Don’t Miss the Point!

2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 6/7/15
Mark 2:23-28


Don’t Miss the Point!
I. Of the law’s intent
II. Of the law’s purpose


I realize that not everything you see on a website is true. But this one seemed legitimate.

It was a picture of a restaurant’s menu. In an effort to offer something for its vegetarian customers, the menu featured a veggie burger with fixings for $14. But at the very end of the description of this item, the customer was informed that for a $1.00, you could add bacon. Bacon on a veggie burger? Doesn’t that miss the point of having a veggie burger in the first place?

In the section of God’s word before us this morning, we have a classic example of missing the point. The Pharisees, always intent on discrediting Jesus, had turned the Sabbath day on its head. Jesus declared to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” The word “Sabbath” means “rest.” God wanted his people to rest on the Sabbath. But the Pharisees were using the Sabbath to place more burdens on them.

On this day in his ministry, Jesus set them straight. He set them straight on the intent and the purpose of God’s law. Unfortunately, the Pharisees would reject what Jesus had to say.

People still do today. They miss the point of God’s law. And, sad to say, there are times when we do as well.

As simplistic as it sounds, I’ll say it anyway. Don’t miss the point! Let’s see what our Lord intends to teach us about his law as we delve into this portion of his word.

Part I.

The letter of the law verses the spirit of the law. Perhaps you’ve participated in such a debate. For instance, is the posted speed limit actually the limit? Is driving 4 miles an hour over the limit breaking the law, or is that the speed at which the flow of traffic is going? By doing so, are you keeping the spirit of the law which intends to make travel on the roads safe? I imagine people will engage in that debate as long as speed limits are posted.

On this day in the life of Jesus the debate centered on a portion of God’s law, specifically, the Third Commandment which stated, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” When he gave that commandment, the Lord went on to tell the Jews, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work. On [the seventh day] you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:9, 10). The letter of the law clearly stated and restated, “No work on Saturdays!” And, for the most part, the Jews of Jesus days took great pains to observe it. Meals were prepared a day in advance. They made sure as many of their daily chores as possible were done before the Sabbath began. Commerce ceased for 24 hours.

But it’s obvious that some work had to be done. Shepherds couldn’t leave their flocks untended. The sheep would scatter and be killed. Parents needed to care for their young children and adult children for their bed-ridden parents. Accidents occurred. Unforeseen incidents called for labors, as brief as they might be.

So, just what was a violation and what wasn’t? The Jewish religious leaders debated the Third Commandment’s stipulations. How far can you walk before it becomes “work?” Obviously you need to eat, but when does that life-sustaining effort cross over the Sabbath line? Is it work to light a fire? If so, is it lawful to light a candle? You get the point. It got a little silly trying to obey the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law.

It’s probably no surprise to you that the Pharisees pushed the letter of the law. On this day, they accused Jesus of allowing his disciples to do what they considered to be a Sabbath-day violation. Please don’t misunderstand. The disciples weren’t guilty of stealing another man’s crops. The law of God allowed for what they did. And eating on the Sabbath was allowed as well. So what’s the Pharisees’ point? The disciples were guilty of harvesting and threshing on the Sabbath. I suppose if the grain had already fallen off the stalk and somehow the hulls had already been removed, it would have been OK in the eyes of the Pharisees for the disciples to eat this grain. But not picking and removing the hulls. Not on the Sabbath.

They had missed the point regarding the law’s intent. The intent was not to get an entire nation of people to adhere slavishly to legal minutiae. God did not give his law so that he could pin the Jews down on every action in their lives. He never intended for the Pharisees to anoint themselves as the Commandment Police. His intent was not for his people to pile one rule on top of another until that whole legal system collapsed under its own weight.

So what was his intent? Do you recall the summary of God’s law? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s what Jesus proved to the Pharisees when he cited the actions of David and Abiathar. Abiathar gave bread to David and his men which was lawful only for the priests to eat. But at this moment, love for your neighbor overruled. David and his men were hungry and needed something to eat. Abiathar and David violated the letter of the law but kept the spirit of the law. That was God’s intent also regarding the Sabbath day with its prohibition against any work.

Don’t miss the point! Don’t miss the point of the law’s intent.

In other words, God gave his law to glorify him. That’s what the First Commandment is all about—God’s glory. He will not share it with anyone or anything else. Likewise the Third Commandment. The Old Testament Jews glorified God when they did their best to do no work on the Sabbath. We glorify God when we gladly hear and learn his word. But that was not the intent of the Pharisees regarding their observance of the law. Do you recall what it was? You probably don’t have to think too hard. Their highest concern was to use the law glorify themselves, to make themselves look like the paragons of piety.

Have you ever used God’s law that way? I know I have; not to the extent of the Pharisees, but I’ve done it more than I care to share. It happens every time I run someone else down. It happens every time I build myself up. It happens every time I compare myself to someone else, spiritually speaking, and conclude I’m better than they are. It happens every time I’m disgusted with someone’s immoral lifestyle, not because I’m so concerned about them spiritually, but so that I can raise my eyes to heaven and declare, “God, I thank you I’m not like they are.” That’s not God’s intent for his law. Don’t miss the point!

Part II.

So, what is the point of God’s law? Hang on; we’re not quite ready to answer that yet.

I have something else I want you to ponder for a few minutes. Ponder this: dangerous things can happen when items are misused. A few weeks ago, two local young boys were badly burned when they used gasoline to cause a smoldering brush fire to burn better. You don’t use gasoline for that!

We have an example before us this morning of the Pharisees misusing the Third Commandment. Again, God intended the Third Commandment to provide physical rest for their bodies and spiritual rest as they recalled his promise to send them a Savior who would win rest for their souls. But what did the Pharisees do? They piled more burdens on the people. They added their binding stipulations. In doing so, they heaped more guilt on the people rather than forgiveness.

They did the same thing with the rest of God’s law from A to Z. All the ceremonial washings. All the sacrifices. All the tithing. All the kosher laws. All the fasting stipulations. They threw their manmade rules into the faces of the people, proudly declaring that they had kept them all perfectly and demanding that the people do the same.

Jesus blew-up their self-righteous ploy right in their faces when he declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” His Father’s intent was to bless his people with the Sabbath, not burden them.

You see, the Pharisees were trying to use the law for a purpose the Lord never intended—to save themselves. Instead, the chief purpose of God’s law is to show us our sins. Any recent Catechism student here can tell you God’s law serves as a mirror. It doesn’t show us how beautiful we are; it shows us how ugly our sins have made us. It points out the flaws, the mistakes, the false intentions and the hidden agendas. It blasts us for our willful sins and reminds us of our unintentional violations as well.

And once the law has done that work, then it shows us our need for a Savior. The Pharisees felt no need for Jesus because they refused to acknowledge a single sin. God’s law not only points our sins out, it declares the punishment for sin as well—death in hell. Believe it or not, you’ve called me as your pastor to remind you of that every time we worship.

So don’t miss the point! Don’t miss the point of the law’s purpose.

If you ever get through the first 10 minutes of our Sunday worship only whistling a happy tune in your heart, you’ve missed the point. If you’ve ever listened to one of my sermons all the way through to the “Amen” and have said to yourself, “Pastor wasn’t preaching to me today,” then I missed the point. Shame on both of us! Because if we don’t acknowledge our sins and confess them, if we don’t see in each chapter of God’s word how we have failed to do what God demands and have done what he forbids, then we’ve missed the point, then we don’t need Jesus, then we’re wasting our time in worship. Let God’s law do its work—forcing you to acknowledge your sins. Then let God’s gospel do its work—rescuing you from hell, washing your sins away, robing you in the holiness of Jesus, restoring your loving relationship with your Lord, assuring you of eternal life, and motivating you with love for Jesus to lives of willing, joyful service to your Lord and your neighbor.

Don’t miss the point! For your sake to the glory of our Savior-God, don’t miss the point! Amen.