOW YOU THAT YOU ARE A FAILURE AND THAT YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO GO TO HEAVEN! This is supported through Scripture when Paul writes in the book of Romans (3:20) "because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." Remember the Scriptures tell us that the wages of sin is death, and one sin … and you are bound to hell. There are only two things we DESERVE in this life, 1) DEATH and 2) TO GO TO HELL! That is what you deserve. It is hopeless for us to get to heaven by ourselves. WE NEED HELP! OUR HELP COMES IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.

Paul further writes "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." Our Savior is Jesus Christ. The Pharisee is trying to earn his way to heaven by living a good life. We, on the other hand, live by the grace of God. The Law serves as our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. The Law sets up the Gospel. The Gospel is Jesus Christ. Now we turn to the question of "What must we do to be saved? The answer is NOTHING, Christ has already done everything for us. We are saved by Faith and Faith is given to us as a "gift" when we are baptized, when we hear the Word of God, and when we receive the Lord’s Supper. We do not come to Church on Sunday out of Law, but we come to be renewed and refreshed. Our motivation for coming to Church is not because God wants us too, but our motivation is what Christ has done for us and is continuing to do for us today. Through Christ life, death and resurrection, he has won victory for us today. He lived the perfect life that the Pharisees were trying to live. Jesus is the Son of God! Jesus was present at the very beginning, at creation. Jesus was present when the Sabbath was created. We need to focus on the last verse of the gospel reading. Jesus said to them, " The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. " So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Think about that! If we are bound by laws as to what we can do and cannot do, then we are held captive to the Law and must serve the Law. However, the Sabbath was made for man. We are not bound by the law to conform to the Sabbath through observing the Law! Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man. It is a day of rest, a day to reflect on what God has done for us, a day to worship, and a day to receive his gifts of faith to us. It is not only a day given to us, but a day in which God comes to us. It is a special day that we can focus on God’s Word and receive His body and blood during the Lord’s Supper. The Sabbath is a day to be enjoyed. The Sabbath is a gift to us from God for us to be feed Spiritually. We worship God every day, but the Sabbath was not meant to enslave God’s people, but to benefit them. This is the day the Lord hath made, we rejoice and are glad in it! It is a comfort knowing that Christ brings us rest and peace on this joyous day. Enjoy your Sabbath rest!