Go back with me to Mark chapter
2. I remember when the Lord opened
up this text of scripture to me. Light bulb moment, wasn't it? And my prayer is that this message
will be clear and plain. That's what I'm hoping for. There
is a truth in God's Word. There's a truth in here. And I pray the Lord will open
our eyes to it. Really open our eyes to it. Verse
23, Mark 2, verse 23. And it came to pass that he went
through the cornfields on the Sabbath day. Now our Lord could
have gone anywhere. Why did he go through the cornfields?
Why does it tell us he went through the cornfields? The reason is
to teach us something. There was a purpose in every
step he took. And he saw that cornfield and
he stepped into that cornfield to teach all of his people something.
Something glorious. Something that will set a captive
sinner free. I mean free. if God reveals it
to him. Verse 23, it came to pass that
he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day and his disciples
began as they went to pluck the ears of corn on the Sabbath day. They did it on the Sabbath day.
Now his disciples were Jews They were Jews. They knew the
law. They knew God's law. Why would
they pluck the corn? Luke's gospel says that they
were rubbing the ears of corn, shucking them. They were going
to eat them. You can't do that on the Sabbath day. They knew the law. Why would
they do that? And the Pharisees said unto him,
Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? Not lawful according to who? According to God. Hold your place. We're going to turn right back.
Hold your place and go to Exodus 20. We just went there in the
Bible study. This is God's Ten Commandments. Exodus 20 verse 8 says, Our God
said, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt
thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath
of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work,
thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and hallowed it. God commanded rest on the
Sabbath. Aren't you so glad? He commanded
it. Rest on the Sabbath. So why are
your disciples plucking corn today? Why are they doing it
today? Back in Mark chapter 2, verse 25 says, And our Lord said unto them,
Have you never read what David did when he had need, and was
an hungered? He and they that were with him
how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar,
the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful
to eat, but for the priest, and gave also to them which were
with him." They said, why are your disciples doing this? And
he said, have you never read what David did? He went into
the temple and he ate the show bread and it was not lawful for
him to do that. Now is our Lord condoning breaking
the law? Does he condone breaking the
law and encourage his disciples to break the law? Absolutely
not. Absolutely not. John wrote over
in 1 John chapter 3, sin is the transgression of the law. That's
what sin is. It's breaking the law. And then
he wrote, whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. He doesn't break the law. For
his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born
of God. God can have nothing to do with
sin, nothing to do with breaking the law. But this is the answer
that the Lord gave to those Pharisees when they asked this question.
They said, why are your disciples doing this? They are not obeying
the law. And he said unto them, have you
never read what David did? Have you never read what David
did? That causes me to believe we ought to go back and read
what David did. Turn with me over to 1 Samuel 21. Now if you know the story of David's
life, to some degree. You know that he and Saul's son,
Jonathan, became best friends is not a strong
enough word. David showed mercy to Saul's
house for Jonathan's sake. David loved Jonathan. Jonathan
loved David. Saul hated David. And at this
point in 1 Samuel, Jonathan has just told David, it's time for
you to start running. My father Saul is going to kill
you. I tried to talk to him. He will not hear it. He will
not have it. He's going to kill you. It is
time to start running. All right, now chapter 21, verse
1 says, Then came David to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, and
Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him,
Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? He went by himself.
He normally would have men traveling with him, and this made the priest
afraid. He said, Why are you here by
yourself? What is this? Verse 2, And David said unto
Ahimelech the priest, and this is what he said, The king hath
commanded me a business. and hath said unto me, Let no
man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what
I have commanded thee. And I have appointed my servants
to such and such a place." That's what David told him. So David
says in verse 3, Now therefore, what is under thine hand, give
me five loaves of bread in my hand, or what there is present. Whatever you have. I'm starving. I need five loaves of bread for
me and my men, or whatever you have. And the priest answered
David and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there
is hallowed bread. If the young men have kept themselves
at least from women, and David answered the priest and said
unto him, Of a truth, women have been kept from us about these
three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young
men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though
it were sanctified this day in the vessel. So the priest gave
him hallowed bread. for there was no bread there
but showbread that was taken from before the Lord to put hot
bread in the day when it was taken away." Now this is the
story that our Lord gave in answer to the Pharisees question. You know the first thing that
struck me about this story when I read it? The very first thing
that struck me. David lied David lied. David was running from Saul,
but he said in verse 2, to Ahimelech the priest, God's priest, he
said, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said
unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I
send thee, and what I have commanded thee, and I have appointed my
servants to such and such a place. David lied. King didn't do that. King wants him dead. He lied. I spent hours, I spent hours
and hours and hours thinking about this, praying about this. I searched every commentary that's
laying on some place in that study. trying to find some reason, trying
to make sense of, trying to find a spiritual connection as to
why he lied. And I never could. I never could. He just lied. John Gill said it was a downright
lie. It was a downright lie. David did repent of it. He was
sorry for doing that. He said over in Psalm 119, he
said to the Lord, he prayed to him, remove from me the way of
lying and grant me thy law graciously. I'm sorry, poor old David. Why would our Lord use this answer
to those Pharisees? Why would our Lord use this answer
to those Pharisees? Here is why. Here's the reason why. He said,
you're inquiring about the way of salvation. They said, behold, they're claiming
salvation, but they're not keeping the law. And our Lord said, here is the
way of salvation. Here's the message today. Here
is the way of salvation. David lied. Don't you know David
lied? Do you know what that makes David? A sinner. David was a sinner. David did
not just represent a sinner. The more I read that story over
and over and over again, the only conclusion I could come
to is David doesn't deserve that bread. David is a sinner. He's just a sinner. And so am I. So am I. I can't get around it.
I just can't get around it. I am nothing but a downright
sinner. That's all I am. But here's what David did. He
went to God's high priest. Directly to God's high priest. And that's the only way we can
come to God's high priest. It's as sinners. That's the only
way we can come to God's high priest. It's as sinners. It's acknowledging downright,
I'm a sinner. God's high priest does not receive
the righteous. He receives sinners. Only sinners. So David came the only way he
could, as a sinner. That was the only way that Jacob
could come to Isaac. You remember that story? Jacob,
he put on Esau's robe and he put all that hair on him and
his mom made him some soup to take to his father and his father
said, Are you Esau? And he said, Yes, I am. You know
what Jacob did? He lied. You know what that makes
Jacob? A sinner. A downright sinner,
a trickster, a supplanter. Don't try to sugarcoat it, he's
a sinner. David came the only way he could
as a sinner, but he came pleading the king. That priest asked him,
why are you here? He said, the king. The king. The king has commanded this.
I am what I am, but the king commanded this. The only thing I have to say
is the king has ordered all this. He's finished all this. I plead
him. I plead him. The reason I'm here is because
I need bread. I have a need. I have a hunger. The only thing that can fill
it, you know what I'm going to say, is holy bread. I need bread. He came as a sinner. He came straight to God's high
priest, pleading the king, and begging for bread, and he got
it. That filthy, no-good sinner got
it. Dear sinner, lying, cheating, no-good, filthy, rotten sinner,
you come to God's high priest. His name is Jesus Christ. And
you come pleading the king. His name is Jesus Christ. And
you come begging for bread, the true bread of heaven. His name
is Jesus Christ. You do that and you'll get it.
You'll get it. You'll get Him. You seek, you'll
find. You knock, it'll be opened. Yeah, but I'm a sinner. I mean,
I'm a sinner. I mean, I'm a real sinner. I
know that's the only ones He'll accept. That's the only ones
who get the bread. You ask for that bread. pleading the king, you'll receive
it. You'll receive it and you'll
eat and you'll rest. You'll rest. Turn with me to
Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3 verse 20 says, Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. All the law can do for us is
show us that we cannot keep it. That's it. That's it. Paul told the Galatians, whosoever
is under the law is under the curse. Our only plea is that Christ
our King kept God's holy law for us. Does he condone breaking
the law? No. He condones keeping the law. So my only plea is that Christ
my King kept the law for me. And that's exactly what he did.
Look at Romans 10 verse 4. Romans 10 verse 4 says, Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Then why were all these things
in God's law given? Why were they given? Every one
of them was given to show us Christ. Every one of them. They were given to show us that
we could not do it, but he did. Now our little girls down in
their class, they're learning about the tabernacle. Are you
girls learning about the tabernacle? We were talking about this this
morning. If they can learn what, maybe someday God will teach
them who. Maybe someday God will teach them why. God ordained
different men throughout time to be the high priest. Why? Why
did he do that? Because they were special? Those
men needed to be recognized? No. He did that to show us what
Christ has done for us. They sacrificed animals and they
sacrificed animals. Why? Because the animals needed
to die? No. Is it because the animals put
away their sin? No. Hebrews tells us that. God ordained that to show us
what Christ has done for us. He sacrificed himself one time. He put away the sin of all his
people. Why did God tell Moses to build an altar? He did that
to show us that Christ is our altar. Christ made the sacrifice. Christ is the sacrifice. Christ
upholds the sacrifice, presents the sacrifice. Why did God tell
Moses to make a candlestick? Was it just so they could have
some light in there? It was dark in there. Just to have a little
light in there? It was to show us that Christ
is our light. Why did God tell those priests
to make hot bread every day? Was it so it would smell good
in there and they could have some lunch? It was to show us that Christ
is our bread. He's our life. He's our sustenance.
He's our fullness. Now why did God say don't do
any work on the Sabbath? Why did God say don't do any
work on the Sabbath? Was it because that day is more
holy than other days? You know how many people believe
that to be so? Well, this day is Sunday. Our Lord said don't do any work
on the Sabbath to show us that there's no more work to be done.
He finished all the work. Christ finished all the work. If we try to worship God by obeying
His ordinances, then we have missed Christ. I love God's ordinances. I love sanctifying Sunday. I do. But if we worship God's ordinances,
we have missed Christ. We've absolutely missed Christ.
We've missed the reason God gave every ordinance. And in doing
that, we break His law trying to do instead of rest. God's Sabbath is not a day. God's Sabbath is a person. I'll never forget the first time
the Lord revealed that to me. I was a lot older than you think
I was. God's Sabbath is not a day. God's
Sabbath is a person. We don't rest on a day. We rest on a person. Go with me back to Mark chapter
2. Mark chapter 2 verse 23 says,
it came to pass that he went through the cornfields on the
Sabbath day and his disciples began as they went to pluck the
ears of corn. And the Pharisee said unto him,
behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?
And he said unto them, have you never read what David did when
he had need? Lord put that need in me. And
when he was hungry, didn't our Lord say, whoever hungers and
thirst after righteousness, they're going to be filled. and they that were with him.
How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the
high priest and did eat the show bread which is not lawful to
eat but for the priest. Now wait a minute. It's not lawful to eat but for
the priest. But David was able to eat it.
It says and they that were with him. You know what song all of
the redeemed in glory sing? There's a song we're going to
sing for all eternity. It says, thou art worthy for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by that blood and has made us unto our gods, kings
and priests. Every one of us made us a priest.
If a sinner comes to Christ, not only is he going to have
his need met, God will make him a priest. The blood of Christ
turns sinners into priests. Verse 27 says, And he said unto
them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Our Sabbath is a person. We could just as easily come
here all day on Friday. We could worship God all day
on Friday. It doesn't have to be Sunday,
except for the fact that God said, give your first fruits,
first day of the week. But we're not worshiping a day.
Our Sabbath is a person. And our person, our Sabbath said,
a body hast thou prepared me. And the reason that body was
prepared was so that he could be our Sabbath. That's the only
reason. So he could fulfill the law and create rest for us. That's
why he came. That's the whole reason he came.
The Sabbath was made for man. Is that not the most amazing
news you've ever heard in your life? The Sabbath was made for
man. Christ came and he did all the
work for man, not man for the Sabbath. There is nothing we
can do to create rest for ourselves, nothing. We must rely on and
trust in our Sabbath. Verse 28, therefore the Son of
Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Rest on Christ and you'll be
resting on God's Sabbath. Rest on Christ and you will be
fulfilling God's law. Rest on Christ. He said you rest
on the Sabbath. There's no more work to be done.
You rest on the Sabbath and you'll be fulfilling God's law. Rest
on the Sabbath and God will be satisfied. He'll be satisfied. Those disciples, I can see them
going through this corn. They had to be, you know, they
knew the Pharisees. Hey, John, here comes the Pharisees. Get some corn, quick. They were going through that
corn just as happy as they could be, shucking their corn, eating
their corn. Total peace, total comfort, total
ease of mind concerning God's law. No fear of God's judgment
coming down on them, none. And the reason is because they
were at that exact moment in time resting on their side. at
that exact moment in time. They knew the truth and the truth
made them free. Totally free. The truth was walking
right there beside him. What's the truth of this matter?
Behold. Their Sabbath was walking right
there beside him. They were looking to him, they
were trusting in him, trusting in his work alone, eating their
bread, pleading their king, just like David, And those Pharisees
said, they're not resting on the Sabbath. Oh, yes, they are.
You're not resting on the Sabbath. But they are. The Sabbath is
not a day. The Sabbath is a person. May
God cause us all to rest on the Sabbath. All right, let's stand
together.