Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath

The Pharisees were not happy with Jesus and his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath here is the Lord of the Sabbath day, the one who made all things now in this incarnation is being challenged by these Pharisees for his behavior on the Sabbath day of excitement. What you're telling me what I can do on the Sabbath day.

Who do you think made the Sabbath day with the Pharisees on one side and Jesus on the other.

Unfortunately it was a typical extreme that happened over and over during Jesus earthly ministry Pharisees, not understanding the truth of God's law, even though Jesus explained to today and Renewing Your Mind. We continue Dr. RC Sproul's verse by verse sermon series from the gospel of once again tells us of a bond that arises between Jesus and the Pharisees and this time again. It occurs on the Sabbath day we read the somewhat innocuous report that Jesus was walking through one of the grain fields with his disciples when they pluck the heads of grain and ate them, robbing them in their and what kind of grain. This was a question. Many believe that it was that these were ears of corn and that the disciples pluck the fuel ears of corn from this cornfield and to get the kernels loose from the ear. They rub the corncobs in their hands to free the kernels so that they could eat them. They didn't have the opportunity to cook them and smear them with water and salt. The way we do in our culture, but in any case, while the disciples were busy picking corn.

They Pharisees were busy picking nits, which was there custom and they began to nitpick this action that Jesus and his disciples were involved in. Keep this in mind that according to the deuterocanonical law of the Old Testament. It was indeed permissible for passersby to go into a cornfield or a grain field and help themselves to the basic necessities that were available. Their course sojourners were allowed to commit and harvest all crop and steal it from the farmer but this was part of the broader principles of gleaning and the like that were set forth in the Old Testament so by no means was Jesus and his disciples breaking the law of God, but we remember that the Pharisees were not content for the law of God to stand by itself, but they had to add all kinds of details to their interpretation of what was permitted and what was allowed in terms of Sabbath keeping and they added literally over a thousand specifications in their extreme casuistry to their traditions and defining according to their understanding what could or not be done on the Sabbath day and according to their traditions. Jesus had violated the Sabbath in terms of the prohibition against unnecessary labor on the Sabbath day for by picking an ear of corn Jesus and his disciples were guilty of harvesting and by rubbing the corn together. They were guilty of thrashing on the Sabbath day and so there. The Pharisees were shaking their finger once again in the face of Jesus is all. No no no no no no, you're not allowed to do this, you know, it's a wonder that Jesus being God incarnate, didn't at this point have enough and just unleash the full power of his deity on these rascals, but in any case, he patiently answered their objection and reminded them of Old Testament history by calling attention to the account in the book of spur Samuel of an event that took place in the life of David and his comrades that when they were very hungry and had no food available to them. They went into the tabernacle and into the holy place where the temple of showbread was not in the holy of holies. But there this showbread that was on the altar as part of the ceremonies of Old Testament worship David realizing this was the only food nearby that would be available for him and for his comrades, the one in and took the bread from the altar and fed himself and his soldiers with it and Jesus obviously shows his approval for what David and his men had done in the Old Testament because Jesus is enunciating the principal that no ceremony outweighs the fundamental needs of human life. David and his men were not involved in an act of vandalism or just stay in a frivolous way, helping themselves to the food that was in the altar, but they were eating because they had genuine hunger and were enabled to use this food that was available to them and still be working in the honor of God. And so what Jesus does simply is rebukes the Pharisees for their failure to understand what David had done in the Old Testament and for their failure to be concerned about the needs of Jesus and his disciples. With respect to the elementary matters of food. However, this passage is so much more about what Jesus and his disciples did and how he answered the criticism of the Pharisees for what they did because in this narrative, and on this event, Jesus makes a pronouncement that is overwhelming in its importance for us and for our understanding of him. He said to the Pharisees the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath that we could spend the next six months exploring the depths and the riches of this one statement that Jesus makes on this occasion to the Pharisee and I get are divided into two parts. The first part is where Jesus calls himself once again the Son of Man we've heard him do this before we remember when he announced the forgiveness of sins for the paralytic. The Pharisees were all over him for that and Jesus said on that occasion. I do this that you may know, the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sin now in previous years. We've looked at the gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark in the Gospel of John. And so this designation for Jesus Son of Man is not strange or unusual to us if we been here for any length of time, or if we've studied the Scriptures to any degree, but at the risk of boring you, I'd like to go back and rehearse some of the significance of the use of this title for Jesus just in this last week I had two occasions to think about it.

On one I received the letter a lengthy letter from a man who was severely chastising me for teaching people the terrible heresy of the Trinity and of the deity of Christ, and he was saying that the Bible doesn't teach the deity of Christ and nowhere does the New Testament affirm the deity of Christ, and so on, and he went through the all of his arguments for his Unitarianism but in any case, I did respond once and then when he came back I let go. The second time, which I usually do, but in any case. Also note weekly Bible study this amendment we had this week. This question of the significance of this title Son of Man Arroyo and so we looked at it there as well and to remind you that if we count up the times in which Jesus is described in the New Testament by this title or that title and we look at the numerical frequency we see that far and away the number one title that is ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament is the title Christ Christos is used so often that we sometimes think that Christ is Jesus last name Jesus Christ. No, that is Jesus is his name Christ. This is title, which is the New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament word for Messiah. So when the New Testament talks about Jesus Christ. It means Jesus Messiah Jesus the anointed one.

That's the number one title that is ascribed to Jesus. The second most frequently given title to Jesus in the New Testament is the title Lord, which is extremely significant because the way in which is that expressed in the New Testament by use of the term curios the use of the title Lord for Jesus correspond to the Old Testament title. Adam, I that is given exclusively to God as a supreme title when the Bible says, oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth with the Hebrew is saying is, oh yeah why that's his name.

Our ad deny that to supreme title, how majestic is your name so that the highest title that is given to God in the Old Testament in terms of the Greek translation of the Hebrew is the title Lord and recall Paul's writing to the Philippians that I have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God took his equality with God, not as something to be tenaciously grassed or held onto buddy emptied himself, entered into his humiliation took upon himself the form of a servant became obedient, even unto death, and you not help on this on to say, wherefore, hath God highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name, the father gives to the son, the name that is the highest name that can be given to anyone than Paul says so at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the father, the name that is above every name is not the name Jesus is that title Lord my curios. That's the title that is given to Jesus. That's the second most frequent title ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament in third place in terms of numerical frequency is the title son of man know what's strange extraordinary about this.

I don't have my one book that I use for this occasion home from I think my son has it, but in any case, I believe that the numbers are correct that this title Son of Man occurs in the New Testament for Jesus 92 times that only gets it the third place in terms of frequency but the extraordinary thing is that of those 92 references to Jesus as of the Son of Man. 89 of them are from the lips of Jesus himself, and what does that tell you that tell you that in terms of numerical frequency for what Jesus calls himself Son of Man is number one. What does it mean we know that the Bible calls Jesus son of God and Son of Man, we know that the churches confession is such that we believe that Christ is fully man and fully God truly man, and truly God that he has a divine nature and is a human nature and so we are tempted to look at these titles in this manner.

To think what will son of God, that must refer to a deity and Son of Man must refer to his humanity.

Well, that's a vast oversimplification because although the title son of God does have some reference to it to Jesus deity being the only begotten of the father. Nevertheless, the title also refers to his human work of obedience because the recall his son of God to biblically is to be describing one who is oh obedient to God. You are the son of whom you obey set so the son of God. Title doesn't refer exclusively to deity. It also incorporates an element of his humanity, and in the same manner.

The title Son of Man, though it has an element of reference to his humanity. The dominant reference to that title is to his deity. Let's take just a moment to go back to the Old Testament to Daniel chapter 7 where we read Daniel's vision of the ancient of days, beginning in verse nine, where he writes I watched until thrones were put in place and the ancient of days, that's the title for God the father was seated his garment was white as snow. The hair of his head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him and a thousand thousands ministered to him 10,000�10,000 stood before him. The court was seated in the books were opened. And then he goes on to say in verse 13, I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with clouds of heaven and he came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him.

Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. Know a lot of people think that this reference of the Son of Man refers to Jesus's second coming at the end of the age. I don't think so. If we look at the book of Revelation we say that the Son of Man, there appears in heaven as he ascends into heaven on the Shekinah cloud of glory. And when he returns to heaven, from which he came originally the chorus and the heaven begins the saying worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive honor and glory and dominion, and power, and at the ascension Jesus is elevated to the right hand of God. He goes to his investiture.

He goes to his coronation and he is seated at the right hand of the father as the king of the kings and mostly Lord of the Lord is not during his earthly ministry, he made the observation. No one ascends into heaven except he who has descended from heaven. No one ascends into heaven except the US descended from heaven. So when Jesus speaks of ascending into heaven.

He's not merely talking about going up there.

Enoch went up to heaven and other people go to heaven when they die.

So what does Jesus mean when he says no one ascends into heaven will hear the word to ascend has specific reference to his going up to a particular place for a particular reason he's going again to his coronation and the only one who was seven to be seated at the right hand of God is the one who first came down here from the presence of God as Jesus prays in his high priestly prayer in John Lord restore to me the glory I had with you from the foundation of the world. So the title Son of Man the way Jesus is using it, referring to himself. He saying to the Pharisees I'm doing these things that you may know, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

The Son of Man is one who comes from heaven who carries the full measure of his deity with them and with that deity. The full authority that is associated with them and so them. We see the second part of the statement that you might know the Son of Man. This heavenly being this divine being is the Lord of the Sabbath. What Jesus never uttered words more startling to the ears of the Pharisees, when he said that to them. We ask ourselves when was the Sabbath. They established we know that it was part of the 10 Commandments that Moses brought down from Sinai and some people think that the sanctity of the Sabbath was established with the covenant that God made with his people through Moses as the mediator there on Sinai in the 10 Commandments. No no no no no, though the Sabbath is part of the 10 Commandments it's not established that Sinai it's not instituted at Sinai. It's instituted in creation the Sabbath is a creation ordinance established by God in his original work where he worked for six days creating all of their wives and on the seventh day he rested and he hollowed it he sanctified it. The Sabbath was sanctified in creation and the only one who had the authority to hallow the Sabbath day in the work of creation was not the birds of the air, the fish of the sea or the creatures that God made in his own image, only the creator had the authority to institute and consecrate the Sabbath day so to get the inference only the creator can be Lord of the Sabbath day. And here is the Lord of the Sabbath day, the one who made all things now in his incarnation, is being challenged by these Pharisees for his behavior on the Sabbath day and the excitement you telling me what I can do on the Sabbath day. Who do you think made the Sabbath day. I did say quite that way. That's the way I would've set it but he didn't say it that would, but that's the that is the import of what Jesus is saying to them.

You see now why they couldn't wait to kill him as a blasphemer. Jesus is saying. I decide what is lawful and what is not lawful on the Sabbath. You know another controversy that rages throughout Christendom and in and centuries ago is the question of which values the proper day in which Christians come together to worship. We know that the original Sabbath in Israel was established on the seventh day of the week and now Christians almost universally worship God in solemn assembly on the first day of the week rather than on the seventh day in the week, the Sabbath cycle will still maintain one and seven because that's what Sabbath main but now it's the first day round the summer. They why because the Lord of the Sabbath was resurrected on the first day of the week and in his resurrection proves the ultimate intent and purpose of the original Sabbath day by which God provides for his people at time of rest.

Pointing forward to the future time when his people would enter into their rest by resurrection novel Lord of the Sabbath is raised on the first day of the week and so the early church came together to worship, to celebrate the sacraments to hear the word of God on the Lord's day on the Lord of the Sabbath day which is now the first day of the week.

All these things and so much more are contained in this title Son of Man, and this claim by our Lord that he, as the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.

This is a clear declaration of the deity of Christ that the one who swung into the grain field to feed himself and his friends is the one who is come down from heaven, the only one who ever ascended to heaven to be installed at the right hand of the father is the king of the king and the Lord. It is this Son of Man we serve, worship is Jesus proclaimed his deity loud and clear that Greenfield your listing to Renewing Your Mind on the Sunday time we will have and I'm glad you joined us today. Each week we returned to Dr. RC Sproul sermon series from the Gospel of Luke in the six chapters we study so far we have learned a great deal benefiting from Dr. Sproles careful exposition. You can further your own study when you contact us today and request Darcy's commentary on this gospel is drawn from decades of analysis and pastoral reflection and communicates his desire to clearly explain God's word. Contact us today with a financial gift of any amount and we will be glad to provide you with a digital download of this commentary on Luke.

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