Jesus Christ is “Lord even of the Sabbath day”, but the fullness of that statement needs to be understood by understanding who Jesus was.
“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” Matthew 12:8. By identifying Himself as “Lord even of the Sabbath day,” Jesus was, in reality, revealing that He Himself was the One who originally made Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. The New Testament is very clear that Jesus Christ is not just our Savior, but is also our Creator. Notice carefully:
All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that has been made. John 1:3
He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. John 1:10
God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Eph. 3:9 KJV
For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Col. 1:16
Thus Jesus Christ is our Creator. The One who created, rested. Thus the Sabbath commandment, when correctly understood in the light of both the Old and New Testaments, points to Jesus Christ
Now some may say but God the great Jehovah created the earth in the beginning, but here is were the mystery of the Trinity has to be understood in order to understand who Jesus was.
Jesus is the Jehovah of ALL the Bible. He is the LORD Jehovah that walked in the cool of the day in Eden. Jesus was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus was Jehovah God who gave the Ten Commandments. Jesus was Jehovah God who was in the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. Jesus was Jehovah God who appeared to Moses in the fiery bush and declared I am that I am.
Jesus’ Claims About Himself - John 8 (New International Version)
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
With solemn dignity Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by Jesus.
Lets look at this story of Moses and the Burning Bush.
“14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex 3:14-15 )
Now scripture shows us even more clearly who Christ is, if we just let the Holy Spirit guide us into truth.
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
Re 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Re 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Re 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Re 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Now lets look at who is the Savior:
“ I, even I, am the LORD ; and beside me there is no saviour.” (Isa 43:11 )
“ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.” (Isa 45:21 )
“ Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.” (Ho 13:4 )
“ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;” (1Ti 1:1 )
“ But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2Pe 3:18 )
“ For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:” (Php 3:20 AV)
Now to those who have ears and hear, and eyes and see, the word of God shows clearly who Christ is.
No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” 1Corinthians 12:3
“ And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28 )
“ And they stoned Stephen, CALLING UPON GOD, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59 )
“ For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:” (Det 10:17 )
“ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Rev 17:14 )
Jesus is truly the Creator, Jehovah, the First and the Last, our Saviour and Lord of the Sabbath, and our Lord and God. It is His day of worship from Creation, the day of rest, made for man not man for the Sabbath..
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
The Sabbath was not just for the Jews, but for all mankind which the Creator gave us.
“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” Matthew 12:8. By identifying Himself as “Lord even of the Sabbath day,” Jesus was, in reality, revealing that He Himself was the One who originally made Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. The New Testament is very clear that Jesus Christ is not just our Savior, but is also our Creator. Notice carefully:
All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that has been made. John 1:3
He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. John 1:10
God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Eph. 3:9 KJV
For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Col. 1:16
Thus Jesus Christ is our Creator. The One who created, rested. Thus the Sabbath commandment, when correctly understood in the light of both the Old and New Testaments, points to Jesus Christ
Now some may say but God the great Jehovah created the earth in the beginning, but here is were the mystery of the Trinity has to be understood in order to understand who Jesus was.
Jesus is the Jehovah of ALL the Bible. He is the LORD Jehovah that walked in the cool of the day in Eden. Jesus was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus was Jehovah God who gave the Ten Commandments. Jesus was Jehovah God who was in the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. Jesus was Jehovah God who appeared to Moses in the fiery bush and declared I am that I am.
Jesus’ Claims About Himself - John 8 (New International Version)
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
With solemn dignity Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by Jesus.
Lets look at this story of Moses and the Burning Bush.
“14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex 3:14-15 )
Now scripture shows us even more clearly who Christ is, if we just let the Holy Spirit guide us into truth.
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
Re 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Re 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Re 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Re 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Now lets look at who is the Savior:
“ I, even I, am the LORD ; and beside me there is no saviour.” (Isa 43:11 )
“ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.” (Isa 45:21 )
“ Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.” (Ho 13:4 )
“ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;” (1Ti 1:1 )
“ But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2Pe 3:18 )
“ For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:” (Php 3:20 AV)
Now to those who have ears and hear, and eyes and see, the word of God shows clearly who Christ is.
No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” 1Corinthians 12:3
“ And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28 )
“ And they stoned Stephen, CALLING UPON GOD, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59 )
“ For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:” (Det 10:17 )
“ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Rev 17:14 )
Jesus is truly the Creator, Jehovah, the First and the Last, our Saviour and Lord of the Sabbath, and our Lord and God. It is His day of worship from Creation, the day of rest, made for man not man for the Sabbath..
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
The Sabbath was not just for the Jews, but for all mankind which the Creator gave us.
