Thu Oct 15

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the word Sabbath.

Reading

Luke 6:1-11—Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Optional Reading

Exodus 20:8-11

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus said that works of necessity are allowed on the Sabbath.
Jesus said works of mercy are good on the Sabbath.

Questions

(Acts 11:18; Acts 2:37-38; Ezekiel 36:31; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Isaiah 1:16-17)

Why did the Pharisees get upset with Jesus in these stories?
How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees?
What did the Pharisees get wrong about the Sabbath?

Catechism

WSC #87

What is repentance unto life?

Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.

(Acts 11:18; Acts 2:37-38; Ezekiel 36:31; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Isaiah 1:16-1

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

In the first of these two stories, the Pharisees accuse Jesus and His disciples of profaning the Sabbath because they were plucking heads of grain. In fact, several commentaries note that the Pharisees found four different Sabbath violations in their actions. By plucking the grain, they were reaping. By rubbing the grains to remove the husk, they were threshing. By throwing away the husks, they were winnowing. And finally, by simply eating they showed that they had prepared food!

As for the second story, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees showed their hard hearts by using this man as a pawn in order to accuse and destroy Jesus. In both cases, Jesus reminded the Pharisees what the real intention of the Sabbath is. There’s no doubt that the Pharisees cared a great deal about the Sabbath. The seemingly ridiculous charges they brought against the disciples for eating grain was likely due to a carefulness to keep the fourth commandment. However, in both cases, the Pharisees went too far. They bound the conscience in matters where God left them free.

Therefore, we should learn from this that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He gets to tell us how He wants us to keep it. And He does this for our good. So, delight in the Sabbath and obey the Lord of the Sabbath!

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 92, 104a

Prayer

Pray that God would help you keep the Sabbath and make it a delight.
Pray for the preparation for preaching God’s Word this Lord's Day.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.