We're looking back at Matthew
chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. I'm taking
the title for the message from the words that are found in verse
8. Matthew 12 verse 8. You see it
there? For the Son of Man is Lord. The Son of Man is Lord. He's
talking about the God-Man. He's Lord of everything, even... He's Lord of the Sabbath day.
He's Lord of all, isn't He? Even in His office as the Son
of Man. Notice it doesn't say the Son
of God. It says the Son of Man. In His office as the Mediator,
one God, one Mediator between God and men, the God-Man, the
Lord Jesus Christ. The God-man mediator, our great
high priest of the covenant, the covenant of grace, Jesus
Christ as the mediator, advocate, intercessor, is Lord over all
things, even the Sabbath day. You remember in Matthew 11 verse
27, all things are delivered unto me and my Father. All things
are in His hand, His sovereign, holy hand. Now remember, the
Lord had just told the multitudes who were laboring to keep the
law, who were heavy laden with a load of guilt and sin, to come
to Him and find rest. He said, come unto Me all ye
that labor heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
you shall find rest for your soul." Now, this word Sabbath
here actually means rest. Christ is our Sabbath rest. That is, He's saying, cease from
your labors, cease from your works, and enter into His rest. Remember what we read in Hebrews
4? Let us strive to enter into that rest, that rest. It says in Genesis 2, and that's
the reference there, on the seventh day God ended His work of creation
that He made, and He rested on the seventh day from all of His
work which He made. Now, He didn't rest because He
was tired, right? He rested because the work was
finished. God rested from His work of creation
because it was finished. It was complete. It was done.
When the Lord Jesus Christ likewise finished our salvation, He ascended
to glory and he sat down resting. Why did he rest? Why did he sit
down? The work's finished. Salvation
is done. Cease from your labors and enter
into his rest. Now the Lord is demonstrating
to us in this message today that He is our Sabbath rest. Like
all the Old Testament law, the Sabbath day was a picture of
Christ pointing sinners to rest in Him, to rest in Him alone. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest, we read in Hebrews chapter 4. Lest any man fall
after the same example of unbelief. He said to those Jews, Paul did,
don't go about establishing a righteousness of your own. Rest in Christ. Submitted, be submitted unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, our righteousness. For Christ is the end of the
law, for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Now look, take
a look at verse 1, Matthew 12 verse 1. At that time, Jesus
went on the Sabbath day. Now remember, everywhere he went,
He went on purpose. He went with a purpose to fulfill
the will of God, the work of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ
went on the Sabbath day through the cornfield, and his disciples
were hungered, and they began to pluck the ears of corn and
to eat. Now, they must have had a special spy ring or something. These Pharisees were always out
looking to find fault with everything he said and with everything he
did, and with everyone who associated with him. When the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto him, Behold, your disciples are lawbreakers. Thy disciples do that which is
not lawful. upon the Sabbath day. Actually,
if they really knew the law, the law actually allowed for
people to go through the field and to eat corn. It didn't allow
for the field to be harvested, but you could eat some corn if
you were hungry. But these Pharisees said, uh-uh,
uh-uh. Not, no, not at all. The Lord
Jesus Christ and his disciples were not guilty of breaking this
particular law. For it allowed those who were
hungry to pluck years of corn and to eat. It didn't allow for
harvesting, but they weren't doing that. We know the Lord
Jesus Christ as a God-man mediator honored every precept of that
law. We've studied that in Matthew
chapter 5. He said, I didn't come to destroy the law and the
prophets. I came to honor the law and the prophets. The Lord
is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He will make the law of
God honorable. And he did. He fulfilled every
jot and tittle of the law of God, and that's our righteousness
that he gives us. Now, what they did violate was
the tradition of the Pharisees, who had added many of their own
laws and rules to burden the people with religious bondage. Don't religious people do the
same thing today? They make up rules and regulations
to try to control you. Now, I read this. in studying
this message, the Jews, those rabbis over the years, have formulated
what they call the Jewish Talmud. And they have a particular concern
with this Sabbath day, and they have written 24 chapters in their
Talmud about laws and regulations concerning this day. Their Jewish
Talmud said you couldn't even rub ears of corn together for
food according to their rules and their regulations. See how
they perverted the Word of God? Turn over to Matthew 15. Look
what the Lord says. These same people, these Pharisees,
Matthew 17, excuse me, Matthew 15, verse 7. You hypocrites,
well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this people draw nigh
unto me with their mouth, And they honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me. But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." They formulated
their own rules and their own regulations. Look at verse 3,
4, and 5. The Lord gives some examples
to answer their false charges against Him from the Scriptures.
And he said to them, have you not read? And of course they
were students of the word. He said, and it's recorded in
John chapter five, he said, you do search the scriptures and
they are they which testify of me, but you will not come to
me that you might have life. Have you not read what David
did, King David, when he was hungry, and those who were with
him, I think he had 400 men with him at the time, he was running
from his own father-in-law, trying to save his own life, how he
entered in the house of God, and this is found in 1 Samuel
21, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful for him to
do, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest?
Or have you not read in the law how that the Sabbath days, The
priest in the temple does profane the Sabbath and are blameless,
but I say unto you that in this place is one greater, greater
than the temple. Now, I like the way the Lord
takes the word of God to refute their baseless charges. And that's exactly what he does.
And he does this many times. When David was running and hiding,
his men ate the shewbread because they were hungry. And the priest,
Abiathar, freely gave it to them. They did not eat out of rebellion,
but they ate out of need. They were hungry. So likewise,
the Lord and his disciples, when they were headed to the synagogue
for the morning worship, they had need of something to eat,
so they plucked an ear of corn and began to eat it. Likewise,
in verse 5 and 6, the priest on the Sabbath day, They labored
long and hard to offer burnt sacrifices according to the law
of the Lord and were blameless because they were doing the will
of God, doing the work of God. Likewise, the apostles of the
Lord were doing the will and work of the Lord on the Sabbath
day, traveling and healing and preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God on the Sabbath day. When we read that he entered
into the synagogue, that very day. Verse six, but I say unto
you that in this place is one greater, greater than David,
greater than the temple, greater than all. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the greater one, greater than any earthly temple or any earthly
tabernacle. He's greater than any Old Testament
priest. He is the great high priest that
is seated in the heavenlies. Greater than any animal sacrifice,
the blood of bulls and goats cannot put away sin. His sacrifice
did. The law made nothing perfect,
remember our study from Hebrew 7. The law made nothing perfect
but bringing in of a better hope did by which we draw nigh unto
God. Now if you look on in Matthew
chapter 12, Look at verse 40. For as Jonah
was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this
generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at
the preaching of Jonah. Behold, a greater than Jonah
is here. One more verse. The Queen of
the South. shall rise in judgment with this generation and condemn
it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon. But I say to you, behold, a greater
than Solomon is here. You see what the Lord Jesus Christ
is doing here? He is the great I am that I am. He is greater than the temple.
He's greater than any Old Testament priest, greater than Jonah, greater
than Solomon. Look at verse seven. But if you
had known what this means, and he goes right back to the Word
of God, Hosea 6.6, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you
would not have condemned the guiltless. Now remember, we've
seen that statement before. Turn back to Matthew chapter
9. Matthew chapter 9. Remember when the Lord called
Matthew the publican, and he went home and ate with him? In
Matthew 9 verse 11, when the Pharisees saw it, the Lord sitting
with a notable sinner, a publican named Matthew, when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why is your master with publican
sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, They that behold thee not a physician, but those
who are sick. Go ye, learn what that means.
And here he quotes the same scripture. I will have mercy. not sacrifice,
for I'm not come to call the righteous but sinners, sinners
to repentant. The Lord exposes the Pharisees
for their willful ignorance of the Scriptures. I will have mercy,
not sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
show mercy to sinners. He didn't tell us to bring a
sacrifice. He is that sacrifice. And because
of His sacrifice, He can show mercy to such as I am. We said
it in Hebrews chapter 4, seeing that we have a great high priest,
let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy, find grace to help, in our time of need. The only way God can remain just
and holy and honor his own law and justice is for the Lord Jesus
Christ to lay down his life and satisfy the law of God for us
by his sacrifice, not ours. That's how God can be just and
justify the ungodly, because the Lord Jesus Christ is our
sacrifice for sin, wounded for our transgression, bruised for
our iniquities. God made Him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. If you knew, verse 7, if you
really had known, What this means, what the Scriptures teach, you
would not condemn those, now watch this, you would not have
condemned the guiltless. They did not break the law by
eating the corn on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath allowed that. Our Lord said in Matthew 22 to
the same group of Pharisees, you do err not knowing the Scriptures
nor the power of God. You would not, if you knew the
scriptures and the sacrifice of Christ and the permanent sacrifice,
God shows mercy to sinners, you will not condemn those who are
guiltless. Isn't that exactly the good news
of the gospel of Christ? Because of His sacrifice for
us, because He made complete and total satisfaction to the
law of God, we stand before God. How? Guiltless, not guilty. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus. Matter of fact, He presents
us before the Father holy, unblameable, unapprovable in His sight. That's
how we stand in Christ. guiltless, justified. Justified
in Christ. No sin. Now, look at verse 8. For the Son of Man is Lord even
of the law of God. The whole law of God. Who gave
the law? The Lord Jesus Christ gave the law. The Son of Man
is Lord even of the law. Now notice, He uses this phrase,
son of man, on purpose, identifying his office as mediator. In the
fullness of time, God sent forth his woman, God sent forth his
son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law. Now, look this up in the New
Testament. You know how many times he uses the phrase son
of man? Eighty-five times. He emphasizes
being the Son of Man, born of a woman, a real man, God incarnate
in human flesh. He uses this phrase, Son of God,
only 46 times. There seems to be an emphasis
upon Him as the God-Man mediator. Now listen to this, and I've
given this to you before. The Son of God became the Son
of Man, that sons of men may become sons of God. We had on
the radio this morning, Behold what manner of love the Father
has bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.
As the Son of Man, all things are delivered into His hand.
He's even Lord of that Sabbath rest. That is saying the same
thing when He says He's Lord of the Sabbath, it's saying that
He is Lord in salvation. That Sabbath is rest. That's
salvation we find in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's saying the
same thing that salvation is of the Lord. Now in Mark chapter
2 verse 27, when this same story is recorded, there's something
that's added that is extra. And here's what he says in Mark
chapter 2 rather. The Sabbath was not made for
man. The Sabbath was made for man,
excuse me. The Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath. That is, salvation is for sinners. Therefore, the Son of Man is
also Lord of the Sabbath. Salvation was made for sinners. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Salvation resting in Christ was
made for His people. Sinners have nothing to do with
making salvation. That's all of God. That's all
of Christ. God had made that same Jesus
whom you crucified, God had made Him both Lord and Christ. As
we often say and repeat it over the years, He's Lord in creation,
He's Lord in providence, He's Lord in salvation, and He's Lord
in judgment too. God has appointed a day in which
He will judge the world in righteousness by that man. Look at verse 36 in Matthew 12.
But I say unto you, I said last week that sinners are accountable
to the Lord. Look at verse 36. But I say unto
you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
an account thereof in the day of judgment. Judgment's coming. And people, sinners, are accountable
unto God, answerable unto God. Now look at verse 9. Back in
Matthew 12, verse 9. And when he was departed, He
went into the synagogue. That was the place where the
Jews assembled on the Sabbath day for the reading of Scripture.
And you can read a very good example of that in Luke chapter
4, where he went to his hometown, Nazareth, in the synagogue on
the Sabbath day, and they gave him the book of Isaiah. And he
read from the book of Isaiah and said, this Scripture is fulfilled
in your hearing. Now, look at verse 10. And behold,
there was a man which had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying,
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days, that they might not give
thanks unto the Lord, but that they might accuse him, that might
accuse him of doing this? He went to the synagogue on the
Sabbath to worship according to the law, and to clearly demonstrate
that he is Lord of the Sabbath, Lord of all things, having all
power to heal, and he will show mercy to whom he will show mercy. The Lord is going to demonstrate
works of mercy to this poor crippled man, works of necessity that
were allowed under the law. It is lawful to do well on the
Sabbath, as it says, look at verse 12. How much then is a
man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do
well on the Sabbath day. So look at verse 11, when they
said unto him, what man, he said unto them, what man shall there
be among you that shall have one sheep? And that one sheep
on the Sabbath day falls into a pit, will he not lay hold on
it and lift it out? How much then is a man better
than the sheep? Wherefore, it is lawful to do
well on the Sabbath day. The Jews were always going about
to trap him, to indict him with evil, so as to discredit him
and his ministry. The Lord gives such a plain and
useful story about a man who had one sheep that fell into
a pit on the Sabbath day, and in mercy, what did he do? He
rescued that one sheep. And then he says, how much more
then is a man better than a sheep? How much more value is a man
than a sheep? The Son of Man has come to save
the lost. Look over here at Matthew 18.
The Son of Man, verse 11. The Son of Man now has come to
save that which is lost. He came to save the lost. He
came to save sinners. Now, you see the Gospel there?
Here's a man, one sheep and a pit. What does he do? He goes and
rescues that pit. Isn't that exactly what the Lord
did for us? I see the good news of the Gospel
here. We're all like sheep gone astray. We all fell into the
pit of sin with no way to escape. And the Good Shepherd came and
rescued us, redeemed us from all our sin, and saved us eternally
by His sovereign love and sovereign grace. I think we're going to
look at Psalm 40 on Wednesday evening. But it says in that
verse, Psalm 40, verse 2 and 3, He brought me up out of a
horrible pit, out of a miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock. He
established my goings. He put a new song in my mouth,
even praising to our God. As that one man came and rescued
that one sheep out of that pit, so the Lord Jesus Christ came
and lifted us out of the pit of sin. You see the gospel there,
don't you? Also, look what happens. Verse
13, then saith he to the man with his withered hand, he had a withered, gnarled, drawn
up hand, he said to that man, stretch forth your hand. Well,
that man couldn't stretch forth his hand, not in and of himself
could he. But the Lord commanded him, stretch
forth your hand, and he did. And he stretched it forth, and
it was restored whole, like the other, like the other. Isn't
that good news? The Lord said to the man with
this weathered hand, he said, stretch forth your hand, and
he did. What amazing power comes with
the Word of God. He commanded this man, he didn't
invite him, he said, stand up, stretch forth your hand, and
he did. With the command of God comes the ability to obey the
word of the Lord. This again is the gospel of Christ
illustrated to us. It's an instructive picture of
almighty grace and how the Lord effectually, irresistible, calls
us with the gospel. We are that man with a withered
hand. Sin has withered us. dead in sin and trespasses. And the Lord said, come forth.
And we come forth at the call of God. Thy people shall be willing,
willing in the day of His power. By the preaching of the gospel,
the Lord sends the command of the gospel to come to Him, and
we do come. We're made willing to come. Not
by any natural ability that we have, For he said, no man can
come to me except the Father which sent me draw him. But when
he sends a command, blessed by the Holy Spirit and the Word
of God, that's the effectual call and command of the Gospel
to God's elect in the hands of the Holy Spirit. He gives us
life from the dead. He gives us faith to believe.
He gives us the mind of Christ to look to Him. He gives us a
heart of faith. To stretch forth the hand of
faith and to lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was restored whole like
the other. In the Lord Jesus Christ we stand
what? Complete. Complete restored. Whole in Him. In Him. He restores us in Christ. God
was in Christ reconciling us unto Himself. And He makes us
whole. In Him was all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, and we are complete in Him. Now, I just
get this scene pictured in my mind, the Lord confronting the
Pharisees, and the Pharisees confronting Him. And just happened
to be this man there with a withered hand, and He heals him on the
Sabbath day. And He did this many times to
show that He is the Lord of all things. Well, we give thanks,
don't we? that the Lord has restored us,
who were withered and dead in sin, raised us up together. And
we do give thanks. But look at the response of the
Pharisees. The Pharisees went out and held a council against
him, how they might destroy him. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. Some were glad. This man was
glad he was healed. Some got mad. The disciples were
blessed and they were instructed. But it says in Luke 6 that these
Pharisees were filled with madness and communed one with another
what they might do to the Lord Jesus Christ. Some were filled
with gladness. Some were filled with madness.
You see, the Gospel will always divide and unite. It will divide the sheep from
the goats. It will divide the chaff from
the wheat. The gospel is the saber of life unto his people,
but the saber of death unto death. It will unite the sheep and the
shepherd, the bride and the bridegroom, the church of the Lord, the church
and the Lord of the church, the Lord of the Sabbath. May God be pleased. to so work
in our heart and always cause us to rejoice in Him. That's
the command of the gospel. Stretch forth your hand. It's
the hand of faith. That's how Christ is received,
with the hand of faith. And He gives us the ability,
the will, the want to, to look to the Lord Jesus Christ for
all of salvation. We are the true Israel which
worship God in the Spirit, that rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and we have no confidence in the flesh. If you ask this man
in the synagogue that day, If someone asked him, well, your
hand was withered and drawn up, what happened to you? This man
named Jesus of Nazareth, he commanded me to stretch forth my hand.
He wouldn't say, well, you know, I did my part and he did his.
Well, I have my own free will. I decided one day that I'm just
going to heal myself. That man said, Christ made me
whole. That's our testimony. Christ
made us whole. And we're complete. We're complete.