These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Acts 17:11
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For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. — Matthew 12:8 —
The Lord of the SabbathSabbathExodus 20:9-10 Six days shalt thou labour, 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,... Is Saturday really sacred? Is sabbath a day of the week, or is sabbath a day of rest? Sabbath is about counting. After we have labored six days, take the seventh day off and stay home. That is how the commandment is written. It says nothing about which day of the week is which. The commandment does not say anything about going to Seventh Day Adventist church on Saturday, or any other church on Sunday. When Jesus told the people they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood, most of them went away and quit following Him. They did not understand what he was saying. He was speaking spiritually; they were not having the same conversation. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the sabbath, they were not having the same conversation. When Jesus says He is Lord of the sabbath, He is not talking about a day of the week. He is saying He is the Lord of the rest. Everything that the Old Testament says is a shadow of things to come. Once they are come, there is no more purpose for the shadow. The shadow is a prophetic rehearsal. Jesus is the One who casts the shadow. Once He came He fulfilled it. When it says He fulfilled it, it does not mean He perfectly kept the commands, although He did. Fulfilled means He fulfilled the prophecies. He brought them to pass. Jesus is the Sabbath. He is the rest, which is what sabbath means. When Jesus returns, the millennial kingdom will be the Sabbath rest of the earth. That is what the seventh day represents. It has nothing to do with what day of the week we call the seventh. It is about looking forward to that eternal Sabbath rest. If we make it about a particular day of the week we are doing the exact same thing the Pharisees did. We make man for the sabbath. The sabbath was a gift to man so that we would not work ourselves to death, and work our employees and servants to death. It was given so we could catch our breath and recharge our batteries spiritually, mentally and physically. Once every seven days, take a break. It is not about making a particular day of the week holy. It is about setting apart one day a week to focus on our relationship with God and not be distracted with the worries and labors of life. When we make it about the day, we completely miss the point; it then becomes a form of idolatry. It is not even about which day of the week. It is about one day in seven, take a rest. It is not the day of the week that is holy, it is the rest. Which day is number seven depends on when we start our work week. It does not say anything about going to church or synagogue. It says stay put. Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. Exodus 16:29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. Exodus 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day. Exodus 20:10 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: Colossians 2:16-17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. If we take up our cross daily, every day is the same. Sabbath does not mean Saturday, and it does not mean seventh. Sabbath means rest. Jesus is the Sabbath. Jesus is our rest. We no longer have to work our way to God, which we never could do. John 5:16-18 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Matthew 12:5-8 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. A New CovenantA covenant is an agreement between two parties. In this case, it is a covenant between God and Israel. As long as both parties abide by the terms of the agreement, the covenant will continue. If either party violates the terms of the agreement, the covenant is broken. Israel broke the terms of the agreement because it was too burdensome. They could not keep it. The new covenant is not burdensome at all. It is easy to keep. Matthew 11:28-30 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. He gives us rest because He is the Lord of rest, or the Lord of the sabbath. When Jesus says "the law," He is talking about the entire word of God from Genesis to Revelation. He is not just talking about the old covenant. He is not just talking about the first five books of the Bible. Torah does not mean just the first five books of the Bible, the way the Jews look at it. Torah is the whole Bible. If the New Testament says the old covenant has vanished away, it has vanished away. That is the law. Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 7:11-12 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. Hebrews 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. This is how the law is written on our heart. Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. John 13:14-17 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 15:9-12 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Galatians 5:13-16 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. I John 4:19-21 We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. I John 3:23-24 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. If you are only looking at it as the Levitical law, you are only thinking carnally. I John 5:3-5 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? John 6:28-29 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. Enter His RestIsaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: How did God "declare the end from the beginning"? By giving us the seven day week as a perpetual reminder. The age or genea of man will be six days or six thousand years. The last or seventh day will be the millennial rest of the earth. Hebrews 4:1-11 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
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Only Jesus Saves