Sunday 17 June 2012

Jesus himself kept the Sabbath day


MATTHEW 4:23
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
MATTHEW 9:35
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
MARK 6:2
2 And when the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From where has this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given to him, that even such mighty works are done by his hands?
LUKE 4:16 (About Jesus)
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
LUKE 4:31
31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
LUKE 6:6
6 And it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
LUKE 13:10
10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
JOHN 15:10 (Jesus)
10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Note: During his lifetime on earth Jesus kept the Sabbath day perfectly. He regularly taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath day (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:31; 6:6; 13:10), and habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day to read the law (Luke 4:16). He said, "I have kept my Father's commandments," (John 10:15), and these commandments included the Sabbath day:
(Exodus 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
(Exodus 31:13-14) "Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep: ... You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you:"
(Exodus 31:16) "the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant."
(Deuteronomy 5:12) "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it."
Did Jesus ever break the Sabbath commandment? No, because he himself said, "I have kept my Father's commandments," (John 15:10), and God himself referred to the Sabbath as one of "my commandments" (Exodus 16:28). Also, "sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4) [look at the context, it is referring to the ten commandments], and Jesus never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5). As Jesus was "made under the law" (Galatians 4:4), he must have kept the Sabbath commandment perfectly, otherwise would have been a sinner. This is proof that Jesus kept the Sabbath day commandment.
Every Christian has been called to follow Jesus (Matthew 8:22; 10:38; 19:21; Mark 8:34; 10:21; Luke 9:23; 9:59; 18:22), to be as he was (Matthew 10:25), to be conformed to his image (Romans 8:29), to walk as he walked (1 John 2:6), to follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21), and to be as he is in this world (1 John 4:17). They cannot do this without keeping the Sabbath day, because he kept it, and he is "the same yesterday, and today, and for the age." (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18), which is his body (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; 1:24), and it should be in complete subjection to him in all things (Ephesians 1:22), but it will never be so without keeping the Sabbath day because he taught us to keep it, both by word (Matthew 5:17-19; 19:17-19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20), and by example (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Luke 4:16; John 16:10). When Jesus was alive on the earth, his physical body was in complete subjection to his spirit, and he habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. If his physical body now, which is the church (Colossians 1:18; 1:24), was in complete subjection to his spirit, then it would also habitually keep the Sabbath day as Jesus did. As he has not changed (Hebrews 13:8), the church ought to be keeping the Sabbath day now, and will never be perfected in this life until it does.