The Lord’s Day: A Blessing Not a Burden

The Lord’s Day: A Blessing Not a Burden
Following the Servant
Mark 2:23-28

The Sabbath was central to Jewish life in New Testament times.  The Pharisees imposed all kinds of confusing laws so that everyone would know exactly what was allowed and what was forbidden in order to “keep the Sabbath” correctly.  All the Pharisee’s laws made it so that people dreaded the Sabbath instead of being able to enjoy it.  By claiming to be “Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus was saying He was God and wanted to go back to the original intent of what the Sabbath was for: to be a day of worship and refreshment. However, this undermined the control of the Pharisees, and led them to plot His death.

Jesus came to release us from legalism and to free us to.

1.   We are not (vv. 23, 24)

Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15.

Exodus 31:13-17

Sabbath is from the Hebrew word “to cease” (shabat).

At creation, God didn’t stop because He was tired or needed rest, but because creation .

It’s a battle to continually .

2.   The goal of the Sabbath is to (vv. 25-27)

1 Samuel 21:1-6

Colossians 2:16, 17

Religion says, “I obey; therefore, I’m accepted,” but Christianity says, “i am fully accepted in Jesus Christ; .”

In the gospel, when you look at the law, it .

3.   Christ’s is our guide (v. 28)

Jesus is saying, “I’m the.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Is Jesus ?

The problem is that the default mode of our heart is to always go back to saying, “I obey, therefore, I’m accepted.”  That’s .

Daily Meditations

Memory verse: “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”                                            Matthew 2:27, 28

Monday
Read Mark 2:23-28. Do you have more of a tendency to find faults in other people or to find ways to commend and encourage them?
What rules do you find yourself using to judge the spirituality of yourself and others?

Tuesday
Read Mark 2:23-28. In what way did Jesus “fulfill” the Sabbath?
Does this mean Christians can ignore the Sabbath?

How should a Christian treat the fourth commandment: Honor the Sabbath?

Wednesday
Read Mark 2:23-28. How do we avoid turning this into legalism?
One question Jesus addressed here is, Who makes the rules?
How do we make sure we are teaching what the Bible says rather than adding to it and making our own rules?

Thursday
Read Mark 2:23-28. To what extent is a teacher responsible for the conduct of his students?
If God loved His people Israel, why did He give them so many restrictive laws?

Friday
Read Mark 2:23-28. Was the Sabbath law meant to be punitive or celebrative?
Was it meant to be a restriction or a benefit?

Saturday
Read Mark 2:23-28. How should that affect the Christian view of the Sabbath?

How can a person honor the Sabbath without becoming legalistic?