Jesus is Still Jesus Even on Sunday

Matthew 12:.
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
(Mat 12:9-16 KJV)
If we look back to verse one in this 12th chapter of Matthew we see the disciples shucking corn to eat on the Sabbath. According to the Law, this preparation work was to be completed the evening before the Sabbath so that no work would take place on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, being the Law abiding people that they were decided to question Jesus on this. Ant the answer he gives them in verse 8 should settle any conflict. He says that even on the Sabbath the Lord is the Lord. Let’s move to verse 9 and see what Jesus does following this.
I. Jesus Heals a Withered Hand
A. We see in verse nine that Jesus entered their synagogue.
B. The Pharisees were looking for any opportunity to trip Jesus up.
C. They wanted to make him break the Law so that they could prove he was a sinner.
D. Let’s stop and look at this for a moment.
E. People around you that know you go to church are going to be watching you.
F. They are going to be looking for something that proves that you are not high and mighty.
G. You know, they are going to find it.
H. We are not high and mighty, God is.
I. Even though we are not bound by the Law that was handed down to Moses any longer, As a standard for living, and that is what the word of God should be for us, we will go against God’s word on a daily basis.
J. And there will be a “Pharisee” there to catch us when we do.
K. Do we set aside a day for rest and recuperation and praising God.
L. “I have to get this done or that done and Sunday is the only day I have to get it done.”
M. Somebody that knows you that you go to church will see you and think, “They are not there, they are mowing, or chopping wood or whatever it may be.”
N. If people around you do not see the necessity in your life to come to church and worship, they will not see the necessity in their life for it either.
O. But Jesus wanted to use this to teach the Pharisees and eventually us that We are ot bound by the Law any longer, and people need to see that Jesus is we proclaim him to be.


II. Jesus’ Answer to The Accusation
A. I love the way that Jesus answers the accusation.
B. Remember the Pharisees are looking to accuse him for working on the Sabbath.
C. Jesus turns it around and he speaks in a language that the Pharisees can understand.
D. If a sheep falls into a pit, would they not lift it out on the Sabbath to save it.
E. Then he asks them if a sheep is worth more than a man.
F. How much more beautiful is a man than livestock.
G. The Pharisees could justify this, just like we can justify anything, by saying “That is our livelihood and we must take care of it.”
H. Jesus is saying to them “People are my livelihood, and I must take care of them”
I. He came here to heal us of the condition of sin.
J. He came here to show us what true compassion looks like.
K. Society today does not care about worshipping God.
L. Our god today in society is money.
M. Money is good.
N. We have to have it.
O. But we spend a lot more time chasing money than we do God.
P. Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees to understand that he fulfilled the Law.
Q. Do we understand this today?

III. The Plot of Destruction
A. The Pharisees then held a counsel to plot Jesus’ destruction.
B. Why?
C. He made them look like fools again.
D. How many times do we look like a fool when we challenge the authority of Jesus Christ.
E. By Jesus saying that the Lord is the Lord even on the Sabbath, he was saying that people are still people even on the Sabbath.
F. People still need healing and food on the Sabbath.
G. He was not going to let them stop him from he could do to help others.
H. He fulfilled the Law and now he was setting new standards of service,
I. He was being an example to us today as to what to do and not to do.
J. He wanted to teach the Pharisees that what they were holding on to was tradition and not Him.
K. How many times today do we hold on to tradition and not onto God?
L. When we hold to tradition and not God we plot destruction on ourselves and on God’s work.
M. We become our own Pharisees.
N. Jesus found out about the plot and left and we see that he kept healing.
O. He charged them not to make it known.
P. He was being plotted against and he knew that eventually he was going to die.
Q. But just like everything else about God’s word, Jesus would determine when it was time for him to lay down his life for me and for you.

IV. Application
A. Are we allowing God to use us every day of the week to show how mighty, powerful, beautiful and loving that he is?
B. Sunday is not for you. It is for God. Monday is not for you, it is for God, Tuesday is not for you, it is for God…
C. What are you chasing today? Who are you chasing?
D. Are you a Pharisee who is so concerned about what others are doing that you can not see what God is doing?
E. That is the way these Pharisees were acting to Jesus. Instead of praising him for healing the withered hand, they used the man with the withered hand to try and trip Jesus up.
F. The compassion was not for the man, but for their own selfish purposes.
G. When we use God’s work for our own selfish purposes we will fail and we will fall.
H. Are you a plotter?
I. If you are living a life pleasing to God, you will be plotted against.
J. But Jesus is Jesus even on the Sabbath. Are you still his?