April 28, 2020 - Today, I invite you to look at the first eight verses of Matthew chapter twelve. The context given to us is found in the previous chapter. At the end of chapter eleven we are hit with a proclamation of good news by Christ. He proclaims that all who labor and are heavy laden (which is us by the way) are to come to him and he will give you rest.
The verses we should look at today expands on this topic of rest. The religious leaders of the day saw the disciples of Christ breaking sabbath by picking and eating grain. Did they actually do what is not lawful? The oral tradition that developed around the Sabbath would seem to point to yes, they were. Christ teachings contradicted the oral teaching. Instead of mirroring what the Pharisees taught he teaches against it, we’ll see this happen again and again. Religious leaders had taken the day of rest and made it anything but rest. Christ tells the crowd that he desires mercy, not sacrifice. Our Lord desires mercy and not whether one eats grain. He declares himself Lord of the Sabbath. That is why he can give rest. That is why we say that Christ is a comfort for the sinner. We are restless people folks. That is a hard truth. Even in our pursuit of rest we often find restlessness. We just have a desire to control, to do something, to work for something. The Gospel message is not one of you must do this and rest will be found. Folks, the message is that Christ already has done it! He has done it for you, trust in him. You don’t have to be restless! Rest in Christ. Through him we are forgiven.
Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at wynter@mariposachurch.org. Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.
Pastor’s Corner is a column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.
The Church has moved locations, services are now held at the Bootjack Stompers Hall (located at 4662 Morman Bar Crossing) across from the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.
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