Matthew 12- Lord Of The Sabbath

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At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Matthew 12:1-4

One of the most debated issues of Christianity still  today is about “Keeping The Sabbath”, are Chrstians to “Keep The Sabbath”? What does it mean to Keep The Sabbath? What is the Sabbath? The Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:13, 17) It was the sign to set apart Israel from the surrounding Pagan nations, much like Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant to set them apart

Sabbath simply means “Rest” , as I talked about in my previous post, Jesus Is Our Rest (Matthew 11:28) Keeping The Sabbath as a Christian is to Abide in Jesus Christ, you can’t enter into God’s Rest without Christ (Hebrews 4) Nobody can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6) To “Keep The Sabbath” without Christ , would be pointless and useless. Salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 4:12)

So as we look at our gospel reading today, we see Jesus and the Apostles “Breaking The Sabbath”, they are traveling on the Sabbath, eating and picking corn on the Sabbath. When the Pharisees called them out on their actions, what they didn’t realize is Jesus Is Lord of The Sabbath, Jesus is Lord of Lords, Jesus is The Sabbath

Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. Matthew 12:5-8

Jesus said “Something greater than the Temple is Here” Christ was talking about himself, remember “Destroy this temple in 3 days I will raise it Up” (John 2:19) Christ is the fulfillment of The Temple, Christ is the fulfillment of The Sabbath, Christ is the fulfillment of The Law. All of the things were shadows to point to Christ, but now the Christ is here! God became Flesh and He lived among us (John 1:14) You kept The Sabbath to learn about Christ, but now the Christ has come!

The Temple was the focal point of the Mosaic Covenant, without the Temple nothing could be accomplished. But now something greater than The Temple is here, the sacrificial system pointed to Christ, the Levitical priest line point to Christ, the show bread pointed to Christ, and Christ raised up His Temple on the 3rd day defeating sin and death forever!

Jesus is Lord of The Sabbath, He didn’t regard Breaking the Sabbath because Christ is The Sabbath. We don’t just worship Christ one day a week, we worship Christ seven days a week, and we only enter into God’s Rest through Christ , Amen!

Matthew 11- Rest In Christ

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At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Matthew 11:25-27

 How can we know God? How can we become saved? It’s only through Jesus Christ (John 14:6) Jesus said “Nobody knows the Father God except the Son” All these religious people trying to bypass Christ , can never get to God. That’s why Jesus said “Father God hid these things from the wise “ Many religious people are not saved and never actually knew God at all, because you can only know God through Christ

Jesus said “To whom the Son will reveal Him (God)” Christ chooses us before we choose Him (Ephesians 1:4) This is a concept hard for us to grasp, that even when we were dead in our sins, Jesus called us and drew us towards Him to become reborn. All the religious practices of a lifetime can’t replace this supernatural event of becoming Born Again (John 3)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Come to Jesus and Christ will give you Rest , Jesus is our Sabbath Rest. You can’t enter into God’s Rest without Christ (Hebrews 4) To try and Keep the Sabbath without Christ is pointless, you are still dead in your sins (Ephesians 2) You need Christ as your Sabbath, you need to be Yoked with Christ, Abide in Jesus and Christ will show you the way. 

When we look at The Law , we see our sinful nature, we see the enormous task of trying to “Keep The Law”, however Christ said “My Yoke Is Easy and My Burden Is Light” Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross (John 19:30) Share the Yoke of Christ and Jesus will Give You Rest

Billions of people try to find God without Christ, they try to earn their own salvation, they all fail because Jesus Christ is the Living Son of God and The Lord is the only one who can give us Rest and reconcile us back to God, Amen!

Matthew 11- Repent or Perish

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Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. Matthew 11:20-22

Woe to the Unrepentant Sinner! We live in a world where everyone preaches “Jesus Is Love” but nobody preaches about repentance and obedience. Let’s look at the words of Jesus Christ today,  “He began to denounce the cities because they did not repent” As Jesus said “Repent or Perish” (Luke 13:3) Repentance is not an option, it’s a requirement for salvation. Unless we truly repent, we will perish according to Christ

So what does it mean to repent? Repent means to turn away or turn around from your sinful ways. To truly repent means to change, not to be doing or stuck in the same sin as before you became saved. You are either a slave to Sin or a slave to Christ (Romans 6:20)

Jesus said “It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Judgment, than for you” It’s interesting because Tyre and Sidon were pagan nations, who even though they witnessed miracles performed by Christ, the majority of them still rejected Him. It will be worse at the day of Judgment for anyone who doesn’t repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. 

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matthew 11:23-24

Jesus makes another interesting statement “It would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment, than for you” Everyone knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed them with fire and brimstone, Jesus said a worse fate for the unrepentant sinner, of course Christ is referencing Hell

Jesus is giving us a wake up call, a warning, repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ, before it’s too late. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, repent of perish Amen!

Matthew 11- Greatest Prophet

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And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:7-11

What would you expect the greatest prophet to look like? Would you expect them with great beauty? Would you expect them with the clothing and authority of a King? Well, our preconceived notions are all wrong! John the Baptist was probably a man most of us wouldn’t want to be seen with in public, we lived in the desert, eating bugs, and wearing camel hair. However Jesus Christ said “John is the greatest of all prophets” (v11) 

Just as Jesus identified himself as the Christ, with scripture, Jesus is also identifying who John the Baptist is with scripture. You can’t understand the New Testament until you have a grasp of the Old Testament. If you “unhitch” from the Old Testament, the New Testament would make no sense. Christ is identifying John the Baptist as the “Messenger or Yahweh” to prepare the way for Jesus

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:12-15

Jesus makes an interesting statement here “For all The Prophets and Law prophesied until John”  A couple things can be taken away from this , John the Baptist was the last of the Prophets as all prophecies are foretelling about Christ. Secondly The Law is fulfilled with Christ (Matthew 5:17) Everything from the Old Testament was pointing to the coming and the fulfillment of Jesus Christ! (Luke 24: 44)

But what happened to John the Baptist? He was rejected and eventually killed by beheading. What happened to Jesus Christ? He was despised and rejected and crucified on a cross (Isaiah 53) As Jesus said “They who have ears, let them hear” Most of the world has no spiritual discernment, even though God foretold about the coming of Christ, most of the world has rejected God’s salvation

If you want to know the real Jesus, read your Bible, pray without ceasing to God, and ask for the Holy Spirit , Amen!

Luke 24- Christ Is Risen

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Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Luke 24:1-6

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, the greatest day in the history of the world. The day when God defeated sin and death forever and reconciled us back to the Father. This was all accomplished in a way that was beyond our human comprehension. Nobody ever expected God to become a man, in Jesus Christ, and die for the penalty of our sins. Then be risen on the 3rd day abolishing sin and death forever. The mystery of the gospel was fulfilled on this blessed Sunday morning!

As we see the woman came to the tomb on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. This is why the Church traditionally worshiped and gathered on Sunday morning, it had nothing to do with paganism or greek mythology, this was all about the event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire Christian faith is based on this event, as Paul said “If Christ is not risen, then we are faith is useless” ( 1 Corinthians 15:14) Without the resurrection of Christ , there is no Christianity, there is no deliverance from your sin, there is no reconciliation back to our Heavenly Father. 

He is not here, He is Risen, this is what the angels declared at the tomb. Remember how he spoke to you when he was at Galilee?  Jesus foretold of this moment , however the disciples didn’t understand until the tomb was empty!

Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. Luke 24:7-12

It says “They remembered His words” When the disciples saw the empty tomb, a lightbulb went off in their heads, The Lord prophesied about this moment and now it has been fulfilled. Now when the woman disciples originally ran back to the male disciples, they didn’t believe them. So Peter ran to the tomb to check for himself, it was just as the woman said, the tomb was empty! The Lord has Risen!

The stone has been rolled away, no longer is their a veil, a barrier between us and God. We have now been reconciled back to God, sin and death are defeated because Christ The Lord has Risen today! Hallelujah!