Matthew 12:1-8

CLV ¹ At that season Jesus went through the sowings on the sabbaths. Now His disciples hunger, and they begin to be plucking the ears and to be eating.” ² Now the Pharisees, perceiving it, say to Him, “Lo! your disciples are doing what is not allowed to be done on a sabbath.” ³ Yet He said to them, “Did you not read what David does when he hungers, and those with him:” ⁴ how he entered into the house of God and they ate the show bread, which he was not allowed to eat, neither those with him, except the priests only? ⁵ Or did you not read in the law that on the sabbaths the priests in the sanctuary are profaning the sabbath and are faultless? ⁶ Now I am saying to you that a Greater than the sanctuary is here. ⁷ Now if you had known what this is: Mercy am I wanting, and not sacrifice-you would not convict the faultless, ⁸ for the Son of Mankind is Lord of the sabbath.“

The Pharisees accused Jesus of wrongdoing for not making His disciples ‘keep the sabbath’. Jesus associated keeping the sabbath with mercy not sacrifice. He called the Pharisees ignorant of God’s true purpose for the 7th day. It was a day to rest and renew, not a day to be stressed. The Pharisees were using the sabbath to try to convict Jesus and His disciples of misbehavior. The disciples were following Jesus, hence they were away from their prepared food supply. When David’s men were away from home because they were following David, mercy over-ruled this technical conflict with the law.

But the whole bible was written during the old covenant age of types. And this scene was a conversation among Jews who were still in the old covenant land. What about outside the land? What about non-Jews. What about after the old covenant age of types ended and there is no covenant difference in land or nationalities? Does sabbath-keeping apply to anyone today? Does it apply inside or outside the typical promised land? What about sabbath years? Which land should be given rest from agriculture today? And why is sabbath plural in verse 1 above and verse 14 below? How can a singular day be the first of the many sabbaths? Didn’t the weekly sabbaths go throughout the whole year?

Acts 13:14-52

LITV ¹⁴ But going through from Perga, they came to Antioch-Pisidia, and going into the synagogue on the day of the sabbaths, they sat down. ¹⁵ And after the reading of the Law, and of the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent to them, saying, Men, brothers, if there is a word of exhortation to the people, speak. ¹⁶ And rising up, and signaling with his hand, Paul said: Men, Israelites, and the ones fearing God, listen. ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose out our fathers, and exalted the people in their stay in the land of Egypt. And with a high arm, He led them out of it. ¹⁸ And as forty years time passed, He tenderly bore them in the wilderness. Deut. 1:31 ¹⁹ And He pulled down seven nations in Canaan land, and gave their land to them as an inheritance. Deut. 7:1 ²⁰ And after these things, as four hundred and fifty years passed, He gave judges until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ And from there they asked for a king. And God gave Saul the son of Kish to them, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And removing him, He raised up to them David for a king, to whom He also said, witnessing, “I found David” the son of Jesse ” to be a man according to My own heart, who will do all My will.” 1 Samuel 13:14; Psa. 89:20; LXX-Isa. 44:28 ²³ Of the seed of this one, according to promise, God raised up to Israel a Savior, Jesus; ²⁴ John going before to proclaim before the face of His entrance a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John fulfilled the course, he said, Whom do you suppose me to be? I am not He, but, behold, “He comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to loosen the sandal of His feet.” John 1:27 ²⁶ Men, brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and the ones among you fearing God, to you the word of this salvation was sent. ²⁷ For those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known this One, and the voices of the prophets being read throughout every sabbath, condemning Him, they fulfilled the Scriptures . ²⁸ And finding not one cause of death, they asked Pilate to do away with Him. ²⁹ And when they finished all the things having been written concerning Him, taking Him down from the tree, they laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead; ³¹ who appeared for many days to those coming up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are witnesses of Him to the people. ³² And we preach the gospel to you, the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that this God has fulfilled to us, their children, raising up Jesus; as also it has been written in the second Psalm, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” Psa. 2:7 ³⁴ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more being about to return to corruption, so He has said, “I will give You” “the holy things of faithful David.” Isa. 55:3 ³⁵ So He also said in another, “You will not give Your Holy One to see corruption.” LXX-Psa. 15:10; MT-Psa. 16:10 ³⁶ For having served his own generation by the counsel of God, David truly fell asleep and was added to his fathers and saw corruption. 1 Kg. 2:10 ³⁷ But He whom God raised up, this One did not see corruption. ³⁸ Then let it be known to you, men, brothers, that through this One remission of sin is announced to you. ³⁹ And everyone believing in this One is justified from all things which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Then watch that the thing spoken in the Prophets may not come on you: ⁴¹ “Behold, you despisers,” “and marvel,” “and perish, because I work a work in your days,” a work which you would “in no way believe if anyone declares it to you.” Hab. 1:5 ⁴² But the Jews having gone out of the synagogue, the nations begged that these words be spoken to them on the next sabbath. ⁴³ And the synagogue being broken up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ And in the coming sabbath, almost all the city was gathered to hear the Word of God. ⁴⁵ And the Jews seeing the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things being spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. ⁴⁶ But speaking boldly, Paul and Barnabas said, It was necessary for the Word of God to be spoken first to you; but since you indeed thrust it away and judge yourselves not worthy of eternal life [life-to-the-age of 1000], behold, we turn to the nations. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, “I have set You for a Light of nations, that You be for salvation to the end of the earth.” Isa. 49:6 ⁴⁸ And hearing, the nations rejoiced and glorified the Word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life [life to-the-age of 1000] believed. ⁴⁹ And the Word of the Lord was carried through all the country. ⁵⁰ But the Jews excited the devout and honorable women, and the chief ones of the city, and raised up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out from their borders. ⁵¹ But these shaking off the dust of their feet on them, they came into Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Life to-the-age went to the appointed Jews and proselytes who were completing their old covenant age together as one body. Those who didn’t complete the age spiritually alive did not enter the sabbatism that remained for them. They were not appointed to life. The sabbatism that remained was “another day”. It was not the day that Joshua took them into the typical promised land. For if typical Joshua had given them rest they would not have needed the anti-typical Joshua to take them into the heavenly promised land that He was preparing for them. Therefore a sabbatism remained for the people of God. The letter to the Hebrew was written to the people of God to whom this salvation came. Jesus was and is the final sabbath rest that came with their millennium sabbatical. His rest is His completion of the age of types.

Hebrews 4:1-11

CLV ¹ We may be afraid then, lest at some time, a promise being left of entering into His stopping, anyone of you may be seeming to be deficient.” ² For we also have been evangelized, even as those also. But the word heard does not benefit those hearers, not having been blended together with faith in those who hear.” ³ Then we who believe are entering into the stopping, according as He has declared, “As I swear in My indignation, ‘If they shall be entering into My stopping-!’although the works occur from the disruption of the world.” ⁴ For He has declared somewhere concerning the seventh thus: And God stops “on the seventh day from all His works.” ⁵ And in this again, “If they shall be entering into My stopping-!” ⁶ Since, then, it is left for some to be entering into it, and those to whom the evangel was formerly brought did not enter because of stubbornness, ⁷ He is again specifying a certain day, “Today”-saying in David after so much time, according as has been declared before, “Today, if ever His voice you should be hearing, You should not be hardening your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua causes them to stop, He would not have spoken concerning another day after these things.” ⁹ Consequently a sabbatism is left for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who is entering into His stopping, he also stops from his works even as God from His own.” ¹¹ We should be endeavoring, then, to be entering into that stopping, lest anyone should be falling into the same example of stubbornness.”

While they kept the weekly sabbaths throughout the year, there was a special season of weekly sabbaths that led to Pentecost, also called “The Feast of Weeks”. The count to the 8th weekly sabbath in the 7 weeks of Pentecost started with the first weekly sabbath which was First Fruit. This was the season of the sabbaths.

First Fruit is the second-first sabbath. The first-first sabbath during the season of the sabbaths is the great sabbath of Passover. The great sabbath is the first day in the 7-day count of Unleavened bread. These 7 days are an old creation holiday. Unleavened Bread has a sabbath on each end, but it’s not the new creation yet. It overlaps into the new creation, which first arrives on the holy day of First Fruit. First Fruit begins the 50-day count that includes 8 weekly sabbaths. The new creation corporate is joined to the new creation singular on the 8th sabbath. This new creation motif was exemplified in 8th-day circumcision and the 8th-day sabbath of Tabernacles. The Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus’ complete old covenant humanity in order to form His new covenant humanity. The new creation first born did not start over from nothing on day one. It was a sabbath day resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection kept the sabbath.

Luke 6:1-2

CLV ¹ Now it occurred on the second first sabbath, He is going through the sowings, and His disciples plucked the ears and ate, rubbing them together in their hands.” ² Now certain of the Pharisees said to the, “What you are doing is what is not allowed to be done on the sabbaths.”

They also counted to 7 years 7 times starting with the first sabbatical in the land. The annual counts to 50 had elapsed 20 times before the old age ended. The “another day” was the day that the atypical Joshua took them into His promised land Jubilee in heaven. The day of Adam transitioned into the day of Christ. The type of the one that was about-to-be was put to death on the cross. He was resurrected to be atypical. The first born of the new covenant was born again into His singularly sabbatized creation. His 8th day spiritually corporatized the new creation no longer in the flesh. The 8th sabbath of Pentecost (circumcision of the heart) led to the 8th day of Tabernacles (spirit realm wedding) to fulfill the 8th sabbatical of Jubilee (final rest for the land).

Romans 5:13-15

CLV ¹³ for until law sin was in the world, yet sin is not being taken into account when there is no law;” ¹⁴ nevertheless death reigns from Adam unto Moses, over those also who do not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him Who is about to be.” ¹⁵ But not as the offense, thus also the grace. For if, by the offense of the one, the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace, which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds.”

If all times are soon then what is the point of saying “about to be” or “soon” or “this generation” or “some standing here will see it”? And why all the counting? Why all the first century expectations? I love C.S. Lewis, but I beg to differ with him on this point of total confusion: When the Christ-figure told Lucy that he would return shortly, she asked, “Please, Aslan…what do you call soon?” He replied, “I call all times soon.” Yet timing was so very meaningful to the Hebrews.

The 12 tribes who gathered for the day of Pentecost, entered the day of the Lord on that 50th-day sabbath. They consummated the day of the Lord on the 50th-year sabbath, which was the millennial Jubilee of Adam resurrected into the Day of the Lord. The keeping of the sabbaths were intermediate renewals by grace, to get them to their final salvation, by faith in God’s final covenant renewer. Adam’s 930 year age was taken off hold and completed with the 70 years of Christ, during the last days of the old covenant. He also provided the 70 make up years necessary for the second 490 years of missed sabbaticals. The sabbath types were all essentially fulfilled by the Lord of the Sabbath by 70AD.

The accusers of the Lord of the sabbath did not properly teach their disciples to rest from their works and trust in God’s covenant renewals. The yoke (teaching) imposed by the unbelieving Jews in the land was heavy. The yoke (teaching) offered by the fulfillment Joshua (and the other properly believing Jews) is light. Verse 1 is from improperly believing Jews. Verse 10 is from properly believing Jews.

Acts 15:1,10

CLV ¹ And some, coming down from Judea, taught the brethren that, “If you should not be circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can not be saved.” 

¹⁰ Why, then, are you now trying God, by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we are strong enough to bear?

Of course Matthew 11:25-30 is the teaching of Thee properly believing Jew.

Matthew 11:25-30

LITV ²⁵ Answering at that time, Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and of Earth, because You hid these things from the sophisticated and cunning and revealed them to babes. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing before You. ²⁷ All things were yielded up to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him . ²⁸ Come to Me, all those laboring and being burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am meek and lowly in heart, “and you will find rest to your souls.” Jer. 6:16 ³⁰ For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.