The Lord of the Sabbath, Part 1

Jim ButlerMatthew 12:1–8

Matthew 12:1–8 presents the Pharisees' accusation that Christ's disciples violated the Sabbath, and Christ's five-fold response that exposes their misinterpretation of God's law. Working through the examples of David, the priestly ministry, the superiority of Christ over the temple, and the prophetic word of Hosea 6:6, the sermon argues that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath — the one to whom the Sabbath institution pointed from its creation in Genesis 2. The Pharisees' legalism, built on the Mishnah's 39 categories rather than Scripture, condemned the guiltless and revealed both antinomian abuse of the law and a failure of mercy. The sermon closes by calling hearers to distinguish authorized Sabbath works (necessity, piety, and mercy) from the twin errors of Pharisaic legalism and contemporary license, and to rest in Christ himself as the fulfillment and Lord of the Sabbath.