WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.940 Well, today we're going to be looking at the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3 in Mark. 00:00:05.980 --> 00:00:12.460 ! And we've seen this series of confrontations that Mark records for us that Jesus had with the Pharisees. 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:20.760 And there are five of them. Typically, people would say things that way, but we're going to address the last two together because it's topical in that way. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:27.980 I hope you know that the chapter and verse numbers are not inspired in the Word of God. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:33.179 And so, if you'll allow, I'm going to go from the end of 2 into the beginning of 3. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:37.600 So let's read together, beginning in verse 23, chapter 2. 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:45.519 One Sabbath, he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 00:00:46.019 --> 00:00:50.719 And the Pharisees were saying to him, look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:55.980 And he said to them, have you never read what David did when he was in need and was hungry? 00:00:55.979 --> 00:01:03.919 He and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:09.120 which it is not lawful for any but the priest to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him. 00:01:09.679 --> 00:01:14.379 And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:18.159 So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:22.359 Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:28.259 And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.200 And he said to the man with the withered hand, come here. 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:38.039 And he said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:39.519 But they were silent. 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:46.199 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.000 He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:55.299 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:56.520 Let's pray together. 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:03.180 Father, we thank you for the great blessing of getting to be together here today, 00:02:03.340 --> 00:02:07.379 for the blessing of a community of faith, your church. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:13.960 And we thank you for your word, which is a great gift to us as a guide for all holiness. 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:22.960 And we thank you for your spirit, who works in us to understand what it is your word would communicate to us this day. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:26.920 Both to know what it means and how to apply it to our living. 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:31.360 And we pray, Father, by your spirit, that you will have your way with us this morning. 00:02:31.760 --> 00:02:33.020 And we pray this in Christ's name. 00:02:33.819 --> 00:02:34.100 Amen. 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:34.219 Amen. 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:43.299 So we've seen the kind of the interaction so far through chapter 2 between the Pharisees, the Pharisees of the scribes, the scribes, 00:02:43.359 --> 00:02:46.680 these religious elite of the day, and Jesus. 00:02:46.959 --> 00:02:51.759 And you begin to note as they're following him, there's a lot of record that the reason that they were following him 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.280 was not to believe in him, but rather to accuse him. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.780 They were looking for accusations to stack up against him. 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:01.740 And you see that happening here again. 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:07.659 We see them following him through the grain fields, asking him accusatory questions. 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:11.920 Not honest questions, but questions seeking ways to accuse him. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:15.979 We see it again in chapter 3, verse 2, right? 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:19.879 They ask him again this question that they might accuse him. 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:26.900 And then we see them immediately after this interaction in verse 6, going and conspiring with another sect of the Jews 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:34.939 that were particularly kind to Herod called the Herodians to see how it is that they could destroy Jesus. 00:03:35.579 --> 00:03:43.439 And their major point of accusation was that he was blaspheming, that he was saying he was God. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:44.460 And they were right. 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:46.240 They caught at least that. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:47.920 He was in fact saying he was God. 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:53.659 And it would have been blasphemy if Jesus himself wasn't in fact God. 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:57.820 So you see this constant accusation being railed against him. 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:01.240 And here he does something incredibly shocking. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:07.200 Previously in chapter 2, verse 10, he has claimed that he has the power to forgive sin, 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.500 which would have equated him with God. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.939 Here he calls himself the Lord even of the Sabbath. 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:19.639 This would have been a massive claim to make for them. 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:21.100 And certainly he is. 00:04:21.219 --> 00:04:27.000 John chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, my favorite account of Jesus coming into the world says, 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:31.659 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:33.199 He was in the beginning with God. 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:39.040 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:41.019 He made the Sabbath. 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:44.859 Colossians 1.16 furthers that. 00:04:45.219 --> 00:04:45.539 Paul writes, 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:49.839 By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:52.879 whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 00:04:53.099 --> 00:04:56.159 all things were created through him and for him. 00:04:56.199 --> 00:04:59.839 And so he certainly is the Lord of the Sabbath. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:05.299 But in order to understand the shock that this kind of phrase would have been to them, 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:11.379 we must first understand how the Pharisees viewed and how they kept the Sabbath. 00:05:11.599 --> 00:05:14.039 It was certainly wrong the way that they did. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:20.579 A man named Alfred Eidersheim wrote a book called The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 00:05:20.719 --> 00:05:24.059 which I did not read, but I gleaned a bunch of stuff from, 00:05:24.060 --> 00:05:31.980 in which he researches, studies the Talmud, which was an old document, came after the days of Jesus, 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:38.139 but was written to sum up the laws that were being kept by the apostate Jews at this time. 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:43.360 And he brings some understanding to what the Sabbath meant for them. 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:48.199 Now the Sabbath for them would have been celebrated from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:54.459 So this is the 24-hour period of time, and there were many, many laws that they had put in place. 00:05:55.039 --> 00:05:59.459 The intent there was to prevent, originally, them from sinning at all, 00:05:59.539 --> 00:06:01.920 from breaking what the Sabbath was really meant for. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:08.039 But these new laws, called hedge laws, have become the new form of worship. 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:12.719 As I said to you before, the Pharisees at this time numbered about 6,000 people 00:06:12.719 --> 00:06:15.300 among the millions that existed in this day. 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:18.980 They were the religious elite, at least in their own minds, 00:06:19.020 --> 00:06:21.879 and they held a standard over everybody else. 00:06:22.420 --> 00:06:23.840 So listen just to some of the things. 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:24.780 This is just a few. 00:06:25.460 --> 00:06:29.740 In the Talmud, there are 24 chapters designated to this. 00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:36.960 One rabbi said he spent two and a half years trying to understand the minutiae of the laws that existed at this time. 00:06:37.400 --> 00:06:37.939 So get this. 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:40.879 You couldn't travel more than 3,000 feet. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:43.000 3,000 feet. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:51.819 Some say you can't go more than 2,999 steps just in case you wouldn't take that last step and be found in sin. 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:57.540 No burden could be carried, so no weight could be picked up that weighed more than a dried fig. 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:01.300 Or half a fig carried two times. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:02.500 It wasn't that lenient. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:06.500 If you put an olive in your mouth and rejected it because it was bad, 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:11.680 you couldn't put another whole olive in the mouth because your palate had already tasted the flavor of the olive. 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:17.839 If you threw an object in the air and caught it with the other hand, it was a sin. 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:20.379 If you caught it in the same hand, it wasn't. 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:24.000 A tailor couldn't carry his needle. 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:26.779 The scribe couldn't carry his pen. 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:29.339 A pupil couldn't carry his books. 00:07:30.159 --> 00:07:31.159 Wool couldn't be dyed. 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:32.860 Nothing could be sold. 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:34.079 Nothing could be bought. 00:07:34.420 --> 00:07:35.600 Nothing could be washed. 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:38.019 No fire could be lit. 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:42.719 Cold water could be poured on warm water, but warm couldn't be poured onto cold. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:43.860 I don't know why. 00:07:44.880 --> 00:07:50.260 You could not bathe for fear that when the water fell off of you, it might wash the floor, 00:07:50.700 --> 00:07:52.280 which would have been considered work. 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:55.360 If a candle was lit, you couldn't put it out. 00:07:55.780 --> 00:07:58.320 If it wasn't lit, you couldn't light it. 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.840 Chairs couldn't be moved because they might make a rut. 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:05.800 They might dig into the ground. 00:08:06.900 --> 00:08:11.720 Women couldn't look in a glass, or they might find a white hair and be tempted to pull it out. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:16.680 Women couldn't wear jewelry because jewelry weighed more than a dried fig. 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:22.580 A radish couldn't be left in salt because it would make it pickle, and that's work. 00:08:23.320 --> 00:08:27.100 You could use only enough ink for two letters. 00:08:27.420 --> 00:08:30.640 Not letters written to somebody, but two letters. 00:08:31.460 --> 00:08:33.720 You could write your initials, I suppose. 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:42.320 And these things like this go on and on and on and on for 24 chapters. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.680 In the Talmud. 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:49.360 Jesus said of the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23, verses 4 through 7, 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:55.379 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders. 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.519 But they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:06.259 They do all their deeds to be seen by others, for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:07.840 Religious ornaments. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.560 And they love the place of honor at feasts, and the best seats in the synagogues, 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:18.119 and greetings in the marketplaces, and being called rabbi by others. 00:09:19.079 --> 00:09:26.399 They had created this false, superficial religion that they wanted to bear on the outside, 00:09:26.479 --> 00:09:30.259 as Jesus called them, whitewashed tombs full of dead people's bones. 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:33.700 And they lorded this over people. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.200 They themselves could not keep the Sabbath. 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:40.379 Recall the way they prescribed it. 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:42.860 Recall that they could only travel 3,000 feet. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:45.759 But look, at the very beginning of our text, 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:48.299 they're traveling through the grain fields. 00:09:48.580 --> 00:09:49.799 And who's following them? 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:51.700 The Pharisees. 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:57.240 They accused the disciples of plucking heads of wheat in order to eat. 00:09:58.420 --> 00:10:02.340 Notice they don't accuse them of walking more than 3,000 steps. 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:05.200 Because they themselves were guilty of even that. 00:10:06.780 --> 00:10:11.520 Do we not have many amongst us that are pharisaical? 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:17.580 We would do well as we contemplate the way they treated the Sabbath 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:22.300 to see how it is that we are often pharisaical in other things. 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:25.639 Casting judgment where judgments not do. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:29.440 Now the Sabbath, as it was meant to be observed, 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:33.660 was first instituted in Genesis 2, verses 1-3. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:38.320 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:41.340 And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, 00:10:41.400 --> 00:10:44.500 and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.200 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:51.680 Because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in the creation. 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:55.720 In Exodus chapter 20, beginning in verse 8, we can read, 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.500 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 00:10:59.060 --> 00:11:01.280 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 00:11:01.420 --> 00:11:04.580 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.379 And on it you shall not do any work, 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:08.700 you or your son or your daughter, 00:11:09.020 --> 00:11:10.920 your male servant or your female servant, 00:11:10.920 --> 00:11:14.100 or your livestock, or the sojourner who is in your gates. 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:16.600 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:18.080 the sea and all that is in them, 00:11:18.300 --> 00:11:19.500 and rested on the seventh day. 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:23.120 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:30.379 The Sabbath day in its entirety was meant to be a day where you did not work. 00:11:31.379 --> 00:11:35.180 It's very common in this day to work every single day of the week. 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:38.100 Again, trying to provide for yourself off the land, 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:39.580 off the fruit of your own labor, 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:40.420 and you work. 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.920 God gave to them a day where they were to not work. 00:11:45.040 --> 00:11:47.160 In fact, where we get Sabbath, 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:48.680 the original Hebrew word, 00:11:48.800 --> 00:11:50.240 simply means to cease. 00:11:51.060 --> 00:11:53.520 What this day was set apart from. 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:55.379 To cease from work. 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:55.960 Why? 00:11:56.660 --> 00:11:58.080 Why did He do this? 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:00.680 It was meant, firstly, 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:01.900 as a mercy. 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:03.759 To God's people. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:04.959 To rest. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.500 Rest is good for us. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.480 Our bodies are frail, 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:10.860 and they're failing. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.179 We need restorative rest. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:15.720 But primarily, 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:18.059 primarily it was given to us 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:19.579 as a reminder. 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:22.019 In Exodus chapter 31, 00:12:22.699 --> 00:12:24.079 verse 12 and 13, 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:25.600 we see this record, 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:26.759 and the Lord said to Moses, 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:29.639 you are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:32.820 above all you shall keep my Sabbaths. 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.200 For this is a sign between me and you 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.279 throughout your generations 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:38.220 that you may know that I, 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:39.159 the Lord, 00:12:39.820 --> 00:12:40.580 sanctify you. 00:12:41.040 --> 00:12:43.379 It was meant to serve as a reminder in this way. 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:44.320 A sign. 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:45.860 A covenant sign. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:47.000 A wedding ring, 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:47.879 if you will. 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:49.899 Of a reminder of the relationship 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:51.899 between God and His people. 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:53.000 To what end? 00:12:53.540 --> 00:12:53.720 Right? 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:55.920 That I, the Lord, 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:57.480 sanctify you. 00:12:58.060 --> 00:13:00.240 That it is my doing on your part 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:02.440 to make you perfect. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.899 That you cannot achieve favor with God 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:08.279 on your own. 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:10.040 But that I work in you 00:13:10.040 --> 00:13:11.840 to will and to work 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:12.879 for my good pleasure. 00:13:13.019 --> 00:13:14.120 This is what the Sabbath 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.440 was meant to represent for them. 00:13:16.920 --> 00:13:18.660 That they ceased laboring. 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:21.840 Both in the physical realm, 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:23.139 but to remind them 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:25.720 that by no effort of their own 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.240 could they labor their way to God. 00:13:28.680 --> 00:13:29.740 This was a relationship 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:32.060 wrought by Him in grace. 00:13:32.280 --> 00:13:35.800 And therefore kept by Him in grace. 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:40.820 Colossians 2, 16 and 17. 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:42.580 We see some inspired commentary. 00:13:43.420 --> 00:13:43.960 Paul writes, 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:45.280 Let no one pass judgment on you 00:13:45.280 --> 00:13:46.700 in questions of food and drink 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:47.840 or with regard to a festival 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.040 or a new moon or a Sabbath. 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:52.220 These are a shadow 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:53.620 of the things to come. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:55.900 But the substance belongs 00:13:55.900 --> 00:13:57.360 to Christ. 00:13:58.540 --> 00:13:59.560 So for the Jews, 00:13:59.660 --> 00:14:00.440 the Sabbath was meant 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:02.100 to remind them of this reality 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:03.500 and point them to 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:05.480 the final work of Christ 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:06.620 on the cross. 00:14:06.800 --> 00:14:08.320 Who would come for them 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:09.700 and spill His blood. 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:11.019 Bear the wrath of God 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:13.500 that they might have rest. 00:14:14.819 --> 00:14:17.240 See that further in Hebrews 4. 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:18.000 The writer of Hebrews 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:19.159 beginning in verse 9 says, 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.460 So then there remains 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:22.600 a Sabbath rest 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:23.860 for the people of God. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:25.179 For whoever has entered 00:14:25.179 --> 00:14:25.939 God's rest 00:14:25.939 --> 00:14:28.220 has also rested from His works 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:30.699 as God did from His. 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:33.419 You see that connection for us? 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:35.439 Remember when we studied 00:14:35.439 --> 00:14:36.480 Nehemiah recently 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:37.879 in chapter 8, verse 31. 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:38.919 One of the commitments 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:40.299 that the people of God make 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:41.639 as they hear the Word of God 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:42.399 read to them 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:44.679 and realize that they had sinned 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:46.299 in forgetting the Sabbath 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:47.740 was that they would protect 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:49.419 that covenantal sign 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:50.620 between them and God 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:52.719 by keeping the Sabbath day. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.120 If you recall, 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:55.879 I've said to you 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:56.899 that this is when 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:58.039 the Pharisees, 00:14:58.159 --> 00:14:59.419 this sect of Judaism 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:00.719 actually began. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.159 Back in the days 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.219 of Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:05.919 Men who became committed 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:08.019 to helping the Jewish people 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:10.079 keep the Sabbath holy 00:15:10.079 --> 00:15:11.819 and oh how it was distorted 00:15:11.819 --> 00:15:14.939 across the next couple of hundred years. 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:17.720 He says in verse 27 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.480 of chapter 2, 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:20.220 Jesus says, 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:23.159 The Sabbath was made for man, 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:25.620 not man for the Sabbath. 00:15:25.819 --> 00:15:26.720 You see how it was meant 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.500 to serve the people of God. 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:31.139 And He drives this point 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:32.299 by telling a story, 00:15:32.439 --> 00:15:33.379 reminding them 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:35.319 of the story of David. 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:36.340 If you'd like to later, 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:37.420 you can read about it 00:15:37.420 --> 00:15:39.240 in 1 Samuel chapter 21. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:41.080 And He says to them 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:42.060 very sarcastically 00:15:42.060 --> 00:15:42.600 at the beginning 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:43.520 because these people 00:15:43.520 --> 00:15:44.340 would have read. 00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:46.060 He knew that answer. 00:15:46.160 --> 00:15:47.440 The Pharisees had read 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:48.260 the Old Testament. 00:15:48.400 --> 00:15:50.060 They were very familiar with it. 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:50.720 So when He says, 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:52.420 Have you never read 00:15:52.420 --> 00:15:53.480 what David did? 00:15:53.920 --> 00:15:55.580 He's being tongue-in-cheek 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:56.120 with them. 00:15:56.560 --> 00:15:57.620 When he was in need 00:15:57.620 --> 00:15:58.440 and was hungry, 00:15:58.920 --> 00:15:59.920 he and those who were with him, 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:00.780 how he entered 00:16:00.780 --> 00:16:01.920 the house of God 00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:03.600 in the time of Abiathar, 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.340 the high priest, 00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:05.320 and ate the bread 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:05.920 of the presence, 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:07.000 which is not lawful 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.100 for any but the priest to eat, 00:16:08.180 --> 00:16:08.879 and also gave it 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:10.340 to those who were with him. 00:16:10.560 --> 00:16:11.600 So what is the point 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:12.480 of what he's saying 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:13.740 with this example? 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:14.759 Now if you read 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:15.899 in 1 Samuel chapter 21, 00:16:16.180 --> 00:16:16.779 you will find 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:17.460 that the encounter 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:19.080 with David and the priest 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:20.500 was not with the priest, 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:21.399 Abiathar. 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:23.420 Don't be confused by that. 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.879 This is a consistent book. 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:28.860 The prominent high priest 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:29.440 in this day 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:30.320 was Abiathar. 00:16:30.540 --> 00:16:31.100 They would have known 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:32.860 that as a timeline for them. 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:33.860 Jesus is marking off 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:35.159 when it happened, 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:37.399 not who David interacted with. 00:16:37.560 --> 00:16:38.800 He interacted instead 00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:40.279 with Abiathar's predecessor, 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:42.039 Ahimelech. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:44.060 And he goes to him. 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:45.360 He's been driven out 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.360 as the proper heir 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:48.440 to the throne by Saul. 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:49.419 He's been driven out 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:50.680 of Israel, 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:52.340 and he is gone, 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:52.720 excuse me, 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:53.120 Jerusalem, 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:54.340 and he's hungry. 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:55.279 He didn't have time 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.139 to even take a weapon. 00:16:56.539 --> 00:16:56.800 In fact, 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:57.560 if you read in here 00:16:57.560 --> 00:16:58.920 as he's looking for a weapon, 00:16:59.820 --> 00:17:00.759 Ahimelech just happens 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:02.259 to have the spear of Goliath. 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:02.939 He's got a knife 00:17:02.939 --> 00:17:03.620 stored away. 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:04.859 And it's pretty cool. 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:05.359 This is the point 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.660 at which David takes it back. 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:07.400 He says, 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:08.220 that weapon will do. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:09.500 There's no other weapon like it. 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:10.640 I'll take that one. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:11.720 So he's driven out. 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:12.640 He doesn't have food, 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:13.579 and all of his accompaniment 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:14.059 with him 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:16.019 doesn't have a way to eat. 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.420 And so what he's offered here, 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:19.379 as he asks for it, 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:20.980 is the showbread. 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:22.640 The bread of the presence 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.140 is what that literally means. 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:25.259 And this would have been 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:26.400 twelve loaves 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:28.460 that were set at a table 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:30.480 in the temple of God. 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:30.940 And they were meant 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:31.539 to represent 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:32.880 that God was inviting 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:34.740 the tribes of Israel 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:36.579 to come and feast with Him. 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:38.220 That's what these things represented. 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:39.860 And they were replaced 00:17:39.860 --> 00:17:41.019 every seven days. 00:17:41.340 --> 00:17:42.600 The old bread was taken out. 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:44.779 New, hot, warm bread 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:46.039 was brought back in 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:47.480 on the Sabbath. 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:48.559 This was the day 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:50.620 that this took place. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.340 And that food was given 00:17:52.340 --> 00:17:53.180 to the priests. 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:54.600 They were allowed to eat it, 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:55.980 but it was unlawful for others 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:57.639 to eat that bread 00:17:57.639 --> 00:17:58.519 that was given 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:00.199 to David and his company. 00:18:01.199 --> 00:18:02.859 It's likely that this was 00:18:02.859 --> 00:18:04.379 actually the Sabbath day, 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:06.240 which is a really neat connection 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:07.859 to what we're talking about here. 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:09.279 As we see the disciples 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:10.919 walking through fields 00:18:10.919 --> 00:18:12.219 and picking heads of grain, 00:18:12.379 --> 00:18:13.480 which was a lawful thing 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:13.959 for them to do. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.039 They were allowed to do that. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.579 The sojourner was allowed to gather. 00:18:17.439 --> 00:18:18.500 We think of roads. 00:18:18.659 --> 00:18:19.679 If you think of driving 00:18:19.679 --> 00:18:20.339 through wheat fields 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:20.859 in the Midwest, 00:18:21.379 --> 00:18:22.099 we'd have a road 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:23.139 and then some ditches 00:18:23.139 --> 00:18:24.019 and then a fence. 00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:25.039 Not so here. 00:18:25.139 --> 00:18:26.059 These would have just been paths 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:27.259 that would have crisscrossed 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:28.059 these wheat fields. 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:29.059 And so as they're traveling 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:30.240 from one place to another 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:31.139 and were hungry, 00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:32.079 the sojourner was allowed 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:33.180 to pick heads. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:34.279 You certainly weren't allowed 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:35.119 to go out and start harvesting 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:35.980 somebody else's wheat, 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:37.200 but what you could gather 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:37.859 with your hands 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:38.660 and eat as you went 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:40.500 was permissible for you. 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:43.680 So it's a higher thing. 00:18:44.139 --> 00:18:45.839 It's a more atrocious thing 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:47.139 that David and his men 00:18:47.139 --> 00:18:47.900 were doing 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:49.299 versus what they're being accused 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:50.220 of doing here 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:51.400 on the Sabbath. 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:52.740 That more than likely 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:54.180 on the Sabbath 00:18:54.180 --> 00:18:55.140 in David's day, 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:55.960 they took a bread 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:56.900 that was forbidden 00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:58.019 for them to eat. 00:18:58.099 --> 00:18:59.019 The high priest 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:01.420 gave it to them. 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:03.200 In Matthew 12, 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:05.339 reading of the same account, 00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:06.240 verses 5-8, 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:07.319 Jesus says, 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:33.759 Think about that. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:36.279 They had created hedge laws 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:37.259 that would have prevented 00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:38.160 the priests 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:39.559 from doing their priestly duty 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:41.500 on the Sabbath. 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:43.660 They couldn't lift anything, 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:44.160 right? 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:45.900 One dried fig 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:47.200 or half a fig twice. 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:47.920 That's what they were 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:48.599 permitted to lift. 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:49.900 The very work 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:51.200 that was being done 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.140 by the priests of God 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:55.579 was wrong 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:57.640 in the Pharisees' mind. 00:19:57.859 --> 00:19:58.740 The point that he makes 00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:01.039 for us in Matthew 12. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.059 And so see what he goes on 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:04.379 to say in Matthew 12, 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:05.940 verse 7, 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:06.819 And if you had known 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:07.460 what this means, 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:08.759 I desire mercy 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:10.220 and not sacrifice. 00:20:10.899 --> 00:20:11.440 You would not have 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:12.359 condemned the guiltless. 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:15.480 He cares about the heart 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:16.440 of the matter 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:18.440 more than the outward 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:19.619 appearance of it. 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:20.319 Right? 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:22.799 The Sabbath itself 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:24.039 was meant to be 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:24.899 a reminder 00:20:24.899 --> 00:20:26.519 of the mercy of God 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:27.659 to His people. 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:30.040 And He wants them 00:20:30.040 --> 00:20:31.140 then to practice 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:32.400 mercy 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:33.600 on the Sabbath. 00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:35.820 Not to disregard it 00:20:35.820 --> 00:20:36.920 and replace it 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.120 with some hypocritical law, 00:20:39.620 --> 00:20:40.540 some details, 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:41.759 some outward appearances 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:42.680 that would make somebody 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:43.519 appear righteous, 00:20:43.620 --> 00:20:44.180 but He wanted them 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:45.940 to actually be 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:47.360 righteous. 00:20:48.580 --> 00:20:49.160 And so that's what's 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:50.100 going on here. 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:51.580 That's what the questioning 00:20:51.580 --> 00:20:53.360 is being asked. 00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:55.259 The Sabbath served man 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:56.200 as the covenant side 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:57.100 of God's mercy 00:20:57.100 --> 00:20:58.319 to His people. 00:20:59.980 --> 00:21:00.799 And the reason 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:01.700 we're treating this text 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:02.740 together going into 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:03.480 chapter 3 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:05.580 is whether or not 00:21:05.580 --> 00:21:07.100 it happened back to back. 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:08.600 I'm presuming 00:21:08.600 --> 00:21:09.200 that it did. 00:21:09.700 --> 00:21:10.420 But Mark certainly 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:11.740 recorded it for us 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:12.380 back to back 00:21:12.380 --> 00:21:13.080 because I think 00:21:13.080 --> 00:21:13.980 this next incident 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:15.340 was a test 00:21:15.340 --> 00:21:16.319 of what he had just 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:17.380 taught the Pharisees 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:19.160 at the end of chapter 2. 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:19.779 The things he has 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:20.580 just said to them, 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:21.759 he then goes 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.080 into the temple 00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:25.000 and notice 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.039 that he sees a man 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:26.960 with a withered hand. 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:28.759 He knows that they're 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.500 standing around 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:30.440 to accuse him. 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:31.579 He brings the man 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:32.019 to him. 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:32.460 Verse 3, 00:21:32.539 --> 00:21:32.759 he says, 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:33.359 come here. 00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:34.519 And he said to them, 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:35.740 to the Pharisees, 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:37.380 is it lawful on the Sabbath 00:21:37.380 --> 00:21:38.779 to do good or to do harm, 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:40.440 to save life or to kill? 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:42.000 But they were silent. 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:44.140 And he looked around 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:45.140 at them with anger. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:46.119 And I think the reason 00:21:46.119 --> 00:21:46.559 he was angry 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:47.380 is because he was trying 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:48.380 to teach them this lesson 00:21:48.380 --> 00:21:49.480 and they were missing it. 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:50.779 And then he grieved. 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:52.240 Great grief 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:53.460 over their hardness 00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:54.960 of heart. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:57.839 So this lesson 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:58.680 that he's been trying 00:21:58.680 --> 00:21:59.160 to teach them, 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:00.160 they missed it 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.220 all together. 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:04.519 The same record 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.339 of this account 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:06.720 in Matthew 12 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.980 from verse 9-12 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:09.299 says, 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.519 He went on from there 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:11.160 and entered the synagogue. 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:12.440 And a man was there 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:13.059 with a withered hand 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:14.680 and they asked him, 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:15.720 is it lawful to heal 00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:16.620 on the Sabbath 00:22:16.620 --> 00:22:17.579 so that they might 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:18.240 accuse him? 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:19.819 And here's his response 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:20.700 as recorded in Matthew. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:21.460 He said to them, 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:22.680 Which one of you 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:23.819 who has a sheep, 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.079 if it falls into a pit 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:25.620 on the Sabbath, 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:27.100 will not take hold of it 00:22:27.100 --> 00:22:28.279 and lift it out? 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:29.200 So this is 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:30.700 Pharisaical people, 00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:31.539 Which of you 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:32.840 will not do some work 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:34.460 if one of your poor sheep 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:35.559 falls into a pit? 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:36.579 In verse 12 he says, 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:37.960 Of how much more value 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:38.779 is a man 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:39.840 than a sheep? 00:22:40.340 --> 00:22:41.539 So it is lawful 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:42.180 to do good 00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:43.600 on the Sabbath. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:45.880 Jesus came to 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.340 fulfill the law. 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:48.860 Not abolish it, 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:49.960 to fulfill it, 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:50.740 but to fulfill it 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:52.660 in the proper way, 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:53.900 the way in which 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:54.980 it was set out. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:56.400 So he came 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:57.559 to deliver mercy 00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:58.960 on the Sabbath day, 00:22:59.220 --> 00:22:59.940 to see it 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:00.660 for what it was 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.620 meant for, 00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:03.140 to know that it was 00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:03.980 made for man 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:05.319 and not the other way 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:06.019 around. 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:07.940 And that's the great 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:08.779 problem with 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:09.840 Phariseeism 00:23:09.840 --> 00:23:11.180 or legalism, 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:11.960 fundamentalism, 00:23:12.600 --> 00:23:13.620 various terms 00:23:13.620 --> 00:23:14.279 that would be applied 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.380 to this type of heart. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:17.440 Legalism says, 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:18.799 for you to be accepted 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:19.460 by God, 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:21.080 you must look like me. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:24.259 But the gospel of Christ 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:24.759 says, 00:23:25.620 --> 00:23:26.360 you have been accepted 00:23:26.360 --> 00:23:27.880 by God by grace alone, 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:29.259 through faith alone, 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:30.480 in Christ alone, 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:31.539 and by grace, 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:33.299 He is conforming you 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:34.400 into His image. 00:23:35.860 --> 00:23:37.100 This must be true 00:23:37.100 --> 00:23:37.900 for those of us 00:23:37.900 --> 00:23:38.940 who are found in Christ. 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:41.299 We will live properly. 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:44.920 We will display mercy. 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:47.000 But it's not the other 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:47.600 way around. 00:23:48.100 --> 00:23:49.420 We cannot work 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:50.100 our way 00:23:50.100 --> 00:23:51.240 to heavenly favor. 00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:52.940 This is impossible. 00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:54.680 Our work is simply 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:55.519 the evidence 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:56.920 of the heavenly favor 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:58.680 we have already 00:23:58.680 --> 00:23:59.779 received. 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:00.840 And this 00:24:00.840 --> 00:24:01.920 was the message 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.320 that Jesus was trying 00:24:03.320 --> 00:24:04.320 to get across 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:05.800 to the Pharisees. 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:06.660 Remember, 00:24:07.060 --> 00:24:07.640 He came 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:08.539 to preach 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:09.560 the Gospel. 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:11.019 Chapter 1, 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:11.920 verse 15, 00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:13.200 And the kingdom of God 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:14.160 is at hand. 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.759 Repent and believe 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.920 in the Gospel, 00:24:17.040 --> 00:24:17.940 the good news 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:19.740 of Jesus Christ. 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:21.340 This is what has been 00:24:21.340 --> 00:24:22.720 granted to us, 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:23.240 I hope, 00:24:23.340 --> 00:24:23.800 for everyone 00:24:23.800 --> 00:24:24.840 in this room. 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:26.620 But we really need 00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:27.400 to search out 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:27.960 our hearts 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:29.300 and find the ways 00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:29.860 in which 00:24:29.860 --> 00:24:31.779 we are legalists. 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:33.540 And this happens 00:24:33.540 --> 00:24:34.220 a lot. 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:35.980 Churches at Broad, 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:37.180 there are many, 00:24:37.320 --> 00:24:37.580 many, 00:24:37.620 --> 00:24:38.380 many churches 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:39.460 that this Sunday morning 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:40.279 if I were not wearing 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:41.680 a tie and a jacket, 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.600 I'd be found 00:24:42.600 --> 00:24:43.680 unacceptable. 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:45.140 Not just from 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:46.259 a personal preference, 00:24:46.540 --> 00:24:47.259 which is fine. 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:48.279 It's okay if people 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:49.060 like a guy 00:24:49.060 --> 00:24:49.700 who wears a tie, 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:50.140 they take him 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:50.700 more seriously. 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:51.880 It's okay. 00:24:52.540 --> 00:24:53.380 But they would 00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:54.580 actually find me 00:24:54.580 --> 00:24:55.480 unacceptable 00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:56.500 before God 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:58.240 that I would dare 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:59.600 enter a church 00:24:59.600 --> 00:25:00.060 building 00:25:00.060 --> 00:25:01.180 not wearing 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:01.860 a tie. 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:03.460 Phariseeism. 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:05.740 Extra laws. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:06.740 Things stacked 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.480 on top. 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:09.560 Simply trying 00:25:09.560 --> 00:25:10.019 to get at the 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:10.779 heart of things. 00:25:11.040 --> 00:25:11.600 People just want 00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:12.120 to see somebody 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:12.899 be reverent 00:25:12.899 --> 00:25:13.659 before God. 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:14.559 That's a good 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:15.079 motivation 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:16.539 and we should. 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:18.399 But when it becomes 00:25:18.399 --> 00:25:19.579 about mere trappings 00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:20.439 on the outside, 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:23.919 we've missed the point. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:25.579 We've missed the point 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:27.699 all together. 00:25:29.159 --> 00:25:29.899 And so this morning, 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:31.699 as we begin 00:25:31.699 --> 00:25:32.419 to take the Lord's 00:25:32.419 --> 00:25:32.939 Supper together, 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:33.679 I want to do things 00:25:33.679 --> 00:25:34.559 a little bit differently. 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:35.979 And I want to ask you 00:25:35.979 --> 00:25:37.139 to take some time 00:25:37.139 --> 00:25:38.799 to remove the log 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:39.699 from your own eye 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:40.460 so that you can 00:25:40.460 --> 00:25:41.100 remove the speck 00:25:41.100 --> 00:25:41.539 from others. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:42.779 It is so easy 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:44.059 when we read about 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:45.100 these men 00:25:45.100 --> 00:25:46.160 to project 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:46.840 the fault 00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:47.460 and the wrong 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:48.059 that's happening 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:49.660 here on the world 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:50.400 around us. 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:51.860 I want to do this. 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:52.640 I am so tempted 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:53.120 to say, 00:25:53.380 --> 00:25:54.000 Christ Family Church 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:54.580 has got it all 00:25:54.580 --> 00:25:55.100 figured out. 00:25:55.620 --> 00:25:57.140 We are doing well. 00:25:57.340 --> 00:25:58.299 And then point my finger 00:25:58.299 --> 00:25:59.680 at every other church 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:00.259 out there. 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:01.340 As you've heard me 00:26:01.340 --> 00:26:01.799 say before, 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:02.580 we have our own 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:03.319 95 theses 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:04.319 we can nail on our door. 00:26:05.080 --> 00:26:06.039 Stick it with a magnet. 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:06.799 Right? 00:26:07.360 --> 00:26:08.319 There are faults 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.279 within our church. 00:26:09.720 --> 00:26:10.500 There are ways 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.439 in which we are 00:26:11.439 --> 00:26:12.259 saying to people 00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:13.460 for you to be accepted 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:13.980 by God, 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:16.139 you must look like me. 00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:17.980 And this is not 00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:18.599 the gospel 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:20.319 of Jesus Christ. 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:21.819 So, men, 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:22.539 if you were asked 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:23.500 to help serve 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.039 the Lord's Supper, 00:26:24.139 --> 00:26:24.639 let me just ask 00:26:24.639 --> 00:26:25.240 that you go ahead 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:26.740 and go back 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:27.579 and get the elements 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.839 for the Lord's Supper. 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:30.399 I want to read to you 00:26:30.399 --> 00:26:32.720 some more of 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:33.799 Colossians 1. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.019 We read a bit 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.859 beginning in verse 15. 00:26:36.980 --> 00:26:37.539 But turn with me, 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:37.960 please, 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:39.139 to Colossians 1. 00:26:39.940 --> 00:26:40.879 Verse 15. 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:44.180 Jesus is the image 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:45.619 of the invisible God, 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:46.519 the firstborn 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:47.639 of all creation. 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:49.159 For by Him 00:26:49.159 --> 00:26:50.440 all things were created 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:51.119 in heaven and on earth 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:51.859 visible and invisible 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:52.819 whether thrones 00:26:52.819 --> 00:26:53.859 or dominions 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:54.720 or rulers 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:55.500 or authorities. 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:56.579 All things were created 00:26:56.579 --> 00:26:57.279 through Him 00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:58.759 and for Him. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:26:59.559 And here's where 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:00.220 we keep going. 00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:02.139 And He is before 00:27:02.139 --> 00:27:02.960 all things, 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:03.799 preeminent. 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:04.680 And in Him 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:05.599 all things 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:06.480 hold together. 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:07.500 and He is the head 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:07.960 of the body, 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:08.559 the church. 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:09.680 He is the beginning, 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:11.539 the firstborn from the dead, 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.120 that in everything 00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:15.680 He might be preeminent. 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:17.259 For in Him 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:18.660 all the fullness of God 00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:19.559 was pleased to dwell 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:20.920 and through Him 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:21.900 to reconcile 00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:22.620 to Himself 00:27:22.620 --> 00:27:23.440 all things 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:24.240 whether on earth 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.099 or in heaven, 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:26.319 making peace 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:27.259 by the blood 00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:28.339 of His cross. 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:29.879 and you 00:27:29.879 --> 00:27:30.399 who once 00:27:30.399 --> 00:27:31.359 were alienated 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:32.319 and hostile 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:33.079 in mind 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:34.619 doing evil deeds, 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:35.419 He is now 00:27:35.419 --> 00:27:36.539 reconciled in His body 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:37.059 of flesh 00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:37.839 by His death 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:39.159 in order to present 00:27:39.159 --> 00:27:39.779 you holy 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:40.619 and blameless 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:41.539 and above 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:42.179 reproach 00:27:42.179 --> 00:27:43.259 before Him. 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:44.619 You see 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:45.799 in this text 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:46.779 this completed 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:47.939 work of Christ 00:27:47.939 --> 00:27:49.179 on the cross. 00:27:49.879 --> 00:27:50.379 And that's what 00:27:50.379 --> 00:27:51.459 we celebrate together 00:27:51.459 --> 00:27:52.519 in the Lord's Supper. 00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:53.939 Not that we might 00:27:53.939 --> 00:27:54.919 labor together 00:27:54.919 --> 00:27:56.319 under our own power, 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:58.179 that we might rejoice, 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:00.039 find great joy 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.159 in the work 00:28:01.159 --> 00:28:02.259 that He has completed 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:03.579 and is completing 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:04.919 in us. 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:06.279 And I hope that 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:07.700 contemplating this 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:09.460 and thinking through this 00:28:09.460 --> 00:28:10.439 makes you motivated 00:28:10.439 --> 00:28:11.039 to share 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:12.619 this gospel 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:13.759 with the world. 00:28:14.439 --> 00:28:15.299 Let's pray together 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:16.419 and then have the men 00:28:16.419 --> 00:28:16.839 come 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:18.179 and you take the Lord's Supper 00:28:18.179 --> 00:28:19.299 as you feel prepared.