[0:00] In the opening part of the chapter that we read this evening, in Luke chapter 6, we find Jesus dealing with a subject that he deals with quite often in the New Testament.
[0:11] That is, of course, the subject of the Sabbath day. This is a subject, as we say, which Jesus speaks about quite often in our chapter, is a case in point. In this section, Jesus makes two main points, which could be summed up with reference to verse 9 and also verse 5 of Luke chapter 6 that we read.
[0:35] First of all, if we look at verse 9, Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?
[0:48] And at verse 5, he said to them, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Now, in verse 9, if we look at that one first of all, when Jesus says, is it lawful to do good or to do evil, to do harm or to help?
[1:01] He's asking a rhetorical question. That is one to which he is not realistically seeking or expecting an answer, because the answer speaks for itself. It is always better to do good than to do evil, not only on the Sabbath day, but any day, how much more so on God's special day.
[1:22] It is always better to save life than to destroy it, again, even more so on the Sabbath. The context of this passage, if you remember, is that Jesus was healing people on the Sabbath.
[1:39] Now, in all fairness to his opponents, they weren't against healing people, but they regarded healing as a work. And by definition, work, as far as they were concerned, ought not to be done on the Sabbath.
[1:54] But if we turn a couple of pages to Luke chapter 13, we read there of what the ruler of the synagogue says after the woman with the bent back, whose bent double was healed by Jesus and enabled to stand up straight.
[2:06] But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, there are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.
[2:18] Of course, he got short shrift from Jesus in making or attempting to make that point. But that was the basis on which they argued that healing people was a work. And therefore, if that was a work, you ought not to do work on the Sabbath day, in that sense.
[2:35] Now, it wasn't that they wanted Jesus to do bad things. They just didn't want him to do anything at all on the Sabbath, as they saw it.
[2:46] Not even good things, not even healed people, don't do anything at all. This is one reason why Jesus, when he asks the question of them, he says at verse 9 in our chapter 6 here, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy?
[3:05] He doesn't really give them an option of a middle way of doing nothing at all. And it would appear from the context that those who didn't want him to do anything at all on the Sabbath for Jesus, Just doing nothing was never an option.
[3:18] And to do nothing was, in Jesus' eyes, the equivalent of doing evil, of destroying life. When you had the option, the chance to do good, and instead you did evil by doing nothing, that was very much evil in Jesus' eyes.
[3:36] You know, we think of in John chapter 5, where there's the man at the pool of Bethesda, who's been waiting there, you know, for like 38 years, or whatever, and then Jesus heals him. And we read in John chapter 5, verse 14, Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, See, you are well.
[3:53] Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
[4:05] But Jesus answered them, My father is working until now, and I am working. My father is working until now, and I am working.
[4:16] Some of you may know it better. My father worketh hitherto, and I work. What work is he doing? He's doing his father's work. He's doing God's work. And if we were to turn, look across the page in John chapter 6, verse 28, Then they said to him, What must we do to be doing the works of God?
[4:36] Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. In the eyes of Jesus then, the Sabbath is not, and therefore never was, because God doesn't change, remember.
[4:52] So if the Sabbath is not, then it never was designed for doing nothing. It was rather designed and intended for doing good, for saving life, for doing the works of God.
[5:10] This is what we said, This is the work of God, John 6, verse 29, that you believe on him whom he has sent. In other words, the Sabbath is given, is made, remember that it was made, it is created by God, right at the beginning, creation.
[5:25] And God gave the Sabbath, God rested on the Sabbath, and he gave it to man. It was made, it was given as a means to enable mankind to serve God better.
[5:39] To do the works of God. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. To do the works of God. To do nothing, to do neither good nor evil, nothing at all, can become doing evil.
[5:54] If we have the opportunity to do good, and we don't do it. The Sabbath is given, that we might serve God better. If we are to worship the Lord, as he deserves, and indeed as he commands us, it follows that we must set aside, a due portion of our time, each day, for this priority.
[6:18] Notice the words I'm using, for this priority. But recognizing that the work, the tasks, the legitimate duties, and employments of each day, are heavy, and costly in terms of time, God recognizes that you can't do much more, than a short amount of, you know, worship or prayer time, at the beginning of the day, and maybe a short time, at the end.
[6:41] Yes, you may have other moments, or opportunities, during the course of the day, but work is genuine. The command is not just, you know, six days, do nothing at all, seven days, the seventh day you rest.
[6:53] It's rather, six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work. You're meant to be laboring. You're meant to be in employment, and tasks, and duties. This is legitimate. That the Lord should still be worshipped, preferably at the beginning, and the end of each day.
[7:06] But the Lord has commanded, that one day each week, should be given wholly, to worshipping him, and resting in him.
[7:17] It is not intended, just for doing nothing. Nothing is what the Pharisees, and others wanted Jesus, to do on the Sabbath. But he knew it wasn't for, just nothing.
[7:30] But for resting in the Lord, and worshipping him better. Doing good. Saving life. Who are the people that Jesus healed, in these instances?
[7:42] He healed the man, with a withered hand. And he healed the woman, who was bent down double, and had been for many years. Where did he do this? He did it, in the synagogue.
[7:54] That these people, with their disabilities, and constraints, and with this, the embarrassment, that disability sometimes brings with it, had been coming faithfully, to the synagogue, to worship God, on God's day.
[8:09] And Jesus healed them. Not only to glorify his father, but partly also, so that they might glorify God, more joyfully, that they might be enabled, to serve God, better.
[8:21] He didn't just, on this occasion, go out to the highways, and byways, and say, who can I heal today? Let's see, oh there's that person, or that person over there. No, these are people, who had come to worship God. And in healing them, he enabled them, to serve God better.
[8:35] And he enabled the people, to glorify God, in the midst of it. It's not just for nothing, but for resting, and worshipping the Lord better.
[8:46] Doing good, saving life. On this matter, according to Jesus, to do nothing, would be to do evil. To neglect, and ignore, the Lord, on his day, is, to do evil.
[9:03] It is, to destroy, little by little, one's very own life. Because we are, destroying, gradually, our relationship, with the Lord.
[9:15] If you're under water, and you're breathing, through a pipe, that's attached, to the oxygen tank, on your back, then that oxygen tank, is what's going to make, the difference, between you staying alive, or drowning.
[9:27] If you take the pipe, out your mouth, for a little while, then okay, you can hold your breath, for a wee bit. But then eventually, if you don't stick it, back in again, you are going to drown. You are going to die. If you deprive yourself, of the nurture, of that relationship, with the Lord, which your soul, needs.
[9:47] Little by little, you are going to destroy, your life. And there are, multitudes, millions, billions of people, out there in the world, today, doing precisely that.
[9:57] Just because, they are the majority, does not mean, that they are living, or living, to the fullness, of life, or extent, or blessing. They are dying. They are perishing.
[10:08] We are all perishing, without the Lord. One's very own life, is under threat, if we do not serve, and nurture, that relationship, with the Lord.
[10:20] Jesus taught, on various occasions, that there could be, no neutrality, with God. one was either, for him, or against him.
[10:31] And whoever did not, gather with him, he said, scattered abroad. One might say, the same thing, about his holy day. One cannot, really pretend, to neutrality, about the Sabbath.
[10:45] One either thinks, the Sabbath is a good thing, given by God, or you don't. You can just shrug, and say, well I'm not really bothered, and you say, oh that's neutrality. No it's not. Because to be not bothered, to not care, about the Lord, is effectively, to be against him.
[10:58] There is no neutrality, where God is concerned. And we might say, there is no neutrality, about the Sabbath. One either honors, and worships, the God who gave it, and so, do good, and use it aright.
[11:15] Or one does not, do so. In other words, one does evil. The second main point, Jesus makes, is that at verse 5, where he said to them, the Son of Man, is Lord of the Sabbath.
[11:31] Like verse 9, this puts God, or more specifically here, this puts Christ, at the very heart, of Sabbath observance.
[11:42] When we honor his day, we honor himself. When we defile, or neglect, or ignore, his day, we defile, and neglect, him, Christ, the Lord, of the Sabbath, who claims, ownership, of the day.
[12:02] That is what he is doing. The Son of Man, is Lord of the Sabbath. He is claiming, ownership, of the day. It is all the more, surprising then, that there is so often, a tendency nowadays, amongst many Christians, to suggest, not only that Jesus, was against, Sabbath observance, but that he has, freed, all of us, New Testament Christians, from the burdensome, shackles, of what was, after all, as they claimed to believe, just a legalist, Jewish ordinance.
[12:33] And now, being saved by grace, we are free, to keep, or not to keep, this day, as we see fit. After all, Jesus said, in Mark chapter 2, verses 27 and 28, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
[12:50] Case closed. That's it. All done and dusted. We've got our answer there. Sadly, in such instances, it is not so much, the case that is closed. Never mind the minds, that are closed.
[13:03] But it is the Bible, which remains, or seems to remain closed, and the context, to be ignored. Let's look at those verses, for a moment. Mark chapter 2, verses 27 and 28, He said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
[13:19] So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. There's that claim to ownership again. That He is claiming ownership of that day. The Sabbath was made.
[13:31] And it was made for man. Who made it then? It didn't just evolve, from the primordial sludge. It was made. It was made for man. Why was it made for man?
[13:42] That he might better serve the Lord, who gave it. If you think of it, God gave two creation ordinances. He gave the Sabbath, and he gave marriage.
[13:55] And when one was taken away, or attacked, or undermined in our country, decades ago, and it's worked its way towards us as well, we thought, oh, well, the other one's safe enough.
[14:06] And of course, we know now that it's not, don't we? The other creation ordinances, constantly under attack, isn't it? The Sabbath, and marriage, and all the other commandments, and ordinances in between.
[14:21] Jesus makes this claim for ownership. The Son of Man is Lord, also of the Sabbath. In this situation, in Mark chapter 2, the disciples were getting a hard time, for plucking ears of corn, to eat.
[14:36] Something which God's law, did actually allow. Deuteronomy 23, verse 25, we'll read, If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle, to your neighbor's standing grain.
[14:51] They were allowed to pluck the ears of corn. Presumably it was the fact they were doing, on that particular day, that some people took issue with. But they were allowed to do it. God's law allowed them. But Jesus does not say, listen, okay, don't you know your scriptures?
[15:03] They're allowed to do this. Instead of arguing from their fact, of being allowed to do it, he goes to the example of David, eating the show bread, the special bread, in the tabernacle.
[15:16] He cites the example of David, eating the consecrated bread. And even if that was not, strictly in line with the law, as Jesus acknowledges, it was not. It was clearly, permitted by God.
[15:29] We looked this morning, remember, at the cases, when God makes, an exception. God has the power, to make, an exception. He made an exception, with the thief on the cross, about baptism, and no doubt, in other cases too.
[15:44] God makes, an exception, in particular cases. Let's say, if you were in the world, and you were going for a meal, at some place or other, and you get stopped at the door, by the head waiter, who says, I'm sorry sir, you can't get in here.
[15:56] Your dress code doesn't allow it. You've got jeans on, you haven't got a tie on, what have you. You can't come in, and eat in this restaurant. And the owner, just happens to be coming by, and says, oh, so and so, oh no, it's okay, this is my personal friend.
[16:07] Come and sit him, at my table over here, with his wife, and his family, and so on. And the waiter says, but sir, we have this policy, we have this dress code policy. He says, it's all right, you let him right through. Now, is the head waiter going to argue, with the owner, of the restaurant?
[16:21] Or is he going to just say, okay, fair enough, it's your restaurant. You decide what happens. I just enforce the rules you make, but if you want to make an exception, that's fine. The servant, is going to give way, to the master.
[16:33] The servant, the underling, is going to give way, to the boss. Ownership confers privilege. Christ owns, the Sabbath. He is the Lord, of the Sabbath.
[16:45] Likewise, if we think of Moses, I mean, if Abraham's servant, in Genesis 24, where he's sent, to get the wife for Isaac, and after Abraham, makes him swear, that he'll go into the, the land of Syria, and he'll get a wife from there, and he has to do, all that's needful to do it.
[17:02] So, he goes off, and he gets the ten camels, and he gets all the silver, and the gold, and the precious jewels, and so on. He doesn't say, Abraham, is it okay, if I take so many jewels, is it okay, if I take this much gold, and how many camels, am I allowed to take, and so on.
[17:16] Once Abraham, has given this particular commission, to his servant, the faithfulness, of this servant, means that he takes, whatever is required, in order to do the job, that he's been given.
[17:28] He is given a task, he is given, a target to meet, he is given a commission, to fulfill, and he's able to do, whatever it takes, to do it. The point is not, whether, a rule has been violated, by, whether he takes, these camels, he takes this silver, and gold, he's not taking it, for himself, in Genesis 24, there.
[17:47] He's taking it, in order to enable him, to serve his master, better. And I would suggest, to you, the point is not, whether, a rule has been violated, the question, in the sight, of the owner, of the Sabbath, Jesus, is going to be, why have you done, what you have done?
[18:08] What, is at the heart, of your action? Who, is it that you are serving, with this resource, this holy day? You see, nowadays, when you could say, life is so much more complex, for us, than maybe it was, in a former age, so many, question marks, and is this in line, with God's word?
[18:26] Is that in line, with God's word? Things are so much, more sophisticated, technologically advanced, and how do we still, keep in line, with God's teaching? Jesus, I would suggest to you, will put, to your heart, to your conscience, these three questions, that I mentioned.
[18:41] Why, have you done, what you have done? Is this, fulfilling, God's command, his teaching, honoring his day, honoring his person? Why, have you done, what you have done? What is at the heart, of your action?
[18:54] Who, is it that you are serving, with this, resource, this holy day? Is Christ, at the heart, of what you are doing? Or is it self? Remember, the Lord, allows, exceptions, the Lord, does allow, I mean, if you happen to be, let's say you were going to church, in town one day, and there, you saw somebody, lying in the street, bleeding, where there's, oh, I've got to get, got to get them, to the hospital quickly, and you flagged down a taxi, and you went back to the taxi, and you take them to the hospital, is the Lord, then going to say, you shouldn't have done that, because that taxi, he was made to work, on the Lord's day, in order to get this person, you've done really bad here, he's going to ask, what was at the heart, of your action?
[19:33] Well, you're trying to save life, it's always right, to save life, it's always right, to do good, to help the person in need, ideally, of course, it would be better, if somebody hadn't, had to work to do it, but you're taking them, to the hospital, where the doctors, and nurses, and all the medical staff, are having to work, to save life, to help people, to help heal them, and cure them, and so on, they're doing the Lord's work, so yes, God will allow, an exception to be made, in these circumstances, who is it you're serving, with this resource, is Christ at the heart, of what you are doing, or is it self?
[20:06] Now, it may well be, that you're genuinely engaged, in a work of necessity, or mercy, or indeed, of some other, God honoring labor, but God will always, know the truth, and what is in your heart, not just what might be, on your lips, of what you might, tell yourself, I would suggest, that one of the difficulties, we face, as Christians nowadays, is we do not, truly search our hearts, we are not, genuinely prepared, to answer before God, why is it I'm doing this, is this really honoring you, Lord, on this day, or am I just explaining, in a way, if I go shopping, on the Lord's day, who is that for, that I'm doing it, can I truly say, oh yes, I'm serving God, doing this, yes, yes, this is for the Lord, that I'm doing it, no, we can't really, currently, if I'm watching the football, on the Lord's day, I'm sitting at home, on the couch, watching Italian football, instead of being in church, can I say, oh yeah, this is honoring God, on his day, because you know, the Lord wants me to rest, this is my way of resting, this is my way of chilling out, and relaxing,
[21:10] I can find God, just as much doing this, as I can sitting in church, listening to some boring sermon, there, oh, this is me honoring God, who do you think you're kidding, with all this worldly entertainment, all this worldly advertising, going on the ground, these players paid obscene amounts of money, and so on, watching entertainment, watching a sport, is not a sin in itself, but if you're meant to be someone else, if you're meant to be keeping that day, holy and special to the Lord, don't kid yourself, that that is for the Lord, you're doing that, it's not for him, it's for me, it's for my God, my idol, myself, and the greatest idol we make, from the garden, until now, is not statues of Buddha, or other gods, or other deities, it's ourselves, it's man, in his own heart, and that is the oldest idolatry, in the book, who are we serving, when we do the things, that we do, on his day, the Lord of the Sabbath, or the prince of this world, traveling on the Lord's day, in such a way, that people will need to work,
[22:19] I'm not talking about jumping in the car, in order to get to church, or whatever, nobody has to work to do that, nobody has to do their paid employment, in order to let you do that, if you're catching a plane, or you're getting on the ferry, or whatever, is that honoring the Lord, oh yes, well it is, because I have to go and visit, my sick granny, in Inverness in hospital, why didn't you go the day before, well I couldn't, because I was busy, I had things to do, so to make sure, that visiting your granny in hospital, doesn't eat into your time, you'll let it eat into God's time instead, oh well I'm coming home, on a flight, you know from abroad, because you know, I've got to be at work on Monday, so I have to come home, on the Lord's day, well do you, why don't you come home a day later, oh because then I'd be late for work, my boss wouldn't like it, so why don't you come home a day sooner, oh because then I'd have to pay, for an extra day's overnight accommodation, I'd lose a day of my holiday, I'm not going to do that, so in order to not eat into our own time, or to cost ourselves, we will instead eat into God's time, we're worried about upsetting our worldly boss, but we're not worried about upsetting, the God that we claim to serve, why don't you come home a day earlier, why if you're, if you're coming back from the North Sea, and the platform, the helicopter drops you down, and you're stuck in Aberdeen, or whatever, and the other boys are all getting off on the train, on the Lord's day, so they can get a flight back home, but instead, you stay in Aberdeen, or wherever it is, overnight until Monday, and say, why aren't you coming with us now, come on, come on, no I'm not,
[23:53] I'm going to church instead, I'm a Christian, I'm going to stay here, and wait until Monday, I'm not going on the Lord's day, oh you're daft man, we're away home now, fine, they can say what they like about you, but, they won't be able to criticize, that you're a hypocrite, they won't be able to say, that you're not faithful, to what you believe, you're not stopping them, doing what you want, they're not stopping them, you're not forcing them, to agree with your beliefs, but you're, taking the hit yourself, you're paying the extra money, you're paying the overnight accommodation, you're taking the extra time, yeah it's going to cost, where did we get the idea, that following Jesus, is not going to cost us anything, it's going to cost, and it's going to make a silent witness, when did this idea come in, that following the Lord, was never going to cost, how much money does it take, I wonder, before the sum involved, means more to us, than obedience to the Lord, oh but I've got to save this overnight accommodation,
[24:56] I can't stay another day here, that would cost me money, how much money does it take, a hundred pounds, fifty pounds, forty pounds, thirty, pieces of silver, how much does it take, before we have sold out our Lord, in order to gratify ourselves, when did Christians decide, that the Bible must teach, that following Christ, who gave himself for us, upon the cross, was meant to be cost free, and should not make any impact, or difference, in how we live our lives, compared to how the heathens do it, how many occasions, have we passed up, for the Sabbath, to be our silent witness, we're not compelling other people, to do what we do, we're just saying, well I'm not going to do that, I'm not going there today, no I'll go with you on Monday, I'll go with you next week, but I'm not going today, today I keep sacred to the Lord, today I keep holy to the Lord,
[25:57] I'm not getting a train today, I'm not getting on that flight today, I'll go on Monday, I'll go on Tuesday, or I'll make sure I come home Saturday, but one way or the other, this day is special, because I'm a Christian, I follow Christ, who's the Lord of the Sabbath, how many occasions, have we passed up, for the Sabbath, to be our silent witness, our golden opportunity, to make a humble, quiet, non-aggressive, self-deprecating, statement of difference, about who we belong to, and who we serve, let me just ask you one question, would anybody have ever heard, of Eric Liddle, if it hadn't been for his faithfulness, to the Lord in his day, oh yes he'd have won his gold medal, he'd have been an athlete in 1924, who remembers any athletes from 1924, except those who happen to be immortalized, in chariots of fire, and why is that made, because an athlete was faithful to the Lord, and his day, yes to honor the Lord of the Sabbath, we will probably on occasion, take a hit, it will end up costing us, but if we do so, we will know that we are doing it, for him, and not for ourselves, it will cost us at times, but if it doesn't cost us, what sacrifice do we offer, to the Lord in our lives, and in the end, it will almost certainly cost us, a lot less, than we imagine it's going to, that we told ourselves, it was going to, in any case,
[27:34] God is no man's debtor, you know, if in our life, Christ is not Lord of all, and he is not the Lord at all, Jesus said, not me, Jesus said, the Son of Man is Lord, also, of the Sabbath, charity, charity, however, demands, that we must genuinely think, the best, of those, who take the view, that the Sabbath, is an Old Testament, Jewish regulation, which is no longer, binding upon Christians, under the New Testament, and, from a scriptural, theological point of view, they perhaps, no longer feel obliged, to maintain it, one might perhaps, ask, admittedly, with a little mischief, perhaps, but ask, and remind us again, of which of the other commandments, likewise, get dispensed with, in the same way, I mean, now that we're, saved by grace, now that we're all, New Testament Christians, does that mean, we're free to worship, other gods, does it mean, we're free to set up, graven images, does it mean, we're free to take, the Lord's name in vain, that's one, two and three, already gone, are we free now, as Christians, under the New Testament, to dishonor our parents, dishonor our father, our mother, okay, are we free to kill, are we free, to commit adultery, now under the gospel, we're free to do, whatever we want, free to commit adultery, free to bear, false witness, free to steal, free to covet, no, oh, just the Sabbath then, okay, so just one commandment, out of ten, that happens to have been, dispensed with, all the other nine, still apply, oh right, so all that Jewish legalism, from the Old Testament, that all still applies, but not in this one case, and the scriptural basis, for that conclusion is, where, most people, who take this, abolitionist view, of the Sabbath, will do so, in the belief, that the Lord's day, is a completely, different thing, from the Old Testament,
[29:36] Jewish Sabbath, for rest from work, and indeed, from causing others, to work for us, and to focus that day, on the Lord, there are multitudes, who will claim, that the first day, of the week, is nowhere referred to, as the Sabbath, whether Christian, or otherwise, but let's look at the facts, the New Testament, was written, in Greek, not in English, not in Gaelic, or French, or anything else, it was written in Greek, and the term Sabbath, in Greek, it is sabaton, it's the word, can be applied, three ways, it can either mean, first of all, the seventh day, or it can mean, secondly, a seven day period, a week, in other words, or thirdly, it can mean, a day, of the week, a particular, day, of the week, now undoubtedly, a measure of interpretation, must be exercised, in each context, where the word is used, but just, for the record, and to end all doubt, and speculation, on every, single, occasion, where the Greek, term translated, as first, day of the week, is used, in the New Testament, every, single, occasion, where the term, first day of the week, is used in the Greek, and translated that way, in the English, what it literally, says, is, on the first,
[31:05] Sabbath, every, single occasion, this means, for example, that Matthew 28, verse 1, literally reads, in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, towards, the first, Sabbath, came Mary Magdalene, and so on, this would not make, a lot of literary sense, unless of course, by the time, the gospel accounts, were written, Jewish believers, might have been observing, two, Sabbaths, in the week, the Old Testament one, and the resurrection day, given the attention, which our Lord gives, to the resurrection day, and his appearances, to the disciples, and so on, it becomes clear, that the Lord, of the Sabbath, regards, this new day, as eclipsing, the old one, in importance, but nowhere, does Jesus, introduce, a command, that the Sabbath, principle, rest, one day, and seven, worshipping, serving the Lord, better with that day, is to be abandoned, these confrontations, with the Pharisees, these would have been, the perfect opportunity, for Jesus to say, listen, don't you realize, now, you know, you can do away with that, you can forget about that, you know,
[32:18] God has come to abandon, all that, I've come to abolish, all these things, never once, does he say that, never once, honesty, and integrity, demands, that the oft, repeated claim, that the first day, of the week, is nowhere, referred to, as the Sabbath, be finally, abandoned, such a claim, is literally, in the literary sense, unsustainable, because the simple fact, is, that the first day, of the week, in the Greek, New Testament, is everywhere, referred to, by the term, Sabbath, by literal definition, then, the first day, of the week, is, a Sabbath, Sabbath, now, there's so much, more, that could be said, on this subject, this is not, the last word, on Sabbath observance, or the Lord's day, whatever, you'll have heard, many sermons, about them, I'm sure you will hear, many others, there's so much, more, that could be said, but for now, we'll just make, this final observation, and that is, that this first day, of the week, which Jesus sanctifies, is if anything,
[33:27] Trinitarian, it has, greater potency, than the old, seventh day, of the week, the Christian Sabbath, is Trinitarian, because in its observance, we commemorate, the work of all, three persons, of the Trinity, the work of the Father, in creation, when does creation begin, it begins, on the first day, of the week, when the Lord says, let there be light, Jesus says, he is the light, of the world, let there be light, first day, of the week, it commemorates, the work of the Son, in redemption, and in resurrection, when does Jesus, rise from the dead, the first day, of the week, and he commemorates, the work of the Holy Spirit, in converting, and sanctifying, the young church, in Pentecost, now of course, Pentecost, as some of you will know, was not originally, a Christian festival, it was a Jewish festival, way back in the Old Testament, in Leviticus 23, it was originally, the feast of the first fruits, Leviticus 23, in verses 10 and 11, we'll read, speak to the people, of Israel, and say to them, when you come, into the land, that I give you, and reap its harvest, you shall bring, a sheaf, of the first fruits, of your harvest, to the priest, and he shall wave, the sheaf, before the Lord, so that you may be accepted, on the day, after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it, the day after, the Old Testament Sabbath, what's the day, after the Old Testament Sabbath, the first day of the week, what we now call, the Lord's Day, in this celebration, of the first fruits, in first Corinthians, of course, chapter 15, we read, but now is Christ, risen from the dead, and become the first fruits, of them that slept, but every man, in his own order,
[35:05] Christ, the first fruits, afterwards, they that are Christ, that is coming, this festival, even in the Old Testament, was pointing forwards, to the ultimate first fruits, to the resurrection, just as everything, in scripture, ultimately, and finally, points us to Christ, what day, was the sheaf, to be waved, the day, after the Old Testament Sabbath, the first day, of the week, and after the first fruits, 50 days, were to be numbered, Leviticus 23, still verses 15 and 16, you shall count, seven full weeks, how many days, in a week, seven, seven times seven, 49, the day, after the Sabbath, from the day, that you brought, the sheaf, of the wave offering, you shall count, 50 days, to the day, after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall present, the great offering, of a new grain, unto the Lord, 49, seven Sabbaths, and then the day, after the seventh Sabbath, first day, of the week again, this is what is meant, by 50 days, this is where we get, the term Pentecost, it means 50 days, that's the day, when all the church, was gathered, in Acts chapter 2, when the Lord, poured out his spirit, the feast, of the first fruits, the Pentecost, the 50th day, afterwards,
[36:19] God pours out his spirit, on the first day, of the week, the work of the Father, in creation, the work of the Son, in redemption, resurrection, the work of the spirit, in being poured out, at Pentecost, from the very beginning, the Lord intended, these things, of resurrection, and redemption, and the pouring out, of his spirit, to be based, and grounded, in the first day, of the week, the Lord's day, and when it comes, to the end, of all time, the visions, of what shall be, then, were also given, on this day, what does John say, Revelation chapter 1, verse 10, I was in the spirit, on the Lord's day, and God showed him, all the things, that must shortly, come to pass, let us just consider, this one question, when a nation, or even a community, honors the Sabbath, is that community, reckoned, more Christian, or less, you get an awful, lot of nonsense, talk nowadays, about oh, it's much more Christian, to just go with the flow, and just fit into everybody, and affirm all, that's going on, round about us, is that more Christian, or less, is it more distinctively, following the Lord, or less, are the other commandments, more likely, to be also observed, or less, is it likely, to be a safer, more positive, and congenial place, to live, to bring up children, to have lower crime rates, or less, eliminate the Christian Sabbath, and you eliminate, most of the identifiable,
[37:55] Christian distinctive, in any community, the devil knows this, and we have learned it also, by bitter experience, can there be, a more holy day, as far as God is concerned, the Christian Sabbath, is trinitarian, it has become, God's most holy day, and the Son of Man, has honored it, above all other days, with his appearances, to the disciples, with his affirmation, of it, with his pouring out, of his spirit, he has honored, no other day, in the way, that he has honored this one, he has the power, to do so, because all power, is given unto him, in heaven and earth, and it's been given to him, and he has the authority, to do so, because the Son of God, is Lord of all, and the Son of Man, is Lord also, of the Sabbath, let us pray.