In this module we shall look at other statements Jesus made which helps us understand and appreciate the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In this Module we shall look at what Jesus said about the Sabbath.
Matt 12:1-8
12 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.KJV
Let us also look at Mark’s account of this same event that took place.
Mark 2:23-28
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.KJV
Matt 12:10-13
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.KJV
In Matthew chapter 12:1-8 and Mark 2:23-28, the disciples of Jesus did what they were not supposed to do according to the Old Covenant Law of the Sabbath day which we have already looked at in one of the previous modules in this Teaching series.
The Pharisees pointed out to Jesus that His disciples were not supposed to be plucking ears of corn and eating it in the field on the Sabbath day. They expected Jesus to tell His disciples to stop what they were doing.
However Jesus defended their action. He gave some explanation on why He said they were not wrong to do what they were doing even though it was clear that they were breaking the Old Testament law of keeping the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it. Let us look at His explanation one after the other.
1. First He referred them to what David did under the Old Covenant when David and his followers were hungry and he was running away from King Saul. You will find this story in 1Samuel 21:1-6. They entered the Temple and ate of the shewbread which was meant for only the Priest and was unlawful for David and his men to eat from it according to the Old Covenant Law yet God did not punish him for it nor send a Prophet to warn him afterwards for doing so. Why would Jesus compare what His disciples did with what David had done? The answer is simple. Their Motive was the key. The motive of David was not to desecrate the holy bread but was to keep himself and his men alive. In the same was the motive of Jesus’ disciples was not to desecrate the Sabbath but was to quench their hunger. Man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath was made for man.
2. The second explanation Jesus gave was that on the Sabbath day the Priests profane the Sabbath day by doing their work as Priests yet they remain blameless. Jesus was saying that the Priests were not stopped by the law of the Sabbath to carry out their duties as Priests. Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant and all of us who believe in Him are Royal Priests with Him hence the Sabbath day could not stop Him and those working with Him from doing their work of the Kingdom (Hebrews 5:5-6,10; 1Peter 2:9; Rev 1:6, 5:10).
3. The third explanation Jesus gave was that He was greater than the Temple hence if they knew who He was they would not have said what they said by trying to condemn Him and His disciples as guilty even though they were actually guiltless. Jesus was the one who is Lord of the Sabbath hence He cannot be brought under the control of observing the Sabbath.
In Matthew chapter 12:10-12 Jesus needed to heal a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day. He knew the Pharisees who were there would accuse Him that He was wrong to heal on the Sabbath day so He asked them if it was lawful to heal someone on the Sabbath day.
They did not give Him an answer hence He proceeded to use an example. He asked them if they had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath day will they lift it out or leave it there? It was obvious that they would gladly lift out their sheep out of the pit even though it was a Sabbath day.
Jesus then emphasized that a man is much better than a sheep and that it is good to do good on the Sabbath day.
One thing that comes out clear with respect to the Sabbath was that God designed the Sabbath days to give the people of the Old Covenant rest. However in the New Covenant Jesus is our rest. He fulfilled the Sabbath by providing rest to anyone who will come to Him.
Heb 3:18-19
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Heb 4:1-11
1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.KJV
Matt 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. KJV
Notice the reference made to the Sabbath rest in Hebrews 4:4. They could not enter into the Sabbath rest due to unbelief hence God provided another rest which replaced the rest provided in the Sabbath. This rest is entered into by faith in Christ Jesus who is indeed Lord of the Sabbath.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus clearly tells us that rest is found in Him. Anyone who is under labour and heavy laden should come to Him for rest. To have this rest in their souls they will need to take His yoke upon them and learn of Him.
However there is an aspect of this rest Jesus provides that we will enter into in the future when we cease or rest from all our works according to Hebrews 4:8-11 and Rev 14:12-13. This will happen when we die in Christ or if we are taken up with the rapture of the saints.
We will be able to enter into this final rest as we keep His yoke upon us and keep learning of His meek and lowly heart and living that way.
So there are three rests described here namely:
i. The Sabbath rest,
ii. A rest Jesus provides now while we are still in this world whereby if we come to Him He takes away from us our heavy laden and our labor put on us by satan.
iii. Another rest that Jesus will provide in the future when we rest from all our works to receive our eternal rewards.
Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath by providing His rest (another rest different from the Sabbath rest) which is superior to that which the Sabbath provided in the Old Covenant. I am so glad He did.
In the next module we shall look at other statements made by Jesus that will help us appreciate the difference between the Old and New Covenants.
To be continued…
EVANGELIST OGHOGHO IKPONMWOSA (PHD)
PRESIDENT: SAVE THE LOST GOSPEL EVANGEVANGELISTIC MINISTRY
EMAIL: oghoghoik@gmail.com
TEL: +2348060676748
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