Praise the Lord. I was reading this week in Proverbs. I'm in Proverbs right now. Proverbs 16, I think it's 33, says, the dye is cast in the lap, and the whole disposition is of Yahweh. Yes, that is the case this week. I am clearly not Daniel. We will not be looking at John 18 this week. We'll be looking at Mark 2. And I say that because all week, or at least the last half of this week, the die that has been being tried to be cast, by Daniel in particular, as he's driven so hard and worked so hard to try to be here, the Lord has chosen differently, for good and for bad for us, but for his glory. So, we're going to look at Mark chapter 2. I'm going to be starting with verse 23. Let's begin with a word of prayer. Lord, we do thank you for your mercies upon us today, giving us a new day to be able to glorify you, a new day to live. In whatever state you have us in, you allow us to get up, you allow us to be here, you allow us to have a place to come to that we can worship you and glorify you. And that's a joy. And more importantly, each one of us individually, you have your children who you have put into a family. A family that we are able to gather together with, to be encouraged, to encourage, as we desire and strive to live to glorify you in our songs and our words and our deeds every day of the week. And Lord, we know it's not an easy task, but we thank you that you've given us the people around us, your people, that enable us and help us to do just that. And more importantly, you've given us your word, your written word, that is our daily source of bread, spiritual bread, that is that bread that sustains us and gives us understanding of how we are to live, that you may be glorified. It teaches us about you, about your grace, about that mercy we just sang about, that mercy that is so rich and so full, and that is a mercy that overcomes the depth and the width and the breadth of our sin, and all that we are. So that despite ourselves, we can stand in your presence, even right now, and we can pray before you, we can glorify you, and we can be assured that you will be magnified. I do pray that you open up our minds, give us understanding, give us eyes that see, ears that hear, and a desire to live for your glory and yours alone. May your truth and your truth alone be spoken. Amen. Mark, the Gospel of Mark, we're in chapter 23, and let me open up with the reading at first. We're gonna read 23 all the way through chapter three, verse six. And it says, and this is from the New American Standard, and it came about that he was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, he being Jesus, was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads. And the Pharisees were saying to him, see here, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? And he said to them, have you never read what David did when he was in need and became hungry, he and his companions? And how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests. And he gave also to those who were with him. And he was saying to them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. And he entered again into a synagogue and a man was there with a withered hand and they were watching him to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath in order that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, rise and come forward. And he said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm? I'm sorry, to do good or do harm, to save a life or to kill? But they kept silent. And after looking around them with anger, grieved in their hardness of heart, he said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against him as to how they might destroy him. As we look at the Book of Mark, as we would be looking at the Book of Mark, and we have other times past, it's again a gospel, and Mark's gospel count is very specific, as all the gospels are, very short, also very concise, and very intentional as he goes through his stories, each one brief and each one with an intended purpose. And if you look at the previous text, when Mark starts his gospel, he starts it very simply with a quick account of the pre-runner, John, or the announcer, John, and then gets to the baptism of Jesus, and immediately he's in the desert, and then he begins the ministry of Jesus. And Jesus' ministry initiates with a very quick synopsis of what his message is in chapter one. His message is very simple. The kingdom is at hand, the time is now. Repent and believe the gospel. And it's all that we are given of what Jesus says, at least initially. And from that point forward, Mark begins to explain to us what exactly Jesus is saying and begins to explain to us through the various accounts of the life of Jesus who this man Jesus is who's making this proclamation. And as you follow him, we find out right away that he's a man who has authority. People recognize him as one with authority. as he's healing people, and as he's casting out demons immediately, that's in chapter one, and he goes from there, and he heals a multitude of people, especially after Sabbath, when they were in the house of Peter, of Simon and Andrew, and he's healing lots of people, And that night he goes off and he's praying. And when he's finally found in the morning, his disciples say, Lord, there's more folks back. Let's go. There's more work to be done, more healings. And again, this is important because this gauge is what Jesus is doing. He then says, no, we must go elsewhere. My job is to preach, to teach, to communicate the truth to those around us. And he goes from synagogue to synagogue throughout the land or the region of Galilee preaching, and he is casting out demons. He is performing miracles, but his ministry is the teaching that he's there for. And now that sets a stone, a gauge on what he's focused on. He's not just a healer, but he does heal. And we get to the account of him, of a leper who comes to him and beseeches him to be restored. And Jesus, in the act of compassion, touches him and restores him, showing he's a restorer. And then the great scene, and this is all Jesus highlighting who he is as he's now teaching in a very packed room and a forming approach with a man on a stretcher. And as we know, they dug a hole out of the roof and lowered the man down, not dropped him, lowered the man down. And what does Jesus do? He does something that shocks everybody, especially the Pharisees who quickly are becoming what appears to be opponents to Jesus. And he says to the man as he's lowered down before him, and he sees the faith of the four men, and he says, your sins have been forgiven. And rightly so, the Pharisees, the scribes actually say, and they reason within their hearts, why does he speak this way? Only God forgives sins. And Jesus responds to that and shows his authority. And he heals the man. He ultimately heals the man. And the man gets up, takes his bed, and walks out, demonstrating his authority as one who has and is able, not just able to heal or to pronounce forgiveness of sins, But he's able, because he's exactly what they said. Only God can forgive sins. And he's demonstrating to them, yes, you are right. And what is he saying? I am God. And Jesus continues, as the story goes on, he's calling people to his side, and he calls of all the people, Levi, a tax gatherer, a man seen as a sinner in the eyes of the Jews, not just because he collected taxes, no one likes that, but because in the eyes of the leadership of the scribes and Pharisees, a tax gatherer was a sinner in their view of the law of God. and he's there, and the transformation that occurs to Levi because of Jesus is tremendous, and we tend to introduce our friends to people we think are important, and that's what Levi does, and he introduces all his friends to Jesus as he has a big feast, and who are all the friends of Levi, but people just like Levi who are tax gatherers and sinners. And the disciples, or the Pharisees, ask the question, who is this man? And Jesus makes very clear, I have come for one purpose, to heal those who are sick, not those who think they are well, or those who are well. And we saw last time, right prior to what we looked at, another important account as Jesus is continuing to expand upon who he is, showing that he is one with that authority. He is one with the power. He is one who restores even a leper who could never be restored, physically speaking, let alone spiritually. And he is one who's there for a purpose, to communicate his word to those who have a need. as he encounters the question about some other disciples, disciples of the Pharisees, and of John, asking a question about what his disciples are doing, which is not fasting. And Jesus, in answer to their question of, why are your disciples not fasting? Why do we fast, but yours don't fast? He says there's a very good reason. The bridegroom and the men, while the groom is there, cannot be fasting. But the day will come when the groom is gone. Things will change. But while the bridegroom is with the attendants, the bridegroom do not fast today, he says, so long as they have the bridegroom with them. They cannot fast. It's a time of joy, a time of new hope, a time of celebration. And he does say the times will come. And he follows that immediately with another parable about the unshrunk cloth and the need to sew it onto a garment. And he says, you don't sew an unshrunk cloth under the garment because it will tear it worse. Or you don't take new wine and put it in an old wineskin. Because the result is the wine will burst the skin. The wine will be lost and the skin. Rather you put new wine into a fresh wine skin and you have what you want. And he's highlighting the reality. Times are different. There is a new era that has come in. The old has passed. The new has come. And what has made it new? What has made the time new is what he's getting at. As he announced at the beginning in his message, the time has come. The kingdom is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. I have come and I have made it all new again. And the gospel is now here, the truth and the hope of what God was driving us to. Continually, Jesus is highlighting, and Mark is bringing these accounts to our mind to show us just who Jesus this man is, who starts in obscurity in the Gospel of Mark, and Mark unravels this very complex onion, piece by piece, layer by layer, showing who Jesus is. And we get to this account here on this particular moment, and Mark continues to do that. And as he does so, he's going to highlight to us a very important truth, that the divine authority of Jesus is what grants us the freedom of true Sabbath rest, of true rest that only comes to Christ. As we look at it, Jesus again shows us a radical difference between Him and the current adherence at the time that He was living of the traditions and the Old Covenant as it was being enforced by the Pharisees and by the leaders. It isn't just an issue of reaching those in need, nor the joyful newness that he brought. It was grounded in his authority, his authority to free us from a bondage, to grant us true rest that only he can do, a rest that God spoke of in and through the Sabbath. You know, few topics are heated within the church today like the Sabbath is. Within the church in general, at least in the Western church, the discussion about what the importance is of the Sabbath, and I mean the Jewish Sabbath, what that plays on the life of the Christian church. And along with that, some other issues of the law. And circumcision was another one, and has been another one for many years. And it was in the time of Jesus. and that many people, as a result, have been strong adherents to the need to keep the Sabbath to some degree, even within the Christian Church, and even some folks, some who claim to be Christians, are adherents to the Sabbath in their practice of worshipping only on the Sabbath, or what we call Saturday. But what we see Jesus is trying to highlight to us, beginning in Mark, in chapter 2, verse 23, is that the Sabbath is more than just a day or fulfilling a bunch of laws. But it points to what God's design was. And he is that fulfillment of that design, and the giver of that fulfillment to all his people. And he starts this out, and Mark begins to make this very clear at the onset, when he tells us what they were doing. He, Jesus, was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And that sets the stage for us, not only the time or the day of the week, but the event, what they were doing, and they were walking, and his disciples were with him, and as they were going along, what were his disciples doing but picking the heads of the grain? But it wasn't just Jesus and his disciples, his immediate disciples, the twelve, nor his larger group of disciples, which was always quite large, at least in comparison. But we also know there were others who were walking along with him. And that is the Pharisees. And when the Pharisees saw this, what did they say? What was their impression? What was their thought? What did they do? They asked him a question. In fact, it's very clear from the question, it's not just a question of trying to learn the truth, it's an accusation. What do they say? See here, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? Now that's a very, very full question. Now, what do they mean? What is not lawful on the Sabbath? Or what are they seeing as not lawful being on the Sabbath? Well, it could be the picking of the grain. It could be the cleaning of that grain. As we see elsewhere, that becomes an issue. Most likely, at least at this point in time, because the context seems to imply it, it's just a fact that they're picking the grain off the sheath or off the wheat. either would apply appropriately, but the question is, is it unlawful for them to be picking the grain? As we've seen in Exodus 34, going back to the law in verse 21, it is not unlawful to be harvesting, or I'm sorry, it is unlawful to harvest the grain on the Sabbath. So in a sense, they were correct. But the question is, were the disciples harvesting? If you look at another place in the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 23, 25, it implies to us that when people walk through the grain field and they're just plucking with their hand, they're not harvesting, just grabbing a little bit of wheat so they can eat it while they're walking about. And this applied not just to grain, but it implied also to other fruits or other produce of the land. That was not counted as harvesting. It was permitted. As long as you weren't harvesting, you weren't collecting large amounts for yourself, but just grabbing a piece of fruit to eat on the way, or a little bit of grain to nourish yourself. The owner was not to see that as harvesting, nor as robbing. And with that in mind, it would imply that what the disciples are doing are not harvesting, technically speaking. So what was the problem? Why do the Pharisees have such a big problem with this? Why do you think the Sabbath would be such a hot topic for them? Why was the Sabbath such a big issue in the life of Jesus and his presence while he was there? It was always one of the main contentions he faced of the Sabbath laws or requirements. The Sabbath, if you look back at the Sabbath, when was the Sabbath first mentioned for the Jews? When was it first mentioned? Real loud? Mount Sinai, exactly. The Sabbath was first mentioned on Mount Sinai. It is not mentioned until then, not at the beginning of creation, even though we see God rested on the seventh. That act, God resting, becomes the foundation for the Sabbath. for the Jews, but it's very clear in Exodus 20, in one of the ten words that God gives his people, that the need for them to adhere to and to observe a Sabbath was now given as law. The Sabbath was mentioned at Sinai, and why the Sabbath? What is the purpose of the Sabbath according to Exodus, verses 20, 8 through 11? And this highlights what God was doing in the Sabbath. Exodus 20 verses eight through 11, and I'll read it. The Lord says, remember the Sabbath. to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Why the Sabbath? Why this day of rest? I'm not counting the fact that we do need rest, but was God giving it to the Jews because they worked hard and needed one day to stop working to rest? We see very clearly the purpose. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day. Did God rest? Because he was tired and needed a day off. No, he did not rest for that purpose. When God rested on the seventh day, it's very important for us to understand this in context to the Sabbath given to the Jews. What is that rest that is being declared by God on that seventh day? What is God making clear in that day? Oh, I'm exhausted. It's been a rough week. I need a stop, take a break before the week begins. Now, like me, I need that myself, personally. I need that day. But it's not what God was implying or saying. In that rest, he was declaring what very important truth about what had happened the six days prior. It is finished. It is complete. And it is perfect. And all has been perfected in me." And he rested as an example to his creation of their perfection, to include man. And so when he speaks to the Jews in Exodus 20 and says to them, you will spend, you will have one day, the Sabbath day, you will keep it holy, you will set it apart as a special day, you will do no labor, you will labor every other day of the week, but that day you will not labor. And unless we misunderstand the impact this has on the Jewish society, imagine we aren't, or at least most of us are not, we don't live in an aggregarian style society anymore. But if you are a person who lives under the field, or on the field, or by the field, if you are a farmer or herder of any kind of animal, Let me ask you a question. If you ever have or known someone who has, does their work stop? If you are in the middle of your harvest, does your work stop? Is there a day you can go, oh, it's OK if I don't do something? Now, if you are a cattleman, you keep cattle, you keep milk cows, for instance. Is there a day you can go, I don't need to fill up? I don't have to milk my cows today. There's not, actually. from the milk farmer that I knew, that we knew, they worked every day. So it's very important for us to understand what God is saying to Israel is in your life, in your business, in your agriculture, culture, whatever it may be, I'm telling you, take one day to rest. One day set apart. And what was it? Was it because they were tired and they needed it? No. What was he declaring to them? You will spend one day looking to me as your God and trusting in me. And though you may be wringing your hands thinking, oh, my harvest. It's going to be lost. I will miss that. I miss this one day. I can't plant. And this is the only day, my last day to plant. I have so much more to go. I want to lose it. He's saying, trust me, I will take care of you. I will give you that rest and that fulfillment that you are desiring to have and to accomplish in your work. And he needed Israel to understand that you must, as he needs us to understand, I am the rest and the fulfillment and the completion of all your work. It is not you. And so when Jesus and unfortunately the Jews, if you look at the history of the Jews and their life as a nation, they struggled with this issue of the Sabbath and keeping the Sabbath. Not just one day of the week, but every Sabbath. The Lord actually called many Sabbaths for Israel. There was the Sabbath of the week, there was the Sabbath of the month, there were many Sabbaths throughout the year, there was a Sabbath every seven years, a major year Sabbath, and there was even a greater year Sabbath on the 50th year that they had to observe. And the year Sabbaths were year-long Sabbaths, meaning you couldn't do work for a year. And yet, when Israel was cast out of the land, the Lord makes clear to them, it's because you failed to adhere to follow my Sabbaths. In fact, the Lord cast them out and exiled them for 70 years. Why 70 years? Why exactly? Because of the Sabbaths. He says, because you have ignored my Sabbaths for these years, and he takes the number of Sabbath years that they have completely ignored, and he says, that's how many years you will be exiled from your land. Until my Sabbath is complete, until my land is given the rest that you failed to give it. you will be removed from the land. And therefore, when God finally does, as they fulfill their need, brings them back to the land, he does restore them to Israel. The Israelites did something interesting. The leaders of Israel slowly, progressively began developing these little laws to protect the Sabbath, to protect them from breaking the Sabbath. And as this emerged and as the years progressed, the laws began to expand until we get to the point where they had numerous laws, some 39, specifically on the Sabbath, some 39 prohibitions. that the Jews could not do as a means to protect the Sabbath from being violated. The leaders wanted to make sure it never happened again, that we were exiled. So we wanted to make sure we all follow the Sabbath. So if you follow these other laws, you'll never actually enter into breaking the Sabbath. And it appears that what the disciples were doing is a violation of one of these other 39 traditions or laws that were created, prohibitions that were created, in a sense, to protect the Sabbath. In fact, it became so pronounced that in the eyes of the Jews, and especially in the eyes of the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the scribes, this became a mark of a true Jew. of a pious Jew, that the ability to keep the law, the ability to keep the Sabbath in particular. We see this especially when Jesus, when it's common to him, and how they don't wash after coming from the market, or they don't wash before they eat. Because that was also one of those prohibitions. They had to wash their hands and even wash themselves when they returned to the market to make sure they were not unclean from whatever they might have encountered in the world outside. So the Pharisee's complaint really is of the disciples breaking one of these prohibitions. And Jesus, interestingly enough, as he hears that accusation, how does he respond? He does what we all should be doing, by the way. He immediately goes to a story about David, an Old Testament account that we have about in the life of David. Now again, I say we should all do the same thing, because the first thing Jesus does is go back to scripture. And the first thing we should ever do when we are stumped by something, even when we're not stumped by something, is we should always be looking and reflecting upon what God tells us in his word. But as he's confronted here, he sees he goes to scripture and he highlights an event in the life of David. And he says, have you never read what David did when he was in need and became hungry? He and his companions. And he points back to a moment in the life of David in 1 Samuel 21, when David first really begins fleeing from Saul, who is the king. And David is not yet the king, and David is only one of the commanders of the army of Saul. He has already defeated Goliath. And his life is already in danger. He's already been anointed, at least by Samuel, and by God, even though it hasn't been proclaimed as king. But Saul has already cast his eye on David with envy, and has already begun to despise David, and begun to follow him. and attempt to get rid of David. In fact, he's already done it by capturing him in his house to kill him. And David escapes with the help of his wife, the son of Saul. And that's where David's at now. He's on the run. And what David does is he goes to the priests in the city of Nob. Yeah, Nob. I think that's right. And the priest is there, and even though David points to the time of Abiathar the high priest, it wasn't Abiathar the high priest. It was Ahimelech. Now, to make sure this is clear, what it looks like Jesus is doing when he talks about Abiathar, the Jews, unlike us, didn't have you know, chapter and verse to refer to when you talked about a story. They had, there was markers, and what I mean by markers is certain parts of a story would be the marker in the sense of, you know, the time of the burning of the bush. Well, that would tell a Jew in the scrolls, wherever the burning of the bush was in the scroll, you go to that point, and whatever he's talking about, it's going to be in that area. Or in this case, when Abiathar was the high priest, everyone knew about where that was in the scroll. They would open it up, and they could find the story that Jesus is referring to right now. When David goes to the priest, who's Ahimelech, and speaks to him, and Ahimelech is kind of surprised to see David alone. coming, and he asked David, what's up? What are you there for? And David says, well, I'm on a special errand for the king, and I don't have any food, and I'm pretty hungry. And so Ahimelech says, well, we have no bread except the show bread, the consecrated bread. Now, the show bread was a special bread that was made every week that was placed on the table as part of a memorial to God of its provision for Israel. But the one restriction was it was designed only to be eaten by the priest within the tabernacle or the temple. In this case, it was tabernacle, because the temple had not been built. And Jesus points to that story and says, don't you know what happened when David was there? And he had a need. He was hungry. And the men with him were hungry. And the only bread that the priest had was a showbread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priest. And what happened? The priest, seeing the situation, Ahimelech seeing the situation, seeing David in need, even knowing David was not a priest, asks one simple question. Have you and your men kept yourself holy? In other words, have you committed any sin or are you defiled in any way that would cause you to be considered defiled in the law of God? And David tells him no. Like every other trip, David says, like every other trip, every other mission we've been on, we are now holy. We always prepare ourselves for the mission and make ourselves holy, and we have already. And Himmler does something pretty interesting. He takes that shewbread and says, here, David, and take it. Jesus is highlighting that. When David had a need, what did the priest do? What did David do? He took, he received the bread, and he gave it to his companions, and his need was satisfied. The priest didn't say, well, you're not a priest. I see your need. We have no other bread in the city, which is amazing. We have nothing else to give to you. I guess you got to go hungry, David. Because this bread is for the priest only, and you're not the priest. Rather the priest, the high priest, understanding the intent of God and his law, and the need of David. So take, satisfy that need. And Jesus says to them, as he highlights the story, and David, who's the anointed of God at this point, and says the Sabbath was not made, I'm sorry, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was designed to be a time of rest, of satisfying a man. Man wasn't made to satisfy the Sabbath. Man wasn't made to exalt the Sabbath. God gave us the Sabbath, O people, so that we can be, we can find rest and satisfaction in him. And David had need of rest, and had a need, and the showbread was that means of satisfying it. And Jesus, therefore, says, consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. And now he turns the story to himself and applies it. Just as you know that story of David, a story of David which no scribe, no Pharisee in the time of Jesus, no past Jewish scholar ever condemned David for taking the bread or ever condemned the priest for giving it to him. It was a well-known story in the Jewish culture, and no one condemned David for doing that and for taking and enjoying the bread that was designed and only to be given to the priests. And Jesus says, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. The Son of Man. Who is the Son of Man? That's one of Jesus' favorite titles for himself, because it has very distinct Old Testament connotation to the authority, to one who has divine authority as the authority of God. The Son of Man is that one who Daniel sees in his vision, who comes to the ancient of days, to God himself, to God the Father, and who is given all the authority of all the kingdoms to exercise that authority over all the kingdoms of man, all the kingdoms of man, because he is a divine ruler and king. And Jesus says, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Jesus has been telling them who He is, little by little. And the first major announcement was that healing of the paralytic. You're right. Only God can forgive sins. And to show you that I can forgive sins, to show you I am God, get up, take your pallet, and go home. And now he says, even the Son of Man has authority over the Sabbath. The Sabbath that was designed to give rest, my authority, Jesus is saying, my authority not only gives me the right, but helps me to explain the actions of my disciples. and help explain the actions of what we should all be doing as Jews, as God's people, resting in our Lord, not being controlled by these prohibitions, but by seeing the goodness of the Sabbath as a reflection of how good God is to us as his people. May we rest in him he's getting us to see. May his divinity free us to true rest even a rest in his law, as perfect as it is. And I mean the greater law, not just the Mosaic law. So really, Jesus, he doesn't abolish the law, but he's highlighting the law in its perfection and freeing us from the confinement of the law so that we can truly rest in the perfection of Christ. But this is even explained more in this next story that is linked to what happens in the field. How's it linked? He says, he, Jesus, entered again into a synagogue, and he was there, and there was a withered man there, I'm sorry, a man with a withered hand, and they were watching him, and they were watching him for what reason? To see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Now, that's our first link to the previous story. He's in the field on the Sabbath. This is probably another Sabbath day. He walks into the synagogue. There's a man there with a withered hand who's probably not there by accident. And they were there. And this they is kind of nebulous. But we get a good picture from the previous story who the they are. And we get a clear picture from the end of the story in verse 6, who they are, the Pharisees, and they were watching him. Why? To see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Again, this becomes another point of contention for Jesus. Why were they worried about this? Why did they want to see if he could heal on the Sabbath? because they wanted, as it says, in order that they might accuse him. This wasn't an observation to see if he could heal on the Sabbath and if he was powerful enough to do this on the Sabbath. But would he even dare do it on the Sabbath? Would he even take this day and profane it by healing this man with a withered hand, who would appear who had a withered hand for some time? And Jesus, astute as he is, he says to the man with the withered hand, rise and come forward. OK, I'll play your game. Come forward. Stand in the middle. And this isn't monkey in the middle. And Jesus says to them, to them in particular, those who were first there watching him, the Pharisees, and he asks them, is it lawful Now, this also is a link to the previous story. Did you catch the link? What do the Pharisees ask them in the field? Why do your disciples do what is unlawful, focusing on the prohibition, what you can't do? But what does Jesus do? He asks a simple question. What can you do? Is it lawful on the Sabbath? What can be done on the Sabbath? What is the design of the Sabbath? What's the purpose of the Sabbath? Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what? To do good or to do harm? To save a life or to save it? And he highlights these two contrasts, good and harm, life or to kill, to do good or harm, to save life, or to kill a life. What are we able to do on the Sabbath? What was the Sabbath designed for us to do? And just like I'm hearing right now is what he heard. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Now, the Lord, Jesus, at a later time, actually asks them another question about the Sabbath, when he says to them, when they're accusing him of healing somebody on the Sabbath, and he says to them, which one of you, when he has a donkey that falls into a hole on the Sabbath, doesn't go out there and pull that donkey out, or that sheep, or your animal. And they all would have said, well, no one doesn't. We all go out and do it. Why? Because it's good. It's good for the animal. But it's work, is the answer. The counter answer could be, but it's work. But it's what is right in doing what is good, even on the Sabbath. You can even argue the point, and Jesus does, which one of you, you know, when the Sabbath comes and you have to circumcise your child, do you not circumcise your boy? No, you do, even on the Sabbath. And that's his point here. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do harm? To save life or to kill? The obvious answer should have been, it's lawful to save life. And to do good, not to kill, and not to do harm. It's never good to kill or do harm. It's never good to not save life and do good. And yet they kept silent. And he looks around at them. And his response is interesting. He looks at them with anger, grieved. at their hardness of heart. That same grieving that Jesus had after Lazarus died, and Mary comes to him with all the other entourage, and they're weeping, and it says he was grieved. And that grief there isn't so much a sadness grief as an anger of frustration for their hardness of heart and not seeing who he is as the resurrection. and the life, and that he's there to give resurrection and life even to Lazarus. And he's grieved at their hardness of heart because they fail to acknowledge the design that God had for the Sabbath, to do good, to restore, to bring true rest. And in their silence, Jesus responds. And he says to the man, stretch out your hand. And what happens? The man stretches it out, and his hand was restored. It's interesting. Jesus doesn't do, he doesn't say something that would make it a more direct violation of their prohibition. He doesn't say, you're healed. He just says, stretch out your hand. And there's no sin against stretching out the hand. But very clearly, as a man stretched out his hand, and his hand no longer was withered and healed, he had done exactly what they were ready to accuse him of, healing. And in doing so, what does he highlight to the man? What does he highlight to the people? What does he highlight to us? As the man was restored, who is Jesus? He is the one who brings restoration. By His divine, His authority, as divinity, as the Son of Man, the ruler of all creation, He is the one who fulfills the Sabbath rest. That's why we are told later on in Hebrews, oh, be careful, there's still a rest to come. The rest didn't come for the Israelites when they entered Canaan, though it was a rest. And the rest didn't come every week on Sabbath, though that was a rest, as they were reminded of the rest God gave. But the true rest is to come when Christ returns. And the true rest has already begun in Christ today. And Jesus is saying to them, I am here. Not the rest has come, and my authority only demonstrates that rest. And rejoice in the rest, the restoration that comes even on a Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week. And as that man felt the restoration in his hand, he would know very clearly what it is to have restoration and freedom from oppression. At least he would physically. Jesus is highlighting that to his people, to his disciples, to us today. He is the one then, he is the one now, and one day when he returns, he will affect complete rest and restoration in him. Canaan isn't the final rest, and our life now isn't a final rest, obviously, but the true Sabbath is coming in Christ. He has given us a Sabbath rest. And every day, if we look to Christ, we can find rest in Him, and completion in Him, and Him alone. That's what Jesus is pointing to. You have created all these prohibitions, Pharisees and scribes and leaders, and yes, they may have been needed to protect us, but the truth is, true Sabbath comes in God. True Sabbath has come in me, and now find your rest in me, who gives the authority and gives the definition to that true rest in me. And he's really calling the Pharisees, and calling his disciples, and calling the man to the withered hand, and calling us to say and to find rest in him and no one else. No law, no prohibitions added to a law, but only in Christ Jesus alone. and the freedom that gives us today to rest in Christ is tremendous. He's calling us to Him. Christ is calling us because He is our rest. We need to find rest in Him. People of God, may we each day, each morning as we rise, look to our rest, look to our Christ. If you have not found true rest, Life around us, and if you look in the news, you will get it, can be so disturbing and so unrestful. But even in the midst of that, you can find rest in Christ, a true rest that gives us sense in the insanity of the sinful world. He is our hope. May we look to him as our hope today and throughout for his glory. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your mercies upon us, for you as our true rest and our true hope, because you are our divine hope and our authority. You are truly our ruler and our governor and our rest. May we stand in you each day. cause us to know you more, your people, cause those who are struggling and without rest to see the rest they can enjoy in you and you alone. And may they see that today, Lord, for your glory. Amen.