The Lord Of The Sabbath

In case we are guilty of, as they say, losing sight of the forest for the trees,

it might be helpful for us before we dig too far into Sabbath issues

to kind of take a step back and just be reminded of the purpose

and what's actually happening here in the Gospel of Mark.

You remember that the Gospel, the singular purpose of it,

is to proclaim the good news, as we see in chapter 1, verse 1,

to proclaim the good news that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and the Son of God.

And then by extension of that, understand that Jesus' death paid for the sins of His people

and His resurrection secured eternal life for all that belong to Him.

So when we come to these Gospels, and we've talked about this so often,

they're not biographies, they're Gospels, they're proclamations.

They're not for entertaining us, they are for persuading us.

And as Mark is going through, and Matthew and Luke and John as well,

and they're presenting the identity of Christ,

they're presenting the identity of Christ for a purpose.

We can't just stop at who He is, which is where a lot of people get stuck.

They're happy to admit even that intellectually speaking,

Jesus was unique, that He was from God, that He possessed the power of God.

They may not have very many qualms with His identity, but then they stop there.

And instead of allowing His identity to persuade them into what He taught, into what He did,

they just kind of give intellectual scent to Him, conform to some religious ritual,

claim to be a Christian or whatever, and kind of move on from there.

But we can't stop there, right?

The purpose in identifying Christ is to actually show us what His purpose was, why He came.

And so the issue when we're studying about the life of Christ,

and we understand that, and we see all of these claims of divinity,

and we see all these demonstrations of deity and His healings,

and all of these other things,

the issue is as we continue to read through the Gospels,

we find out that there's a big problem.

And that's the fact that He died.

This Savior died.

That wasn't supposed to happen, right?

At least in the minds of the Jews,

their idea of Messiah was not that the Messiah would die,

but that He would live, He would reign,

that He would establish His kingdom.

And so the issue is that as Jesus comes along,

and He shows all these things, and people begin to follow Him,

and then the problem is He died.

But that's not supposed to be what happened.

Well, what was the purpose of that?

Well, the purpose of that death was to take our place,

to pay for our sin.

And fortunately, gratefully, it didn't stop with His death.

He resurrected from the dead.

He secured life, giving proof that all of His claims were true,

that He is indeed the Messiah.

Therefore, the issue was not with what happened to Jesus.

The issue was with how we, as mankind,

were interpreting what the Messiah was supposed to be to begin with.

And so as Mark is going through this,

he's identifying who Jesus is,

and all of that is for the purpose of the Gospel.

And the truth is, He is indeed the Messiah.

He is the Son of God.

And there's been overwhelmingly compelling evidence,

even in the first two chapters,

that that is indeed the case.

It is hard to argue against it.

The only way that you can argue against this fact

is just to say that every bit of this is just a lie.

It's made up.

But there's just too much evidence to say to the contrary of that.

He is Messiah.

He is Son of God.

And if that's true, His death had a purpose,

and His resurrection is fantastic and even expected.

Well, such immensely good news,

you would expect,

would be universally celebrated and accepted, right?

But it wasn't.

It wasn't.

Over and over in chapter 2 and chapter 3,

in the first part of chapter 3 at least,

where we get to today,

this is actually Mark's purpose in writing these events.

He's bringing out the fact that

though Jesus is good news,

though He is Messiah,

not everyone believed that.

Not everyone wanted to accept that.

In fact,

the very people that should have,

the very people that should have recognized who He was,

actually denied Him and rejected Him

and even went so far as to oppose Him,

to seek His own destruction.

And that's really what's unfolding here.

We see all of these various conflicts

that Mark is bringing together.

And the issue here,

in each one of them,

really the link between them all,

is this issue of authority.

The Pharisees and the scribes,

and even to an extent,

as we saw last week,

the disciples of John the Baptist,

had placed themselves

in a position of authority,

religious authority.

And now,

here comes Jesus,

naturally as the Son of God,

teaching with tremendous authority,

demonstrating that authority

and that power in healing.

In fact,

there's a Greek word that's used over and over,

even up to this point in Mark,

excusia.

It means authority or power.

If you remember in chapter one,

Jesus went to the synagogue,

and all the people were astonished

because he didn't teach them

like the scribes taught,

but he taught as one with authority.

It's that word,

excusia,

authority,

power.

There was significance

to his person

in his teaching.

Okay?

And then immediately,

that excusia,

that power is demonstrated

as the demon-possessed man

in the synagogue

is freed from that bondage

simply by Jesus' word.

When we get to the story

of the paralytic,

the word is used again.

Jesus looks at the Pharisees,

and he says,

I'm going to do this

in order that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority,

excusia,

to forgive sins.

And we see this.

The issue is the Pharisees

believed themselves

to be the authoritative power.

And then here comes Jesus

showing that that's actually not true.

He is the one with the power.

He is the one with the authority.

And what happens?

They're threatened.

They didn't like that very much.

There's this struggle now.

The gospel of grace

versus the gospel

of religious observance.

The gospel of works.

And now they're fighting

against one another.

Who's right?

Who has the real authority?

Who has the real power?

And that's what's really unfolding

here in these stories.

When we get to the final two

that we just read about,

the issue is elevated.

And it all has to do

with Sabbath observance.

It was one thing for them

to see Jesus not fasting,

following their traditions of fasting.

It was completely intolerable for them

to see that he didn't conform

to their traditions

of Sabbath observance.

And that's the issue

coming to the surface here.

So much so that this is the thing

that pushes them to the edge.

And when we get to the very end of it,

all of this is kind of building.

Here he is, Jesus is forgiving sins.

And now he's hanging out with sinners.

And now he's not fasting.

And now he's not doing the Sabbath thing.

And what's the result?

We're going to go find our enemies,

political enemies,

and we're going to find a way together

to destroy this man.

Why?

Because he didn't conform to their rules.

It's this battle of authority.

The first thing we're going to look at

is Jesus confronting religious perversion

or religious distortion,

however you would prefer to say it.

Look with me again at verse 23.

And it came to pass

that he went through the fields of grain

on the Sabbath day,

and his disciples began as they went

to pluck the ears of grain.

And the Pharisees said unto him,

Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day

that which is not lawful?

Now, if you'll remember from your history classes

in school,

you will know that the Romans

were partly known for their road system.

Well, even as that is true,

their roads weren't quite like our roads.

We can literally find a road to go anywhere,

can't we?

There's roads everywhere.

It wasn't exactly like that in Jesus's day.

There were some main routes

that people could follow,

but if Jesus and his disciples

were looking to go to the next town over,

per se,

they might not look for a road.

They might just cross through an open field.

And in the process of traveling

from place to place,

they would have crossed people's property.

They would have crossed pastures.

They would have gone places

that were relatively unmarked.

But what's happening in this instance

is Jesus and his disciples

are traveling from place to place

and they're doing just that.

They're cutting through someone's field.

Now, if you're reading along

in the King James with me,

it says cornfields

or they were plucking corn.

Okay, well, corn wasn't discovered

at least by civilized society

until the 1600s.

That's not what this means here.

This is an old English word for grain.

It's probably wheat or barley.

And as they're walking

through this wheat field,

it has ripened probably in the spring

or the summer and it's ripened.

And they're taking the heads of grain

and they are eating them

because they're hungry.

The issue wasn't that they were taking

from someone else's field.

In fact, the Bible actually said

that that was perfectly fine.

The issue isn't with the fact

that they were taking

from somebody else's field.

The issue was timing.

They were doing this on the Sabbath day,

which is what becomes the issue here.

Now, the confrontation arises in verse 24.

Look at it with me again.

The Pharisee said unto him,

look, look at what they're doing.

They're angry about this.

Why are they doing on the Sabbath day?

And then they use this phrase,

that which is not lawful.

Now, when we first look at that,

we think, oh my goodness,

that's a good question.

How in the world could Jesus

allow his disciples to break the law?

That doesn't sound right.

What the Pharisees meant was not,

why are they breaking God's law?

What they meant is,

why is he breaking our law?

The issue for this timing here,

as we study,

is really is just an extension

of this legalism

that we looked at last week

with the fasting.

Yes, God had established the Sabbath.

No issue there.

He had established circumcision as well.

No issue there.

God had designated those things

for a specific reason.

What the Pharisees had done

is they had distorted

what God had intended to be a blessing.

They took the Sabbath laws

that God had made

and they added all of their extra traditions,

all of their extra burdens

onto the people.

And they were unbelievable.

Still are today.

There is a Jewish manuscript

called the Talmud

that is followed religiously by Jews.

There are two dozen chapters

committed specifically

to Sabbath observance.

And in those 24 chapters

on Sabbath observance,

there are 39 categories for work.

And under each category for work

is a full description

on what they believe to be lawful

and what they believe to be sinful.

If you were a writer,

if that was your occupation,

it would be unlawful for you

on the Sabbath

to carry around a pen.

Now, it's not a problem

for anybody else

to carry around a pen on the Sabbath

unless it exceeded a certain way.

You had to weigh it to make sure.

But if you're a writer,

just to carry your pen

meant that you were

in danger of performing work.

Therefore, you were breaking the law

by doing that.

You couldn't sew

more than one stitch.

I don't know what one stitch would do,

but you couldn't sew

more than one stitch.

You couldn't write

more than one letter.

All of this is described.

Unbelievable.

That wasn't God's law.

That was the Pharisaical law.

That was just rabbinical tradition

or burdening the people.

That's what these men

were accusing Jesus

and his disciples of.

The bottom line is

that the legalists

had taken something

that God meant for a blessing

and they had perverted it

into a burden

and a method

of gaining acceptance

from God.

Spurgeon wrote this

years and years ago.

He said,

we have some of that sort

of folk living now

who take the smallest matter,

which is altogether insignificant,

in which there is neither good

nor harm,

and magnify and distort it,

and then make a person

a grave offender

all for next to nothing.

Well, that's what's

happening here.

Jesus confronts it.

He confronts it in three ways

and we'll move quickly

through these things.

He confronts it first

by giving a precedent

A precedent of King David.

Then he provides

some doctrinal clarity

and then he proclaims

his own divine authority.

Let's first look

at David's precedent.

David's precedent.

Look with me again

at verse 25.

Verse 25.

And he said unto them,

Have you never read

what David did

when he had need

and was hungry?

He and they

that were with him?

How they went

into the house of God

in the days of Abiathar

the high priest

and did eat the showbread,

which is not lawful to eat,

but for the priest,

and gave also unto them

which were with him.

So the event

that Jesus is referring to here

is in 1 Samuel chapter 21.

1 Samuel 21 · chapter mention

You'll be familiar

with what happens

just before this.

You remember

who was David's best friend?

Jonathan.

Who was Jonathan's father?

Saul.

Who wanted to kill David?

Saul.

And so Jonathan and David

were working together.

They had made this deal

that if Saul

was still intent

on killing David,

Jonathan was going to

signal him

by shooting some arrows.

And so he comes out

and he signals them

that yes,

dad's trying to kill you.

You better run.

And so David goes on the run.

And he's got just

a couple of men with him

and that's it.

They got nothing.

He leaves

and he starts running.

They go on

probably a couple of days

journey from Gibeah

to a place called Nob.

Nob is where

the tabernacle was.

And when they show up there,

they're starving.

Like they're starving.

They're going to die

if they don't eat

something soon.

And David goes

into the tabernacle

and he finds the priest

who 1 Samuel 21

tells us is a himalek

at that particular point.

And he walks in

and a himalek says,

what do you need?

And he says,

we need something to eat.

Can we have whatever bread

that you have available?

Well, the problem is

the bread that was there,

the bread of presence,

the bread of show bread,

was not lawful

for anybody else to eat

in the ceremonial law,

the ceremonial law

that God had given.

And so the man

reminds him of that.

Well, this is only lawful

for the priest,

but since you are

in such need,

here you go.

David and his men ate it.

Now, Jesus' argument here

is that if God was pleased

for David to violate

the ceremonial law

in order to survive,

then it certainly wasn't

a problem for the Son of God

to allow his disciples

to violate the mere tradition

of men.

That's the whole point.

Now, in Matthew's account

of this,

Jesus adds another precedent

in Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

In this one,

he says,

have you not considered

the priest

how on the Sabbath day

they still perform

all their duties?

They're doing work

and yet nobody thinks

anything about it.

In other words,

God has provided

certain exceptions

to ceremonial law.

And then he tells the men

in Matthew chapter 12,

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

he says,

go and learn what this means.

And he quotes Hosea.

He says,

I want mercy,

not sacrifice.

In other words,

God doesn't care

about all your externalism

if he doesn't have your heart.

And that he meant

for this ceremonial law

to be subordinate

to the needs of man.

So there was no true violation

of God's law

taking place here

because God wasn't displeased

with what David did

and Jesus affirmed it here.

So if God was okay with that,

there was no issue

with what these disciples

were doing on this day.

All right?

That's David's precedent.

Second,

doctrinal clarity.

Doctrinal clarity.

Now look at verse 27.

And he said unto them,

the Sabbath

was made for man,

not man for

the Sabbath.

Now,

the rabbinical traditions

had confused

the relationship

between the Sabbath

and human life.

And Jesus

set this right.

In other words,

the ceremonial laws

were a means

to an end.

They were not an end

in themselves.

God did not create us

to fulfill the Sabbath.

He created the Sabbath

to fulfill us.

So Jesus then brings

some great doctrinal clarity

to what these men

were saying.

Now,

let's talk about the Sabbath

just for a quick second.

And I don't want to

bore you to death.

We're just going to talk

about it for a second

because I think this is

helpful for us right now.

And then we're going

to move on, okay?

You say,

why in the world

don't we observe

the Sabbath now?

Jesus wasn't abolishing

the Sabbath in this passage.

He wasn't saying

that it wasn't necessary.

Now,

there's going to be a time

where it is no longer necessary,

but that's not what

Jesus is doing here.

There's a couple of things

we need to understand

about the Sabbath

and the scriptures.

First,

the Sabbath

is a creation ordinance.

It was instituted by God

at creation

as a Sabbath principle.

So you understand?

God creates everything

there is in six days

and then on the seventh day

he rested

and then he set that day apart.

He made it holy,

sanctified it

for the benefit of mankind.

Now,

it wasn't that God

needed rest.

That's not what that meant.

He's all powerful.

He doesn't get tired.

What he was doing

was just stopping from work.

That's what the word means,

to cease from work.

He was setting a principle,

a patterned example

for our benefit.

In other words,

God was saying,

six days,

do all your labor,

do all your work

and then on the seventh day,

rest.

Stop from your work.

Recreate.

Reflect.

Rest.

Rest.

It's a principle,

an eternal principle,

really.

Rest.

Okay?

It wasn't until

thousands of years later

that this became

a part of God's law.

That was with Moses

in the book of Exodus.

God established it

as a law

for his nation,

for Israel,

not for the world at large,

but for Israel.

And it was a part

of their ceremonial law.

Now,

they obeyed that

because God said to do it

and God was serious about it.

Those who broke it

were put to death.

And we see examples of that

in the Old Testament.

God cared about it,

but it was a law for Israel

and it was a part

of the ceremonial law,

which meant

that it was pointing

to something

more significant.

And so now we come

to the New Testament.

Well,

if that was so important,

Israel is God's people,

the church is God's people,

wouldn't that mean

that God desires

for us to observe the Sabbath?

Well,

no.

That's why Jesus

is so significant.

These ceremonial laws

are all fulfilled

in Christ.

We don't celebrate

or observe the Sabbath

in the same way

that Israel did

for the same reason

we don't sacrifice animals

for the atonement

of our sin.

Because Christ

has fulfilled that.

All of those things

were pointing

toward something greater.

They were pointing

toward the gospel

of Jesus.

And then in Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

Paul tells us

very plainly,

Colossians chapter 2,

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

16 to 18.

Paul says,

don't let anybody

judge you.

Don't let anybody

judge you

on the basis

of festivals

and feasts

and religious observance.

And then he says,

or Sabbath days.

He said,

all of those things

are a shadow

of what is to come

and their fulfillment

is in Christ.

So what's the point

of that ceremonial law?

Every day

they were working hard.

They were working hard.

They needed rest.

As spiritually speaking,

they were doing

the sacrifices

over and over

and over and over.

But it was never enough.

This rest was never enough.

But there would one day

come a real eternal rest

and it came through Christ.

Now,

what has not abolished

is the Sabbath principle

set forth at creation.

I think we need

to take that serious

as Christians.

I think God intends

for us

to rest,

to have time

where we cease

from our work.

And so there's doctrinal clarity

Jesus brings here.

And then thirdly,

he appeals to his own

divine authority.

Look at verse 28.

Therefore,

the Son of Man

is Lord

of the Sabbath.

Son of Man,

that's a reference

to himself.

His favorite thing

of calling himself

in the Gospels

is Son of Man.

It's a reference

to Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

And he says,

I'm Lord of the Sabbath.

He appeals to his own identity

for his argument.

Now,

we've seen

in every single one

of these conflicts,

Jesus at some point

has referenced

his own identity.

The Son of Man

have power on earth

to forgive sin.

He is the merciful God

who befriends sinners.

He is the Lord,

the groom

that has come

for his bride

at the wedding feast.

And now he is Lord

of the Sabbath.

This matters.

What's Jesus saying?

Jesus is saying,

I have the right

to interpret

both the reality

and the practice

of the Sabbath

because I am the one

who instituted it

to begin with.

He was saying,

I am God.

Listen to me.

I put this in place.

Watch me.

Forget about your own rules.

Watch me.

Listen to me.

This was their issue,

wasn't it?

His purpose was

he was trying

to get these men

to see his identity

in order that

they would recognize

his authority.

And if they would

just recognize

his authority,

they would find out

that all of this effort,

all of this work

is worthless

and unnecessary.

That he came

to lighten that load.

Indeed,

to get rid of that load.

He came to offer

grace and mercy

if they would just see

who he really was.

And so he confronts

this religious distortion

or perversion.

Secondly,

we see Jesus confronting

the hardening of their hearts

or religious hardening.

This one gets a little

more practical for us.

Look with me again

at verse number one

of chapter three.

And he entered again

into the synagogue

and there was a man there

with a withered hand.

Now the issue

between these two examples,

not only were

the Pharisees'

externalism

leading them

to pervert

the word of God

in favor of their own rules,

but their traditionalism

was actually hardening

their hearts

to the truth

of the gospel of grace.

Their commitment

to their own truth

above God's truth

was hardening them

to everything

that was good

and logical

and reasonable

and compassionate.

And this then becomes

the theme of this second part.

Jesus is confronting

this hardness.

He's trying to open

their eyes

to the true condition

of their heart.

Now the scene here

takes place

in a synagogue

on another Sabbath day.

Now this is proof here

that Jesus was not

trying to abolish

the Sabbath

because he's still,

he's going to synagogue

on the Sabbath.

It's not that he was

being rebellious.

That's not the point.

He was correcting

their error.

And when he shows up

at the Sabbath this day,

there's a man there

with a withered hand.

Now,

based on his interaction

with Jesus,

I assume that his condition

was that his hand

was somehow curled

or withdrawn.

It was possible

maybe that he couldn't

extend it at all.

It was just kind of

tucked back into his body

in this deformity.

Luke, I think it is

that tells us

that it was his right hand.

Therefore,

probably was

even more difficult for him.

Not only did he only

have one hand,

but it might not

have even been

his dominant hand

that he could use.

It's just a difficult

situation for this man.

Not life-threatening,

but hard,

difficult life to live.

Now,

some have suggested

that the Pharisees

had actually arranged,

as they did at other times,

for this man to be there

on the day that they knew

Jesus to be there.

And we think that

because in verse 2,

they're watching him

to see if he'll heal him.

They were wanting

to trap him.

They wanted to trap

Jesus here in this moment.

And there's a tremendous

amount of irony here,

isn't there?

The Pharisees,

on one hand,

fully acknowledged

Jesus' power

and willingness

to heal the man.

Yet,

they simultaneously

desired to have him

killed

for doing it.

Now,

if this doesn't show us

how our hearts

can be hardened

to the point

that we just become

absurd in our thinking,

on one hand,

they're realizing

he has this power

that only God has.

But we're gonna kill him

because we don't like that

he's doing it

on the Sabbath day.

What?

What was happening

to these men?

They had ignored

what God wanted.

They had left

God's word

and they had

dedicated themselves

supremely

to their own tradition,

their own form

of religion,

the own things

that they wanted

and their hearts

just kept getting

more and more hard

and so that

the son of God

is standing before them

and they even know it.

Intellectually,

they know it

and yet they still

deny him

and they still reject him.

Why?

Because they were

committed to religion

not to the Lord.

This was God's issue

in Isaiah

with the nation of Israel

all together.

Remember he said,

I'm so full of sacrifices

and I'm tired

of your Sabbaths

and I'm tired

of all the things

that you're doing

because your heart

is far from me.

You are wicked people.

You're doing everything

you're supposed to do

on the outside

but inside you are just

wicked

and you don't love me.

And here we see

that exemplified

in the Pharisees.

They were doing

all these things

everybody thought

they were just like

the most spiritual people

in the world

but the truth was

they were wicked,

wicked people.

And the same thing

happens now.

And it happens

in churches

when people come in

and they've got

all the things together

and they've really

built up this

externalism in their lives

but their hearts

are far from God.

Jesus is confronting that.

He's confronting

these people

that have hardened

their hearts

through this.

Let's look how he does it.

What were they hardened to?

First,

they were hardened

to true worship.

They were hardened

to true worship.

Look at verse 2.

And they watched him

whether he would

heal the man

on the Sabbath day

that they might

accuse him.

Accused here

is not just

pointing out

that he did something

on the Sabbath day.

They were seeking

to bring formal charges

against Jesus

which meant

that he would have been

a candidate

for execution.

They were trying

to kill him.

They were trying

to charge him formally.

So they're watching him.

They're keeping

their eyes on him.

Well, what's the problem

with this?

Well, there's a problem

that they're trying

to kill him

but there's also

a problem that

they are

the Sabbath keepers

and God had said

to the nation of Israel

part of the reason

I want you to keep

the Sabbath is

because I want you

to reflect on the fact

that I delivered you

from bondage in Egypt

and that I have made

my covenant with you.

Same reason we worship today

just from the New Testament

perspective, right?

God has delivered us

from our sin.

He has delivered us

from death.

He has covenanted

with us to be his people

for all of eternity

and so we worship him

Jesus who is our

Sabbath rest, right?

So all of it

is still there.

Worship was a part

of this Sabbath observance.

Worship was the last thing

on these guys' mind.

Now listen,

they were where

they were supposed to be.

They were in our terms,

they were in church

on Saturday

but we would say

on Sunday

they're in church.

They're doing everything

they're supposed to do.

They're following

all the rules.

As far as everybody

else can tell,

they've got it together

in ways that nobody

else does.

And yet the last thing

that they think about

doing on this Sabbath day

is worshiping the Lord.

Why?

Because they're watching

Jesus to see

if they can trap him

so that they can charge him

so that they can kill him.

And it's amazing

how this happens

with us, doesn't it?

We start to give

into our traditions,

we start to give

into the things

that we have created

on top of God's law

and those things

start to become

more important to us

than what God

has actually said

and it hardens our heart

to true worship.

So we'll come to church

on Sunday,

we're there.

We look the way

we're supposed to look

however we've determined

that's supposed to be.

We do the things

we're supposed to do

but our hearts

are far from the Lord.

The last thing

we're thinking about

is worship

because we're making sure

that we've got

all of our formalism together

or we're making sure

like the Pharisees,

everybody else

has all their formalism together.

You ever been around

people like that?

You ever been a person

like that?

I have.

And what happens

is we come into church

and we've got all these

things in our mind

and we're thinking

okay,

this is how we're

supposed to dress

and this is what

the music is supposed

to sound like

and this is how

the songs are supposed

to be structured

and this is when

we're supposed to do this

and this is when

we're supposed to do this

and all the things,

right?

And then we come in

and we make sure

that all that stuff

is happening.

We make sure

that everybody else

is doing it too

and then we come in

on Sunday

and we leave

at 1130

or 1230

or 130

whenever it is

we leave the door

and we haven't given

the Lord one ounce

of attention that day.

We haven't worshipped

at all.

Why?

Because we're just

consumed with self.

We're consumed

with what we want.

We're consumed

with our preferences.

We're consumed

with these legalistic mindsets

and it's ironic then

how sometimes

we become hardened

to the thing

that we think

we are actually

trying to preserve

and we think

we've got all

of these traditions

and these formalities

and things

and in the process

of that

we are preserving

true worship

and then in reality

we're actually denying

true worship.

We're not actually

engaging our hearts.

The problem's not

with tradition.

The problem is

with our heart

and so they had

become hardened

to that.

Weren't thinking

anything about the Lord

on this day.

Secondly,

they were hardened

to compassion

and this is as clear

as anything in the passage.

They were hardened

to compassion.

Look with me

at verse 3.

And he said

unto the man

which had the withered hand

stand forth

or stand in the middle

of the room.

He brings him up

in front of everybody

like we did

with Joseph and Missy.

Everybody's looking

at this man

which you know

had to have been

just like the worst thing

for him.

He probably hated that.

We're going to come back

to that in a minute.

And he said unto them

to the Pharisees that is,

is it lawful?

Is it right?

They were meant

to do good

on the Sabbath

or to do evil

on the Sabbath

to save life

or to kill it.

But they held their peace.

They kept silent.

The hardness

of the Pharisees' hearts

had brought

two emotions

into Jesus

that we're going to get to

in just a moment.

But those emotions

were produced

by this response.

in the grain fields,

it was the Pharisees

who confronted Jesus.

In this case,

it's Jesus

that confronts

the Pharisees.

And there's kind of

a recall to

the healing of the paralytic.

He reads their minds.

They're not verbalizing this

at this point.

He just knows

what's in their heart

and he addresses it.

And so Jesus

confronts their head plan

head on

by bringing this man

up to the front

of the room.

And then he turns

to the Pharisees

and he says,

listen,

is it right

to do good

or evil today?

That's a simple question.

There's only one

possible answer

to that question,

actually.

It wasn't tricked.

There was one answer.

Well,

it's right to do good.

It's never right

to do evil,

but it's right

to do good.

He was exposing

the hypocrisy

that was in their hearts.

They wanted

to deny Jesus

the right

to heal this man

on the Sabbath

while blatantly

planning to do evil

themselves

on the Sabbath.

There's hypocrisy here.

He's also confronting

their lack of compassion.

They didn't care

anything about this man.

They couldn't have cared

less if this man

was actually healed

except for the fact

that Jesus healing him

gave them an opportunity

to accuse him.

And again,

in Matthew's account,

Jesus confronts

these men

with a different story.

And he says,

which one of you,

if you had a sheep

on the Sabbath

that fell into a pit,

wouldn't get it out?

And then he looks

at him and he says,

is not a man

better than an animal?

That depends on

who you ask

that question to.

But they would have

certainly answered,

well, yeah.

Man's better than him.

He's drawing out

this lack of compassion,

this hypocrisy

that existed

in their hearts.

Well, to what end?

Their lack of compassion

had placed them

as enemies of God

rather than

the representatives

that they thought

they were.

one of the things

that we see

over and over

in the scripture

is that for those

who love God,

those who pursue him,

those who follow him

begin to exhibit

his heart.

And what is clear

through the scripture

is God's compassionate,

merciful heart.

So on one end,

there's the Pharisees

who say that

they are following God,

yet they are nothing

like him.

And then there's Jesus

on the other end

in contrast to that,

who is the very

nature of God,

the very expression

of who God is

and what's he doing,

showing compassion

to this man.

It's logical,

but their commitment

to tradition

had hardened them to it.

Now,

their silence

becomes an issue.

It wasn't that

they didn't know

what to say.

It wasn't that

they felt bad.

That's not what's

happening here.

They just refused

to say what they knew

to be true.

To answer

in the affirmative

to Jesus' question

meant that they

were acknowledging

that it was good

for him to do

what he was doing

for this man.

And they just refused

to do it.

So they kept silent.

They said nothing.

They couldn't say

that it was right

to do evil.

There were only two choices

in the question,

but they refused to say

it was right to do good.

They prefer that

he just do nothing.

They would have

rather this man

continue in this disability

the rest of his life

than for Jesus

to heal him

on the Sabbath day.

No compassion.

Tradition did that.

Harden them.

Thirdly,

they were hardened

to grace.

This is the best part.

Look at verses 5 and 6.

When he had looked

round about on them

with anger

being greed

for the hardness

of their hearts

he said unto the man

stretch forth

thine hand

and he stretched it out

and his hand

was restored

whole as the other.

Now,

like I said a minute ago

the Pharisees'

hardness

had produced two emotions

in Jesus here.

Anger

and grief.

He was angry

at the hardness

of their hearts

but he was heartbroken

by the condition

of their soul.

Can I say

this is the wonder

of God's grace.

The wonder

of God's grace

is that he cared

just as much

about the Pharisees'

spiritual condition

as he did

about the man's

physical condition.

Yes,

he was angry

at the hardness

of his heart

but that anger

was produced

from compassion

for those men.

And we look

at people like that

and we think

man,

I just,

I don't want

anything to do

with them.

I'd just rather

them not be

anywhere in my life.

Jesus didn't do that.

He looked at

with compassion

even on these Pharisees

who were denying him

who he knew

would continue

to deny him

yet he was grieved.

He felt sorrow

in his heart

for them.

Why?

Because they were

doing this denial

to their own

destruction.

And then this

whole episode

turns into

an expression

of God's grace.

Now remember

Jesus' healings

are never just

about healing.

They're parables

of a greater healing

an eternal healing

of heart

and of soul.

So this is about

the gospel of grace.

Now,

I think it's interesting

that Jesus asked

the man to do

the one thing

that he couldn't do.

He's got a withered hand.

It's curled.

It's withdrawn.

He can't stretch it out.

And what is it

that Jesus tells him

to do?

Stretch out your hand.

We can't do that.

He can't do that.

It was going to take

faith

on this man's part

to receive this miracle.

Jesus was willing

to provide it.

But it was going to

take faith

on his part.

He's going to have

to stick his hand out.

He could have run

out of the room

embarrassed.

He could have said,

I can't believe

you brought me

in front of all

these people.

I'm embarrassed.

I don't want to have

anything to do with you

and I'm going to leave.

Because what was Jesus

really doing

bringing this man

up to the front?

We say,

this is kind of cruel.

No.

This is what happens

anytime somebody

comes to Christ.

He strips them down

of anything

that they're trying

to hide.

He forces us

to confront

our own condition.

In salvation,

Jesus forces us

to confront

our own condition.

It's only then

that he can change

our hearts

and that we will

exhibit that faith

and receive his grace.

That's what he's

doing with this man.

The man didn't have

to stick his hand out.

He could have ran

out of the room

and he would have

stayed disabled.

But Jesus says,

stretch out your hand.

What does the man do?

He stretches out his hand.

Now, his hand

doesn't come out

and then all of a sudden

Jesus heals it.

No.

As it comes out,

he recognizes it's healed.

which tells us

another thing

about God's grace.

Yes, it takes our faith.

We have to exercise

that faith

but what we realize

is that God's

already been working

in his grace

behind the scenes

to make all of that happen.

It's fantastic.

It's fantastic.

What joy

this man must have

experienced

in that moment

to see this grace

and to witness

what Jesus

was doing for him.

It stood in contrast

to what the Pharisees

believed and taught.

They insisted

a commitment to law

is what was necessary

but Jesus demonstrated

this was all

of God's grace.

This man didn't

deserve healing.

The fact of his disability

didn't make him

deserving

of any kind of healing.

That was God's grace.

Same thing with our soul.

Now,

I love how Jesus

did exactly what

the Pharisees

hoped that he would do.

Did you notice that?

But he did it

in a way

that they could charge him.

This is awesome.

These men

are watching Jesus

meticulously

to see what he will do

because they want

to charge him.

They want to accuse him.

They want to murder him.

And Jesus heals the man.

But how does he do it?

He's standing there.

If he had pockets

in his robe,

maybe he's sticking

his hands in his pockets.

And he just says,

hey buddy,

stick your hand out here.

And he's healed.

The miracle happens.

But what are they going to say?

He talked to him.

That went against the rules.

He could talk.

What they wanted Jesus

to do was like touch him

or do something physical

so that they could say

he did work,

that this miracle

was a work on the Sabbath

and they could charge him

and have him put to death.

But Jesus accomplishes

this miracle

all at the same time

of not doing it

in a way

where they could actually

charge him

with anything

in that moment.

It's just fantastic,

isn't it?

I wish I could think

like Jesus thinks.

And it's just awesome to see.

And what's the result of it?

It infuriated them.

Look at verse six.

And the Pharisees went forth

and they bowed to Jesus

in conviction of heart

and said,

Lord, forgive us

for our denial.

What a wonderful demonstration

of compassion

and grace you have given.

Please forgive us.

That's not what they said.

That's what they should have said.

They said,

we're going to go find

the Herodians

who are our political enemies

and we're together

going to see

if we can find a way

to destroy them.

Why?

Because he didn't follow

their rules.

Their traditionalism,

their legalism

hardened them

to grace

in two ways.

They were infuriated

that this disabled man

received grace.

They probably thought

he was disabled

because God didn't love him.

God didn't want anything

to do with him.

They was mad at him.

They didn't like

that he received healing.

But there was a different

hardening to grace

and it was the grace

that they themselves

could receive.

The evidence was there

of who Jesus is.

It's clear.

They knew it.

They just refused it.

How many people

will there be

that we meet

in this life,

especially in

our,

where we live

in this cultural

Christianity,

that know the truth,

but they still

deny that truth.

They harden

themselves

religiously

to the very thing

that can save them.