Podcasts about lord of the sabbath

In this message, we will look at one of the most pivotal chapters in Matthew, where Jesus' ministry will experience the peak of its persecution thus far--- all over a controversy surrounding the Sabbath. In doing so, we will consider the dangers of legalism, and beauty of Jesus' ministry of grace and mercy.   Scripture: Matthew 12:1-21

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Go to sermon webpage: EYES TO SEE

Jesus Christ our Saviour is Lord of the Sabbath!1. Why he said this;2. How he showed this;3. How we must show this.Time:AfternoonMinister:Rev S. Carl Van DamTexts:Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 38Matthew 12:1–21

Hymn, Sing, Lord of the Sabbath, Hymn Tune is "Park Street"

Hymn, Sing, Lord of the Sabbath, Hymn Tune is "Park Street"

In this message from Matthew 12:1-8, we explore one of the most controversial moments in Jesus' ministry: when He declared Himself "Lord of the Sabbath." The Pharisees had turned God's gift of rest into a crushing burden, and when Jesus' disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath, the religious leaders were outraged. But Jesus responds with brilliant theological precision, showing that he is greater than the Sabbath. His claim wasn't just about religious freedom—it was a declaration of His divinity, and it's what turned the Pharisees from opponents into murderers. But this passage isn't just ancient history; it exposes a trap we all fall into: turning good things into idols. Whether it's the Law, money, success, ministry, or even our kids' achievements, anything we cling to with frantic energy, anger, anxiety, and jealousy has likely become an idol. Learn how to spot idols in your life, pray the dangerous prayer to have them removed, and find true rest in Jesus—the One who is greater than the Sabbath, greater than the Temple, and worthy of our ultimate worship.

This sermon explores how Jesus, as the Bridegroom and Lord of the Sabbath, redefines traditional religious practices by inviting His followers into joy and freedom rather than legalistic observance. Using the Gospel narrative from Mark 2:18–28, the Pastor Roydon Frost contrasts the Pharisees' rigid fasting and Sabbath rules with Jesus' teaching that His presence brings celebration, rest, and true spiritual renewal. Frost emphasises that Jesus fulfils God's law with love and mercy, showing that Sabbath rest and fasting both have their place within a life shaped by relationship with Christ. Ultimately, the talk challenges all of us to reflect on how their behaviour reveals their understanding of God's nature and to live with joyful obedience as they journey toward the eternal feast.

Hope Presbyterian Church is a new church in New Braunfels, TX, seeking to take the good news of Jesus Christ to this historic and growing city. We meet every Sunday at 10 at New Braunfels Christian Academy, 995 Mission Hills Drive, New Braunfels 78130. Come join us!

Go to sermon webpage: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Pastor Gerrit teaches verse by verse through Luke 6:1–11, where Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees over the Sabbath and reveals Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath. In this Bible teaching, we see two scenes, Jesus' disciples gathering grain and the healing of a man with a withered hand, that highlight the difference between human legalism and God's heart of mercy and compassion. Pastor Gerrit explains the true purpose of the Sabbath as a gift meant for rest and restoration in God, not a burden of man-made rules, and warns how a performance-based mindset can lead to judgment and a lack of grace toward others. He also emphasizes that Jesus prioritizes meeting human need and that what God commands, He also enables as we respond in faith. This verse-by-verse teaching in the Gospel of Luke points believers back to the grace of Christ, calling us to live in His mercy, rest securely in His finished work, and reflect His compassion to those around us.

“The Lord of the Sabbath” Matthew 12:1-14 February 15, 2026 Pastor Tony Felich  Sermon Application [file]   ----more---- Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. [2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” [3] He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? [5] Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? [6] I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. [7] And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not  sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. [8] For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” [9] He went on from there and entered their synagogue. [10] And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”- so that they might accuse him. [11] He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? [12] Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” [13] Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. [14] But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.   The Sabbath was never about restriction but restoration (In Christ).           • The purpose of the Sabbath is physical/spiritual rest (1-8)           • How legalism wrecks the Sabbath (9-14)           • Our Sabbath is found in Christ (8)

Preached by Rev. Paul Mosiejczuk on 15 February 2026. Part 18 in the Series on Exodus. Bible Passage: Exodus 20:8–10.

Today's Scripture passages are Job 33 - 34 | Matthew 12:1-8 | Luke 6:1-5 | Mark 2:23-28.Read by Christina Edmondson.Get in The Word with Truth's Table is a production of InterVarsity Press. For 75 years, IVP has published and created thoughtful Christian books for the university, church, and the world. Our Bible reading plan is adapted from Bible Study Together, and the Bible version is the New English Translation, used by permission.SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of this podcast, use the code IVPWORD40 for 40% off and free shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode at ivpress.com.Additional Credits:Song production: Seaux ChillSong lyrics written by: Seaux Chill, Ekemini Uwan, and Christina EdmondsonPodcast art: Kate LillardPhotography: Shelly EveBible consultant: JM SmithSound engineering: Podastery StudiosCreative producers: Ekemini Uwan and Christina EdmondsonAssistant producer: Christine Pelliccio MeloExecutive producer: Helen LeeTo reach the IVP podcast team, please use this form.Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Mark now gives gives two episodes with Jesus demonstrating that He is Lord of the sabbath. In the first, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees as to why Jesus' disciples were doing what they considered to be“unlawful on the sabbath”. They were viewed as doing work on the sabbath by plucking the heads of wheat and eating them. Jesus declared that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus, the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.The second episode shows Jesus healing a man on the sabbath. Here the religious rulers were waiting to accuse the Lord of a violation by healing a man on the sabbath. Jesus didn't disappoint. He healed the man's hand. This then, gave rise to a collusion between enemies.Here is Dr. Mitchell, Mark 2:23, on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast.

Go to sermon webpage: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

You're listening to the Two Rivers PCA church podcast. We are a family of faith gathering around God's redeeming love, growing in the grace of Jesus Christ, and going to serve our neighbors.For more information, visit us at tworiverspca.org.

In biblical times, observing the day of Sabbath was a fundamental part of religious life and a clear commandment in the Mosaic Law. But what does the Sabbath mean for Christians today? In this episode of The Verdict, Pastor John Munro reveals the answer by exploring the significance of rest and renewal in Jesus.

The Fourth Commandment tells us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. But what does keeping the Sabbath holy really look like? Well, on this episode of The Verdict, Pastor John Munro continues his study in the book of Matthew by examining how Jesus observed the Sabbath.

 Go to sermon webpage: ABIDE

Here in the creation account, the Sabbath is set forth as a picture of our ultimate purpose and meaning in life: to enjoy God and glorify Him forever.

Audio Transcript All right. Beautiful singing. I love that song. I love the lyrics and that they sing. And I hope that’s why you’re here this morning, that your soul is satisfied in just Jesus and him alone. And if it’s not, we hope that by the end of the service, you are. So one of the things that we talk about pretty often here is like the most important instrument that we have as a congregation for our music is the singing of you. And so as we sing, I do want to keep encouraging you to sing. Sing out. This is the most important thing, our singing time is us singing as a congregation. So beautiful singing once again. So I’ve not met you. My name is Aaron. I’m the preaching pastor here. And we’re glad that you’re with us on this very cold Sunday morning. So if you have a Bible with you, if you open up to the Gospel of Luke, continue in our study of Luke. Today, our text to study is going to be Luke 6:1, 11. If you don’t have a Bible with you, the pew Bibles are scattered throughout and they’re on page 502. And then if you’re visiting with us. So we do a style of preaching here called expository preaching. And so I’m going to read a passage, I’m going to pray, ask for the Lord’s blessing, and then we’re going to actually walk right back through the text. And so as you open your Bible, please do keep them open. So the most important thing I might say today is just me reading the Word and continue to communicate the Word to you. That’s the most important thing. So we want to hear God speak this morning. So Luke 6:1 through 11 on page 502, if you’re using one of the pew Bibles, So please to hear the words of our God. So Luke wrote, on a Sabbath, while he was going through the grain fields, disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? Jesus answered them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry? He and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of presents. Was it not lawful for any but the priest to eat? And he also and also gave it to those with him. And he said to them, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. On another Sabbath in the synagogue was teaching. And a man who was there, whose right hand was withered, the scribes and Pharisees watched him to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so they might find a reason to accuse him. He knew their thoughts. Said to the man with a withered hand, come stand here. He rose and stood there. Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or. Or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it? After looking around at them, he said to him, stretch out your hand. And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. So that’s God’s word for us this morning. Let’s pray. God, it’s good to be here. For every Sunday that we can gather together as your people here at Red Village. It is a sweet gift from you and Lord, we pray that you would bless the preaching of your word for the glory of Christ and for our good God. Please help me to communicate the word correctly, to rightly divide the word of truth. Please be with the congregation. Please give them ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. And Lord, in this time, please just use it to bring glory to Christ. In his name we pray. Amen. So I think every so often it’s really important for us to think through the why or the purpose behind all that we do. Because what can happen over time, the why, the purpose of what we do can kind of get lost in ways that we just start doing things for the sake of doing things, where things that we’re doing perhaps end up taking a life on their own in ways that end up not being healthy, that can lead to us maybe become apathetic or arrogant. So as a church, it’s important to us to understand the why, the purpose, which I’m going to talk about more at the end of this time. But I say this to you up front just to kind of help set us up for our text of study today, which is a text where the people in the text clearly lost track of the why, the purpose, one of the more important aspects of their faith as they lost track of the why, the purpose of the Sabbath in ways that rather than the Sabbath existing for them and their arrogance, they started to like almost try to exist for the Sabbath, as in their arrogance, they tried to use the Sabbath as a means of their own self righteous gain before God, which was not the purpose of the Sabbath, why God created the Sabbath. So I’ll talk about this more in just a bit as well, but before we do, just to take a little bit of time, just to kind of help think through just some of the context before we dive into the passage. First, let me just the context of the passage I just went through. So I mentioned our text last week. The public ministry of Jesus is now in full swing, which is the ministry that kicked off in the region of Galilee where this public ministry of the Lord Jesus included like healing the sick, the lame, the blind, casting out demons. But the primary ministry that Jesus had was actually his preaching and teaching ministry, which often would take place in various synagogues, including one in our text today. And as the public ministry of Jesus was now on full swing, his popularity was spreading like wicked wildfire throughout the region as more and more began to wonder if indeed he Jesus was the long awaited, long anticipated Christ who was to come. And this led to more and more coming around Jesus, forming bigger and bigger crowds around him. However, even though his popularity was spreading questions, concerns about his ministry were also starting to like increase, particularly among the Pharisees and the scribes who were the religious leaders of the day. And these concerns that the Pharisees and scribes had to Jesus were on multiple fronts. Maybe share a few with you. One, the Pharisees scribes really did not like who Jesus was ministering to, which in the Gospel accounts included those with like some very deep negative social stigma tied to them. A few weeks back, if you were here, a text included Jesus healing a leper, which was like a painful, gross skin disease. He also heard a paralytic where the Pharisees seemed to imply that this paralytic suffered that because of some of his own sin. Last week may remember Jesus came to a tax collector named Levi. And as Jesus came to Levi was then to like shame him, but to actually call Levi to follow him, which Levi did, leaving everything to follow Jesus. And then after that, may you remember how Levi threw a great party for other tax collectors and other social outcasts with Jesus being the guest of honor at this party. If you remember, it was last week. So the tax collectors, they’re arguably like the most hated people in all of Israel because they were viewed as traitors. So for the Pharisees, like they hated these people, they hated who Jesus was ministering to with like all these deep social stigma tied to them because in their minds those type of people were to be like, avoided and shamed. Certainly not cared for, loved on, certainly not shown any type of mercy. Second, the Pharisees had concerns about Jesus because they rightly understood that as Jesus ministered, Jesus did so in ways that he was claiming divine authority that he is God in the flesh, which Jesus can do. Because we see all throughout the New Testament, including Luke, that yes, indeed, Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, that Jesus is the great God man, fully God, fully man, which we actually see again in our text today. We see this both in his divine actions of healing a man, also in his divine words in our text today, as he refers himself as the Son of man, who is the Lord over the Sabbath. However, for the Pharisees, even though throughout the Old Testament that they claim to love, even though the Old Testament pointed to a God man who had come to save his people, even though from his birth Jesus fulfilled these promises and prophecies of the Old Testament that he was the God man who was to come, the Pharisees fully rejected Jesus. They fully rejected him being the fulfillment. They rejected that indeed he was the Christ Messiah. And because they rejected who Jesus is and what he came to do, they just hated him. Third, the Pharisees also had concerns about Jesus, didn’t improve his ministry. They hated him in ways because of how Jesus would confront their own sin, sinful hearts. So over and over again, including our text today, the Pharisees would try to trap Jesus, only for Jesus to turn things back on them. However, as Jesus confronted their hearts, rather than humbling themselves before him, rather than confessing their sin in their pride, they became more and more violent towards Jesus in the rejection of him. They hated how Jesus confronted them in their sin, because they hated that not only did they reject him, they would work hard to try to convince others to reject him and as well. Okay, so that’s a little bit of our context, our passage. So Jesus ministry is growing, crowds around him is growing. But the hatred from the religious leaders also was growing as they’re seeking, like, every opportunity they could to like discredit the Lord Jesus and his ministry. So that’s kind of his text. Second, let me also just give you some context or some handles on the Sabbath, which is going to be at the center of our passage today. So the word Sabbath basically means, like to cease or to rest. And this ceasing, this rest, the Sabbath is something we first see on the seventh day of creation in the book of Genesis. Okay? So if you read through the creation account, so the preceding six days, so God is at work where he not only creates the heavens, the earth, but then he fills the heavens and the earth, including filling with mankind who is the pinnacle of his creative work. As He, God created mankind in his very image. And this took place on the sixth day, but then on the seventh day of creation as God finished His creative work. We read in Scripture that God ceased from the work. He rested with creation, in particular with mankind, who has mentioned created in his image. And this rest that God had with mankind was not because he was like dog tired from a long six days of creative work. Rather, God rested with mankind, rested with the creation to enjoy mankind to enjoy his creative work as God was pleased with which he created, making the seventh day of creation, this day of rest, a picture of fellowship, a picture of harmony and peace that God enjoyed with that which he created. However, if you’ve read through Genesis, you know that by the time we get to Genesis 3, we see this, the Sabbath fellowship, the Sabbath rest with mankind creation, we see that it was lost because mankind rebelled against God, rebelled against God’s design that he gave them, which was to obey him joyfully because they sinned. And this sin separated mankind from God and brought a curse to the earth, causing the Sabbath rest to be lost. Okay, now, if you’re with us over a year ago, you may remember we went to the book of Hebrews. And you may remember in much of that study of Hebrews, the Old Testament is like a quest trying to figure out how do we get rest back. Now for this time here, I won’t mention all the different pictures of rest found in the Old Testament outside of one, which is important for our text to study today, which is the fourth commandment, which is a commandment to remember the Sabbath day. This is from Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are found. So it’s in the fourth commandment it says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you should not do any work. You or your sons or your daughters, your male servant, your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is with you within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. So the Sabbath is a commandment we are to keep, but within that. This commandment, like all other commandments, was designed actually to be a blessing from God to his people. A blessing that was meant to help them remember the holiness of God and the worship that we designed to give to him a blessing, to give them rest to their bodies, our physical bodies. We can’t just like, go, go, go, go, go. Like, we need rest, physical rest, emotional rest. Mental rest from our labors. So Sabbath helped provide for that. And Sabbath is also a blessing to help mankind just to remember back to creation and the Sabbath rest that we’ve been created for, which is a Sabbath rest by which we live in fellowship and harmony with God. And because the Sabbath was a blessing by God to his people, man was not created for the Sabbath. That’s not why the Sabbath existed. Rather, the Sabbath was created for mankind. Say it again. It’s a blessing to mankind from a good God. That’s the why of the Sabbath, a gift from God to mankind. As we’ll see in our passage, the Pharisees today completely missed the why of the Sabbath, which caused them to completely miss this blessing that was given to them from God. And because they missed the why, they tried to use the Sabbath as like a fuel for their own pride and their own arrogance, where they tried to make the Sabbath become something that was not intended to be, something like, for their own self righteous gain. So that is the intro. But if you want to look back with me in our text, starting in verse one, so read these words. It says on the Sabbath, while he, meaning Jesus, while he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain. And then rubbing them in their hands, with rubbing the hands was how they would remove like the outer chaff before eating. Now for us, perhaps nothing seems wrong here. Jesus, disciples, they’re hungry and there is no like prohibition from like eating on the Sabbath. So nothing concerned here. This is not like biblically wrong. In fact, even in the book of Leviticus, there’s provisions given to pluck heads of grain with one’s hand on the Sabbath. Now I will mention that there are prohibitions in the Old Testament of using like a sickle to cut the heads of grain on the Sabbath, because the plucking is more of a provision to help like get them through the day, where the sickle have been more of like a tool that have been used to provide for like food for like multiple days of work. So what they’re doing here though, just plucking with the heads of grains with their hands. So biblically there’s nothing wrong here. However, for the Pharisees this was a great concern, and it was a great concern to them because they viewed this act being done by disciples as an act of work defined by what was called the misna, which is a list of like 39 additional rules and regulations to what scripture laid out. Where these additional rules and regulations were given in part to help put together like A tighter, more specific regulations on what work was on the Sabbath. Thus, according to these rules, regulations, the disciples of Jesus were breaking the Sabbath by plucking and then rubbing with their hands. For the Saraces, this action broke the Sabbath and this call to rest from one’s labor. Now, let me pause a couple things here I think should challenge us. So first, there’s a ministry that helps with, like, teaching preaching called the Simeon Trust, which is named after an old preacher named Charles Simeon. So we don’t have time to. For me to tell you about his ministry, but I would recommend looking up and reading more about him, Charles Simeon. He has a great ministry. So now in this ministry, Simeon Trust, there’s a training called first principles. And I know some of you have gone through that. And for me, the most helpful lesson in first principles revolves around what they call the line of Scripture. So, like preachers, teachers of the Word, even us as Bible readers, we’re to stay on the line to communicate what the text communicates. Because this temptation will always be to go above or below the line. So to go below the line, according to the training, it’s like to ignore the commands of scripture, to ignore clear teachings in scripture, maybe because they’re uncomfortable to us, or maybe we don’t approve of them, or the other temptation is actually to go above the line of Scripture. According to the training, we start to add to the commands the teachings of Scripture, as if what Scripture says is not enough, so we need to, like, add to it. And this is what the Pharisees were doing here. So Scripture taught one could pluck grains from a field by hand, not with a sipical, but of concern that perhaps people abuse the provision of plucking by hand. Perhaps the rubbing of the hands is too much. We better add more safety rails here. So let’s add to the commandment. Let’s go above the line of Scripture and limit any and all acquiring of grain, any and all rubbing of hands, right? Better be safe to go above the line than to fail by going below the line. Now, there’s kind of a common buzzword in church life, the word legalism. And this can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, where for some, they use, like, the term legalism to almost like, justify, like, going below the line to kind of do whatever they want to do because, you know, they don’t want to be illegalistic. But I think the right way to use this term legalism is simply adding to what Scripture says in ways that we, like, go above the line, where the Additions become as important, if not more important, to what Scripture says itself. So in the end, going above the line, that’s illegalism. In the end, it’s actually similar to going below the line and ignoring Scripture because neither side actually honors God in his Word. Neither side above or below, trusts the truth of what Scripture says. Neither side actually holds to the sufficiency of God’s Word. Second, just on this note, I think we need to understand how easy it is to go above or below this line. First time here, let me just think specifically about going above the line, which is true of our text today. So here’s a command from God, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. So perhaps there’s, like, thoughts of, like, good intentions. Hey, let’s do all that we can do to put guardrails in place to ensure that this happens. However, these guardrails become more and more over time. Over time, the why behind the guardrails completely lost. The guardrails become the focus, the standard, not the original command. And for us, we could do this as a host of different things. Maybe in our culture think of, like, movies or music or alcohol or how we dress, or maybe even how we, like, interact with those who are not Christians. So we know there’s commands out there, biblical principles connected to these things. I just mentioned in our culture that maybe we have to think through, which are commands, principles that we certainly want to follow. We might understand there’s dangers for not following them in ways that we maybe go below the line. But what can easily happen, all these guardrails become more and more where we become, like, more and more tight with more and more things. And all we begin to think about now is this new standard that, like, we set, where the original command, the original principle, is now lost, leaving us, like, really tightly wound up, where we now begin to, like, pridefully judge everyone who is not tightly as wound as we are. Or what else can happen is over time, we just become, like, apathetic to everything, apathetic to, like, any and all rules, because we completely lost track of the why. So we just throw our hands up in the air and we completely abandon, like, Scripture and what it commands in our text. The Pharisees, they’re really tightly wound, tightly wound with, like, deep, prideful judgment of others. In the end, they’re completely missing what scripture taught in their attempt to follow Scripture. You know, there’s a blog I read a few years back, it said you become, like, so biblical where you’re going above and beyond or above and beyond the line. And attempt to like, follow Scripture, I’m going to be so biblical that in the end you actually become like, unbiblical. Once again, that’s the Pharisees. At all costs, they’re going to follow the Sabbath. But in the end, they’re becoming more and more unbiblical in this attempt. Third, let me also just mention, just to be fair and to be clear, going below the line can also lead you to really awful places. It’s not just above the line. Legalism has problems, but that’s what our text is today. This is a cautionary tale. To go above the line in ways, you become like, legalistic. Okay, say more here, bro. Let’s move on. Verse 2, we see the Pharisees came to Jesus, his disciples, to confront them for not meeting their legalistic standard and what they were doing with the grains in the field. And this here, it kind of gets a sense in Luke that kind of like everywhere Jesus went, there’s almost like these like, assigned Pharisees, like, following them around, where it almost felt like their entire existence to try to call out Jesus and what they felt he was doing wrong to try to trap him. Man, I was thinking about this week. This had to be so annoying. Like, everywhere Jesus went, you know. Here are his critics for following him. The text. As Pharisees went to confront Jesus, disciples, we see that he said to them with a tone of judgment and arrogance and pride, why are you doing this? This is not lawful for you to do on the Sabbath, at least not according to their standards. This here, this is another attempt by the Pharisees to catch Jesus and what they deemed like catch him red handed. Another attempt to discredit him disciples, his ministries. However, in this conversation, yet again, Jesus turns things back on them in ways. Actually, we’re discrediting them. Verse 3, we see Jesus respond not in direct ways to their question, to the arrogance, to the pride, but maybe in a little bit more indirect way where Jesus, like, responds by using a story of scripture to prove his point. So the text, Pharisees, you know, the story about David, scripture, you know, maybe, maybe you didn’t read this one. I think you have, but maybe, maybe you remember this one, you know, the one where he was like on the run from evil King Saul. And when he was on the run, remember how he became hungry along with others who were with him. And, and this is a story from 1st Samuel 21:1 that no doubt the Pharisees would have known. Remember how while they were hungry in the run, how David entered into the house of God and how he took and ate of the bread of the presence, which high priest Elimelech allowed for them to do so. Can I ask you, Pharisees, was that not unlawful for David to do that? After all, the bread of presence was not allowed for the priest to eat. In that story, David took give it to those who are with him. So, Pharisees, let me ask you, was that wrong for David to do? Was it wrong for the priest to let that happen? I mean, do you think the priest should have told David his hungry men, sorry, it’s not for you. You must just keep going on in your hunger. What Jesus is doing here in the story is, first, so in the strictest letter of the law, sure, it would have been unlawful for David for Elimelech to distribute bread in this fashion. However, second, Jesus point out that the letter of the law should not be removed or divorced from the spirit of the law. The why of the law, where in the end the law is there to be a blessing from God, a blessing to not only help us love and honor God, but but also to help us to love and honor others. That’s the why. So in the story of David, the spirit of law was there to show David his friends, like, they needed mercy in that moment, right? They’re hungry, they needed mercy, and that’s what Elimelech gave them. He let them eat the food that they needed to save their life to keep going. For the Pharisees, mercy was just not a part of who they were. And backing up. No mercy to the leper, no mercy to the paralytic, no mercy to Levi in our text last week. No mercy to the other tax collectors and social outcasts who Levi threw the party for in our text today. No mercy towards Jesus, his disciples who are hungry, even though what they were doing biblically actually was not wrong in the first place, for the Pharisees, it was wrong in their own eyes. First morning for us, maybe a little litmus test. When we see someone in need, which can come on a lot of different fronts, do we desire to show them mercy or do we just want to, like, hammer them with like, the strictest letter of the law that we can get to a standard. They’re not that we feel they’re not living up to now, as I say that I’m not advocating for, like, enabling, which is not an act of mercy, but it’s actually an act of putting burdens on when we try to enable people. But we should seek to show real mercy to those who are in need, we are able to help those who we can in ways that actually in the end doesn’t hurt them. Keep going to the text, verse 5. So the Pharisees are not already angry and frustrated towards the Lord Jesus as He confronted them for their lack of mercy. What he says next would have only made them that much more angry and that much more frustrated. Where in the text he declared them the Son of Man was a title that he already referred to himself in Luke, a title ground in the Old Testament. The Old Testament pointed to a God man is to come. The Son of Man in the text is the Lord of the Sabbath. Now why this is so frustrating for the Pharisees to hear, Jesus makes the segregation a couple things here. First, they would have hated Jesus continued to declare himself as being the great God man, even though that’s what we see all throughout Scripture as he declared himself to be the Son of Man, the Lord of the Sabbath. Second, as Jesus declared himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, not only is he declaring himself to be greater than the Sabbath day, but he also declared that the rest that the Sabbath was to picture and point to from the seventh day of creation. Jesus is now declaring that rest between God and man is fulfilled in him. That he is the means by which we find rest with God. He’s the answer of the question of the Old Testament. How do we get rest back? It’s not in ourselves. It’s not in trying to keep the law. It’s not in trying to keep some type of like standard of self righteousness by our own effort. It’s not by keeping the Sabbath. Rather in this declaration by the Lord Jesus, he’s saying to follow the Sabbath would lead you to find Him. Because ultimately he is the Sabbath. He’s the why. The Sabbath, it is through him, in him alone. That’s how we find rest with God. Which is why Jesus calls out for all to hear, including all here today. Come to me, all who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Once again for the Pharisees, Jesus making this declaration this way he could fuel to the flames of hate that was burning deeply in the heart. This is what legalism always does when confronted with Jesus. Legalism hates Jesus because Jesus exposes that we can’t do it. Rather we must by faith come to him, the one who did it for us Hebrew 1, verse 6. We see now in the text we’re on to a different Sabbath where the Pharisees are still after Jesus, still trying to catch him red handed, still trying to discredit him, his ministry. We see on another Sabbath, Jesus entered into a synagogue. And as he entered in, he did what is mentioned earlier became his custom to do. And he went in to teach, to preach, to preach God’s word as one with authority. In that particular Sabbath, we see there’s a man in the synagogue whose right hand was withered and true to form because Jesus was there. The Pharisees scribes are also on the scene. And on the particular Sabbath, they’re also there at the synagogue, as I mentioned, trying to continue to trap the Lord Jesus. And as they’re inside the synagogue, they began to watch this man with withered hand to watch Jesus, to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. You know, for me, in my mind, I can kind of just see the Pharisees and scribes in the back of the synagogue, like kind of looking around, whispering among themselves if there’s any potential candidates for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. And as they whispered around, you know, kind of wondered in my mind if, you know, they maybe zeroed in on this man with a withered hand. They began to like, question like, I wonder if that’s the one that Jesus is going to heal today. Verse 8. As Pharisees, maybe we’re zeroing in on whether this man with a withered hand would be the one that Jesus would healed. We see that Jesus started to like zero in on them, the Pharisees, he began to zero in their hearts as our text tells us, like he knew their thoughts. And as Jesus knew their thoughts, he yet again turns things back on the Pharisees. Jesus calls out to the man with the withered hand. You over there. Yeah, he’s you, the one with the withered hand. Come stand up here with me. And his call, Jesus went forth. The man did what Jesus called him to do in the text. He rose from where he was seated and he stood, instructing him to stand right swimming right next to the Lord, like right in front of everyone where no doubt everyone can see him. For me, it gets sent in the text that Jesus didn’t want anyone, particularly the Pharisees, to miss that which he was about to do. Verse 9 of the text. So the man standing up front next to him, Jesus turns the congregation to the Pharisees and can you answer me a question on this Sabbath? Want to ask you this Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it? I keep saying the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus, but this question, but Jesus is now actually trapping them. We’re in this trap. Everyone, including the Pharisees would admit doing good is more important than doing harm. Saving a life is more important than destroying it. And this is really kind of the question that is in line with the story of David and the hungry men who ate the bread of presents. It was more important to do good to them on the Sabbath. Jesus gave his question with the obvious answer, important to do good to save. Jesus now further stressed the importance of mercy and love towards others as the entire law is boiled down into two commandments, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. So at the scene on the Sabbath, as Jesus continues to fulfill the law by showing love and mercy, he does so to this man. Verse 10. As everyone in the room is looking at him, as everyone probably is quiet, and as Jesus gave his question in verse nine, Jesus turns to the man sitting next to him and says to him, man, stretch out your hand once again. As the call of Jesus went forth, the man did what Jesus asked. By faith he stretches out his hand. And as he does so, it was restored, healed. Restored. He healed by the power and the authority of the great God man, Jesus Christ. It was restored, healed by the mercy and the love of the great God man, Jesus Christ. And now for us you would think this would have been to the praise and wonder for all who are present to see this incredible act of love and mercy and power and authority of Jesus Christ. However, as Jesus did this great act for this man who was in need of the hearts of the Pharisees, we see still they’re not softened towards Christ. They still didn’t see like the errors of their way. They still didn’t understand the law, the Sabbath, the why. So our text ends today, verse 11, we see that they became feel or filled with fury and they started to discuss among themselves what they might do to Jesus. You know, as thick headed and as proud as the Pharisees were there even them were being understand that their strategy of trying to catch Jesus red handed like was not working. So even here they’re starting to understand they needed a new strategy if they’re ever to get rid of Jesus Christ, which we know over time became a strategy so filled with hate and fury that their strategy would lead them to kill Jesus Christ, which they finally would end him, his ministry, his influence over his people. But we also know that, that even that completely backfired on them because it’s actually through the death and the resurrection from the dead on the third day. That’s the reason why Jesus came. That is how his ministry would be fulfilled, how his mission to save his people from their sins would be fulfilled. How through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s how he would be restored back to fellowship with God so that we might have rest. Now, as I close this time, I do want to close by asking maybe a few like, why questions and some answers to this, and then we’ll close. So first question, maybe you’re kind of thinking this is so why do we not keep the Sabbath? So the church, we obviously don’t meet on Saturdays. And this is actually one of the commandments, right? One of the ten commandments. Remember the Sabbath day, the commandment that was actually given by God for our good. So why do we not meet on the Sabbath? The reason why relates to Jesus being the Lord of the Sabbath, where, yes, Jesus came to fulfill the entire law, but he uniquely fills the Sabbath as Jesus is our rest. So in the New Testament, like all the ten Commandments are spoken about in ways that they’re still binding on us today. Still expectation that God has for mankind in order to follow him that are for our good. That is, with the exception of the Sabbath. So New Testament, there’s no command for us to follow the Sabbath because as mentioned, Jesus uniquely fulfilled the Sabbath as he is the Lord of the Sabbath. So everyone, this is why we don’t meet on Saturdays, but we meet on Sundays. And in fact, we see this all throughout New Testament, all throughout church history. God’s people, Christians gather on Sunday. Sundays, not Saturdays, with Sundays being referred to like the Lord’s Day, as Sunday helps us remember the day that Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. So now Sundays, like the Sabbath, the Old Testament is the day that Christians are to set aside to worship, right? This is why we don’t forsake the assembly of believers. We gather together every Sunday to worship. This is why Sunday, the Lord’s day, right? This is supposed to be a benefit to us to rest from our labors. So when Sunday we not only remember back to creation, but remember Jesus, the new creation that he comes to give. If you wonder why, that’s why. Second, so why is the line of scripture so important for us to stick to? So something I talked about a little earlier, you know, this Line of Scripture do not go above, not go below. And the main reason why we want to stick to the line of Scripture, to not add to it, not take it away. Because going on either side of the line, not only is it take away from the truth of scripture, but when you go on either side, what happens is we stop seeing Jesus, our need for Him. And this is certainly true of our text today in the Pharisees, they just could not see Jesus for who he is. They certainly did not see their need for Him. The rest that he alone can offer says for us to read and apply Scripture, particularly when it comes to the commands of Scripture as we read them. Do we read them in ways that we see Jesus, where our hearts are full of praise and worship towards him, where our hearts become full of love for God and love for others in more meaningful ways which lead to another why? Question. So why is it important for us to stay focused on the weightier matters of the law? Because this is something that Jesus actually later on confronts the Pharisees on and their attempt to try to keep the law through tithing, where they’re so like hyper focused on every little aspect of tithing like they were in our text with the Sabbath, that tithing becomes like, almost like way too much, where they completely lost the weightier manners of the law. Like loving God, loving others, showing mercy, showing kindness to others, when their attempt to become so biblical with tithing, to become unbiblical with weightier matters of the law. So for us, yes, clearly we want to follow the Scriptures, whatever Scripture commands us to do, but we want to do so in ways with the weightier matters of law. Love, mercy, kindness towards others is at the center. This is the last why. So why is all this so important? The answer is simple. So why is this all important? The answer is Jesus, his wooden cross, empty tomb, things that mean everything to us, right? That’s the why for us. What Jesus did, all these things he did for us, if they continue to mean everything to us, we must keep him at the center of the why of all that we do, that we do. So maybe we want to ask, so why are we here this cold morning? Why? Because of Jesus, that’s why. The worship of him, that’s why. So why do we do all the different ministries that we do, even though at times these ministry can leave us weary? Why? Right? It’s because Jesus, because He means everything to us. Why do we seek to share the Gospel with the world around us? Why? It’s because of Jesus. This, his love for us compels us to now want to love others like who he is, what he has done for us. That’s at the why of our entire existence as a church. That’s why. This morning, if you know you’ve been living above the line, maybe you can kind of like resonate with the Pharisees. Like you’re so wound up tight that you’re missing, like, the weightier matters of the law, maybe even more so you’ve been missing Jesus the rest and the joy that he alone can offer. Let me invite you to humble yourself and just confess your sin and come back to Jesus, knowing that all who by faith come to him will be forgiven. And friends, if you came here looking like the Pharisees from the text, don’t leave here still looking like one. Rather come to Jesus and leave here looking more and more like Him. Church, may God give us the grace to stay on the line of Scripture so we might find and continue to find our rest in him, the great Lord of the Sabbath. Let’s pray. Lord, thank you for Jesus. Lord, please help us to set our eyes on him. And Lord, you’ve given us many good commandments. And so, Lord, please help us to follow them, knowing that they’re good. Help us not lose track of the why behind them and how in the end, not only for our good, but they all lead us to Christ. Pray so in Jesus name, amen. The post Lord of the Sabbath – Luke 6: 1-11 appeared first on Red Village Church.

The Pharisees were trying to find fault with Jesus. They saw His disciples pulling grain from the edge of a field and eating it on the Sabbath. They accused Jesus of letting them break oral tradition. But Jesus reminded them of David sharing the shewbread with his men which were only to be eaten by the priests. The analogy was rich with comparisons including one that predicted the end of the Pharisees.

Jesus teaches about the sabbath and offers us an insight into his true identity as Lord. (Lectionary #312) January 20, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

This week we will be studying Mark 2:23–3:6 under the theme “The Life-Giving Lord of the Sabbath.” In these verses, Jesus confronts not only questions about rest and obedience, but the deeper issue of who has authority over life itself. The Sabbath was given as a gift, yet it had become a burden. Jesus does not abolish God's command; he fulfills it by restoring life and revealing himself as the One in whom true rest is found. When the Lord of the Sabbath is present, rules give way to mercy, and rest is no longer something to achieve, but something to receive.Series Summary: Fast-paced, urgent, and relentlessly focused on Jesus, the Gospel of Mark shows us not just what Jesus said, but what he did. Written for a Roman world hungry for power, Mark introduces a surprising King - one who comes to serve, to suffer, and to give his life for many. Over the coming weeks, we'll walk this road with Jesus, from the wilderness to the cross, discovering how the Servant-King's actions reveal the true good news - and what it means to follow him as disciples who take up our own cross and trust him with our lives.Add St. Marcus as your church on the Church Center App!Fill out our online connection cardHow can we pray for you? If you'd like to leave an offering or monetary donation to our ministry please click here.

The end of Matthew 11 gives us the beautiful invitation from Jesus that we can come to him to find rest for our souls. As we turn to Matthew 12:1-21, we also continue with the theme of rest because our author turns our attention to a series of moments that happened on the Sabbath. Sabbath laws developed over time, and what Jesus encountered was well beyond anything found in God's Law, but the thoughts of Rabbis in the Halakah, interpreting and expanding what it meant to observe the Sabbath properly. Those interpretations had cultivated a rigid posture to what Sabbath was all about. Jesus challenged those interpretations, though. In fact, he claimed to be “The Lord of the Sabbath” himself. On Sunday we will take time to see the history of Sabbath in the Old Testament, in Judaism, and throughout church history. We will see what true rest is offered to us by Jesus, and how that compares and contrasts with the concept of Sabbath and seek to understand more clearly what it is that God's people are called to. ------------------------------------------- Connect with us on Social Media ⁠Website⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠Threads⁠ | ⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠Vimeo⁠------------------------------------------- Download our App⁠Apple App Store⁠ | ⁠Google Play Store⁠

Nothing Like It! Series

 Go to sermon webpage: ABIDE

ABOUT THE NEWWe are a people of love and excellence who are result-oriented, spirit-led, word-rooted, prayer-driven, and kingdom-conscious. Led by Pst. Shola Okodugha, we are on a divine assignment to equip and raise men; to release people from strongholds that have stifled them from taking their rightful places, and to give young people an avenue for their God-given gifts to find expression.OUR CREED"As sure as God helps us,We will not give upWe will not cave inWe will not quitWe will not failWe will not dieUntil our job is doneAnd victory is won"——Partner with us to spread the influence of God all over the world. Give - https://pay.squadco.com/TheNewglobal——BROADCAST DETAILSMinister: Pst. Shola OkodughaDate: Wednesday, January 14th, 2025——Stay ConnectedSubscribe to the latest content: http://bit.ly/subscribethenewliveWebsite: http://wearethenew.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearethenew_global/#21DaysOfAcceleration #NightOfMercy #SholaOkodugha

 Go to sermon webpage: ABIDE

Guest Speaker Rev. Will Cote, RUF APSU

Brian Eggert, Senior Pastor​Sunday a.m.Mark 2 Pastor Brian Eggert 2025.mp3File Size:50873 kbFile Type:mp3Download File [...]

"Resting in the Lord of the Sabbath" - Sermon by Pastor Bob Gianserra - Luke 13:10-17, Luke 14:1-6

 Go to sermon webpage: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Pastor/Elder Anthony Valentine preaches from Matthew 12:9-14

 Go to sermon webpage: PSALM 103

Pastor/Elder Anthony Valentine preaches from Matthew 12:1-8

 Go to sermon webpage: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

 Go to sermon webpage: LIGHT OF THE WORLD (JOHN 8)