the book of Luke, Luke's gospel. So if you'll just turn to Luke chapter 13, chapter 13. And as you turn there, we've been working through the miracles of Jesus, and I still have a few more miracles to go. So this is the continuation of that series on the miracles of Jesus. And then also just want to remind you that this afternoon I'll be starting a new series and that series will be on the Lord's Prayer from Matthew chapter 6. So I do want to encourage you to join us for that. But Luke chapter 13 and we will commence our reading from verse 10 and it will go to verse 17. And this is the only account of this miracle. So it's only found in Luke. And I'm reading from the New King James. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and behold, there was a woman who had a spurt of infirmity, 18 years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. Verse 14. The ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. And he said to the crowd, there are six days on which men ought to work. Therefore come and be healed on them and not on the Sabbath day. Verse 15. And the Lord, the Lord then answered him and said, hypocrite, do not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the store and lead it away to water. So ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan is bound, think of it, for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath. And when he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. May God be pleased to bless the reading of Holy Scripture. Let's pray. Our Lord, we thank you for this wonderful passage of Scripture. We pray for your help this morning that you would meet us. We pray that we would see your glory. For Lord, we know that when we behold your glory, we are transformed from one degree of glory to the next. So we ask you, Lord, please, for the help of your Holy Spirit, For in your glory, we see glory. In your light, we see light. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, beloved, the title of my message this morning is simply, Jesus Heals the Crippled Woman. But now, as you read the title, the title may be a little misleading because really, It is about the healing, but it is really about what the Lord teaches us about the Sabbath day. And let me just say this. This is one of seven healings that Jesus performs on the Sabbath. Three of these healings of the Sabbath take place in a synagogue, and four are performed elsewhere. It is clear in Jesus' healing on the Sabbath As we look at Him interacting with broken sinners, as we see Him healing the infirmity of many sick and many demon-possessed, and we see the response of the Pharisees and the Jews, we come to understand that the Pharisees and the Jews had really corrupted the meaning of the Sabbath. And that what our Lord is doing by performing these healings is He's really opening up to us. He's really explaining to us what the Sabbath is really all about. Now the Sabbath is a covenant sign that was given to Israel. And it was a sign given to Israel for the specific purpose of impressing upon Israel that there was no trust, no rest, no peace outside of God. As Jesus healed these people on the Sabbath, what he did for us is he showed us that this sign was fulfilled in him as he served and loved broken sinners. Jesus also showed us that He had absolute authority over the Sabbath, that indeed He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and we'll explore that in this text. But as Lord over the Sabbath, He restores its true meaning. And He shows us what it means when He says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Hence, I believe that what comes out very clearly here is that the Sabbath speaks of salvation, and it speaks of deliverance in Him alone. So let's look at our miracle that we'll be considering. Let's consider the occasion of Jesus healing this crippled woman. Look at verse 10 with me, if you will. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. What's interesting is that for a period of time, our Lord was able to go about and he was able to minister, he was able to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath. And that would soon become a very difficult thing for our Lord and pretty soon he wouldn't be able to be in the synagogue. but he's teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day, and this happens. We read in verse 11, and behold, there was a woman who had a spurt of infirmity 18 years and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. This is a terrible situation. Here is a woman severely afflicted. In fact, the text tells us she was afflicted for 18 years with this terrible condition. Effectively, she was a hunchback. She could not stand upright. What also becomes very apparent as you read the text is that her infirmity was linked to some kind of demonic oppression and activity. Verse 16, Jesus links her infirmity to Satan's oppression. But how does our Lord respond to this woman? Look at verse 12 and 13. But when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And he laid his hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. Jesus saw her affliction. And at once he responded in mercy and grace. He healed her. His love went out to her. He saw her suffering and he delivered her immediately from the evil that bound her in misery. That should be something that's rejoiced in, right? But not so. Not so, especially by those who were the leaders and the rulers of Israel. And here we see the reaction of the synagogue ruler. Look at verse 14. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. And he said to the crowd, there are six days on which men ought to work. Therefore come and be healed on them and not on the Sabbath day. I want us to think about what this man is saying here. I want us to think about this man as we see him portrayed here in this particular account. What do we understand? What do we see about this man's reaction? Well, he's not happy, right? He's angry. In fact, the word is used indignation. He's indignant. He's a synagogue ruler. He's the official that's in charge of the synagogue. And when he saw what Jesus did, he was not rejoicing. He was provoked in his spirit, indignant because of what Jesus had done. Now he is just one expression of a broader problem, isn't he? Because this is not the only time that we've seen this kind of reaction. and indignation. The Jewish leadership, without exception, reacted in anger and hatred towards Jesus. for the things that he was doing on the Sabbath, for his healings on the Sabbath. Let me give you a couple of examples. In Luke chapter 6, verse 6 to 11, Jesus had entered the synagogue and there was a man with a withered hand. And Jesus healed the man with a withered hand. And we read of the Pharisees' response. They were filled with rage and disgust what they might do to Jesus. Then if you go over to the Gospel of John, There at the pool of Bethesda is a man who had been crippled or who was lame for most of his life. And Jesus walks up to the man. He was waiting to go down into the pool. And he walks up to the man and he takes him by the hand and he gets up and he tells him, take your mat and walk. And the man does exactly what Jesus says. And then the Jews find the man carrying his mat. And they find out that Jesus was the one who healed him and told him to take up his mat. And how do they respond? They respond with hatred because of what he did on the Sabbath, but also because he made himself one with God. The same thing happens in John chapter nine, after Jesus heals the man born blind. In John 9, 16, this is what they said of Jesus as they spoke about him healing this man who was born blind on the Sabbath. This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath. So this was the familiar response from the Pharisees and the leading Jews regarding Jesus' ministry on the Sabbath. They clearly believed that Jesus was a Sabbath breaker and that He deserved to die for breaking the Sabbath. Now I want you to notice the synagogue ruler's charge to Jesus. Let's look at the words carefully. There are six days on which men ought to work. Therefore come and be healed on them and not on the Sabbath day. It's very clear that the synagogue ruler is referencing the fourth command as it is given in the Mosaic covenant. There we read in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 9 to 11, that's the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. You nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. So we need to see that this synagogue ruler and all who were in agreement with him believed that Jesus was in fact breaking the Sabbath command. So the question then is, and the question we must answer is, was Jesus breaking the Sabbath? So let's try and answer that question. And we answer it by looking at how Jesus responds to this man. Jesus responds to the accusation of being a Sabbath breaker. Look at verse 15 and 16. Then the Lord answered him and said, Hypocrite! Hypocrite! Do not each of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan is bound, think of it, for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath? Our Lord's answer is very instructive, beloved, and we need to follow closely to what he says here. I want you to notice that the Lord calls this synagogue ruler a hypocrite. What's interesting is he refers to the woman as the daughter of Abraham and he refers to the synagogue ruler as a hypocrite. This was a synagogue ruler. He was a leader. He was a caretaker of a synagogue. And here Jesus is calling him a hypocrite. It's like someone calling the pastor of the church a hypocrite. It's a terrible accusation to make, right? Now, what is a hypocrite? Well, a hypocrite, by definition, is someone who pretends to be what he's not. He masquerades. He puts a mask on. He pretends to be something, but he's actually something completely different. And that is exactly what Jesus is saying about this man. He is saying, you pretend to be something you are not. You pretend to be concerned about preserving the true worship of God, but really the reality is you are concerned about losing your power and your influence by which you use to control these crowds. With all the man's hand wringing and pearl clutching over Jesus breaking the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler had no love in his heart for God or for this poor afflicted woman whom Jesus calls a daughter of Abel. And I would say this friends, the synagogue rulers showed by his hostility to Jesus and his lovelessness to this afflicted daughter of Abraham, that he was not a law keeper, but indeed himself a law breaker who had no love for a soul bound in sin and afflicted by Satan. And I want you to notice how Jesus exposes his hypocrisy. He makes a simple but absurd contrast and he exposes the hypocrisy of this man and all who agreed with him. Look at verse 15. Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? Jesus is saying, how can you say you love God when you do not love your neighbor? That is quite literally what Jesus is saying here. You care more for an animal that is bound but doesn't have a soul and an eternal destiny than a human being who is bound in sin and who is bound by Satan and has an eternal soul. Then Jesus makes the contrast that this man or these men have more care for an animal that could easily do without water for a day than a human soul in misery. And Jesus does something very important here. I believe he actually places the Sabbath day in the category of redemption and salvation by the way he answers this man. He tells us this is a daughter of Abraham whom Satan is bound. Verse 16, so ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan is bound, think of it for 18 years, be loosed from the bond on the Sabbath. He's telling us what the Sabbath is all about. I really believe that. He's telling the Pharisees and the Jews that they had completely missed the point of the Sabbath. And what he's doing by healing this afflicted daughter of Abraham reveals why the Sabbath was given. You see, beloved, the point of the Sabbath, as Jesus illustrates it here in this text, is deliverance and rest from the curse of sin and from Satan's affliction. Here is a woman of faith bound and afflicted by Satan. And she has been that way for most of her life, 18 years. The Sabbath was meant for her. And Christ is the fulfillment of what that day is all about. He came for her. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the substance of the Sabbath. And she would find rest and deliverance in his mercy and his love for her. She would find peace with God and freedom from Satan's tyranny. So let's talk about the substance of the Sabbath. And I want you to follow me because I'm gonna drill down into some important truths here that we find in the New Testament and seek to connect it with the Old Testament. Why do I say that Jesus is the sum and the substance of the Sabbath? Why do I say that he is our Sabbath rest? Because I believe that the New Testament bears very clear witness to this, important reality. As we think about Jesus' answer to the synagogue ruler, we need to keep some key things in mind by way of context to his words. Through Jesus' ministry, he made several authoritative statements about the Sabbath day. In Mark chapter 2 verse 26, our Lord said to the Pharisees, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. But when you go to Matthew chapter 12 and verse 1 to 8, you see what that really means. Jesus really unfolds it for us. You see the disciples were walking through the grain fields and they had plucked some heads of corn and they were eating them. And the Pharisees saw them and they accused His disciples of doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. This is how Jesus responds to them. If you want to go to that text, you can go. It's Matthew 12, verse 1 to 8. But I want to read from verse 3 to 8. Have you not read what David did when he was hungry? he and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. So what do we need to understand here? Well, we need to remember what Jesus says here, that the Sabbath was made for man. It was made so that man could rest in God, so that man could find peace in God and rest in God and completion in God. And that man from that place of rest and completion in God could worship God and hallow His name. The second thing we need to remember is that Jesus tells us He made the Sabbath and He is Lord of the Sabbath. In other words, to put it simply, it was made by Him and it was made for Him. Jesus has complete authority over it and He alone defines what it means. He defines it for us in several texts. And I think Jesus makes this point very powerfully when he says this in Matthew 12, four, that David and his men ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor those who were with him, but only the priests. Why did Jesus say that? The key point Jesus is making is that the law was intended to serve God's people rather than God's people serve the law. The primary function of the law, according to the New Testament, is what? Who can tell me? To lead us to Christ. To lead us to Christ. That is its true purpose. That is the service it performs. In other words, beloved, and this is important for us to grasp, the law is not an end in itself. It is not an end in itself. And then Jesus speaks about the law in chapter 12, verse five of Matthew, where he says, allowing the priest to profane the Sabbath by serving the people. And yet they are blameless. Jesus says this, yet I say to you, he says that, and they were like, oh, and then he says this, yet I say to you that in this place, there is one greater than the temple. What's the point? I am the very reason. I am the very fulfillment of the Sabbath. I am the one who brings peace and rest from the burden of sin and enables God's people to serve him in holiness. Christ is the end of the law. Now, Matthew chapter 12 verse 7 and 8 says, But if you had known this, what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. I have fulfilled what this is all about. And when we rest in Christ, we are resting in God and we are recipients of his abundant mercy and salvation. We rest from our burdens and peace with God. We have freedom from the curse of our sin and we worship God right. That is why God gave man the Sabbath. How do I know that? Because that's what we see in Genesis. In fact, if you go right back to Genesis chapter two, verse one to three, you read this, thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended his work, which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work, which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it he rested from all his work, which God had created and made. Now let me say this, beloved. You go and you read the account in Genesis of creation. The first day ended and then the second day took place. Then the second day ended and then the third day took place. And God was creating all along, right? And then the seventh day comes. No end to that day. No end to that day. In fact, We read on that seventh day, God rested, which meant everything was perfect, which meant that everything was complete, that all of creation was perfect. Man was in the garden with his help needs as God's priest resting in him, being refreshed in him, serving him, hallowing his name. God was satisfied. But that all changed. We don't know if it was the same day, may not have been. But to me it makes sense, it probably was the same day. That the serpent came and tempted Eve and Adam and Eve ate of the fruit and they plunged all of their posterity into sin and death. And they went from a position of rest in God and perfection and completion in God to a place of ruin. Adam was lost. And the result was that man from that point would be born in a lost condition, born under the curse of sin, born estranged, a slave to sin and death. Even his work would be cursed with toil and labor and sweat and tears. Man would be restless until God delivered him. He was cast out of paradise. He was cast out of his rest in God and his right relationship with God. where he was holy just as God is holy. But even when man fell there in that garden, God promised a deliverer. And from the seed of the woman, that deliverer would lead man back into that place of rest, into a relationship where man would once again be in rest and in harmony with God, be holy before God in his life and his service. And we know how the story goes in redemptive history. God, through Abraham, brought forth the woman seed through which the Messiah would come. He gave the law through Moses. And as a sign of the covenant with Israel, he gave them the Sabbath. You know, beloved, that the Sabbath is a sign of the old covenant. A lot of people think circumcision is the sign of the old covenant. It's not. Circumcision is a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. And circumcision testifies to the importance of regeneration, to the importance of a new heart. But why did God give the Sabbath as a sign to Israel? See, God said, this is the sign that I will make with you. I will make, as I make my covenant with you, I will give you my Sabbath. He says, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. But why the Sabbath? Because God was saying to them, there is no rest outside of me. You need to trust me implicitly. You need to rest in me. That's why when everyone else was doing their work on the Sabbath day, Israel was to be resting and trusting God, right? And we see this again and again, how they broke that. It was only as they rested in God and lived by faith that they would know true deliverance from their sin and freedom from the bondage and the slavery of the curse of sin and the tyranny of Satan. And their whole journey through the wilderness was a picture of that journey that would take them into the rest that God had prepared for them in himself. But it was only a shadow. It was only a type. It was only a picture of what was to come. Because even their deliverers couldn't ultimately bring them into rest. And you know what? Hebrews tells us that. Hebrews tells us that. Because in Hebrews chapter four, verse eight to nine, we read this, for if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterwards have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also, listen, ceased from his works as God did from his. Joshua brought them rest by leading them into the promised land, into Canaan, but it was a temporary rest. It was a temporary rest. He couldn't bring them real rest. Now, beloved, I want you to think about that. And I want you to step back and I want you to look at what Jesus is doing as he's healing this afflicted daughter of Abraham. What is he doing? He's opening up that rest for her. And in that rest in Jesus, she finds what? She finds love and she finds mercy. She who had been bound in sin by Satan for 18 long years. After the fall, man lost his rest in God. And he has been striving ever since. But you know what's been going on, friends? God, throughout redemptive history, has been working along with His Son and with the Holy Spirit, and has been working to bring us this glorious salvation. to bring his lost people back into the rest, that rest through his son, Jesus Christ. Now I understand there is an eternal covenant that God made with the son, and I understand that we were redeemed in him before the foundation of the world. He's a lamb slain before the foundation. I understand that, but when it comes to time in history, when it comes to historical, redemptive, historical understanding of salvation from the fall, The Father and His Son have been working and bringing to us that perfect salvation. And we know this, beloved, because Jesus confirms this. When Jesus healed the lame man at the Pool of Silo, He told the man to take up his mat and walk. And the Pharisees were furious with Jesus. And they were furious with Jesus for two reasons. First, because He broke the Sabbath, they believed, and because He made Himself one with God. Now, that's important. Listen to Jesus' answer in John 5, 17 to 18. Listen to what he says. My father has been working until now, and I have been working. I have been working. And you know how the Jews responded? Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him. because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God. Now we look at that and we wonder how on earth could they get so mad? Why would they get so mad at that? Well, you need to understand what Jesus is saying. The whole point that Jesus is driving me, is that this Sabbath that you're judging me over, this is the very thing I've come to fulfill. I'm the very one who brings you into the right relationship with God. I'm the very one who brings you peace. The Father and Jesus had been working from the fall through our redemptive history to bring these children to completion again, to rest in God. From this place of rest and completion, redeemed man would be able to serve God again and hallow His name because he's at rest and he's at peace with God. And Jesus is telling them and they cannot handle this. They lose their collective minds. I'm the only one who is accomplishing this. I am the one who is providing the Sabbath rest from the curse of sin and from the alienation from God and true service to God. And they understood this and they understood that he was making himself one with God. In other words, what Jesus was saying to them is, you know what? All your law keeping won't save you. Only I can save you and the work of salvation I'm doing, only I can do because I am one with God. There is no other place, there is no other way of finding rest in God than through me. You know what Hebrews tells us, Hebrews chapter one. I find it interesting. Hebrews chapter one tells us that after Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, We read these words in chapter 1 verse 3. When He had by Himself purged our sin, what did He do? He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Our Lord had just been telling the Jews before the crucifixion, my father and I have been working until now. The cross comes, Jesus ascends, and we are told in Hebrews, after he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. You see, beloved, when Jesus sat down, he rested, his work was finished. And when we connect this with Hebrews chapter four, we know that Joshua is a type of Jesus. The word Joshua in Hebrew means Jesus. He was a type of Jesus. But he couldn't bring them into complete rest. Only Jesus could. Only Jesus could. And he does it, beloved, because he is the sum and he is the substance and he is the end. He's the completion of the law. Just as God rested on the seventh day in Genesis 2, so once again God has rested because Christ has completed His perfect work of salvation. Beloved, it cannot be about anything else. It cannot be, because everything else is secondary. It has to be about that. Now I know, beloved, and this is important for you to understand, Jesus tells us plainly, he did not come to abolish the law. He didn't. Of course he didn't. Of course he doesn't just cast it away. No, he fulfills it in every way. In fact, he says in Matthew 5, 17 and 18, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Lord till all is fulfilled. Our Lord didn't come to uproot and overturn and abrogate. No, He fulfills them. He completes them from Him, in Him. As we walk with Him, we live and we walk in the light and we fulfill all righteousness in Him. I love the fact that in Matthew it says the heavens and the earth pass away. I happen to believe that's covenantal language. Maybe you'll quibble with me. I'm not going to argue with it. I think he's talking about the old covenant passing away. This is the very point Paul is making in Romans when he's talking about the Jews who ignorantly thought they could please God in their own righteousness and bring their own righteousness. And then he says this in Romans chapter 10, verse four, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Let me add another text to that, Galatians chapter three, verse 24 and 25. Therefore the law was our tutor. What is a tutor? A tutor is a servant. to bring us to Christ, to what end? That we may be justified by faith, not by the law, not by works of the law, but by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. That doesn't mean that the law has no purpose for us, no. It has every bit of purpose for us, but in Christ, who is the fulfillment of all these things. And why am I saying this, Bob? Because this afflicted daughter of Abraham came to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And guess what? She found the one who is her Sabbath rest. She found mercy. Mercy, and Jesus loosened her from her burden and gave her rest in God. Galatians 5 verse 4 and 6 says, But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive what? The adoption as sons. We're not slaves. No longer slaves under the law, slaves to death and sin, but the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your heart, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. It is glorious. And we miss this when we fail to see that the Sabbath is about rest in Christ. When we make it about the day, we miss this. And this is the purpose of it. This is the heart of it. It's about salvation. When the law becomes an end in itself and we mold it and we shape it because we're trying to keep it in our own strength, what do we do? We condemn others and we condemn ourselves. So let me talk a little bit about, secondly, the hypocrisy of the synagogue ruler. Let's think about this man for a minute. Let's analyze him. Let's compare ourselves to him because I think that there's one of, in every one of our hearts, there's this hypocrite that we see here. You see, hypocrisy is pretending or thinking that you're something that you're not. And so in this man's case, he thought he was a banned God. He thought he was keeping the law. He thought he was godly, but he was not. Bold words, pastor. He was not keeping the law. How can you say that? Because he had no love. Because he had no love. And he had no mercy towards this daughter of Abram. And he was angry with Jesus, who was keeping the Sabbath in the truest intent and purpose. Jesus showed love and mercy, which is the fulfillment of the law. And when God's law does not lead us to Christ, when it becomes an end in itself, when it becomes a tool and an instrument to justify our own ends or establish our own righteousness, or a means to gain control over others, and manipulate others who don't reach our scruples or our standards. What is it showing us? We are hypocrites. We have a legal heart of pride and jealousy and strife. And it always leads to more sin, even adultery and murder and murder. And I want to say this, beloved, when you think you are keeping the law, but nobody else is. That's hypocrisy. I'm just telling you, that's hypocrisy. When you think you are godly and faithful and everybody else who doesn't abide by your standard is wrong and you can be real pious about that. Oh, you know, they just don't know any better. We've got the truth, you know, that they just don't know any better. What are you doing, friends? You're taking the speck out of your brother's eye and you're missing the log in your own eye. And Jesus said, beware the measure you use to judge others will be used against you. But when the law leads us to Christ, when the Sabbath leads us to Christ, and we see that He's the fulfillment of it, then we are set free to rest in God. And from that place of rest and faith in Christ, we are free to serve our God, free to love our God, free to love our neighbor without hypocrisy. You know, the scripture tells us very, very clearly Love is the fulfilling of the law. Let me give you the text in case you think I'm exaggerating. Go to Romans chapter 30 and look at verse 8 to 10. I find this fascinating what Paul does. I could spend I was talking on this, but I have to limit myself. I had to trim the sermon down from what probably was three sermons into one sermon. And I don't know if I did a very good job with that either. But Romans 13 verse eight to 10, I don't want anything except to love one another for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. And then notice what he does. He gives us the second table of the commandments. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Every Lord's Day, as we meet together, as we ought to meet together, it is our privilege to worship the living God and rest in Christ and be accepted by God through Christ in our worship. But then to love our brethren, to love our brethren, to exhort one another to rest in Christ, who is our Sabbath rest, because we are complete in him. And it is from that completion that we obey Him, that we follow Him, and we serve Him. And our love is without hypocrisy. But let me move on, beloved. Notice the response of the synagogue ruler and the response of the crowd. And this point is the dumbfounded and the jubilant. the dumbfounded and the jubilant. Look at verse 17. And when he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame and all the multitudes rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. Think about the word put to shame. True love exposes hypocrisy. And Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath, who is greater than the temple, had spoken and shown these men what the real meaning of the Sabbath was, and had revealed what their real motive was. The only way they could respond was to be speechless. They were put to shame. They were exposed as the self-righteous hypocrites they were, revealing that they loved only themselves, and that they had no idea what the Sabbath was all about. Moreover, let me say this, we see even by this response that they found no rest in God. We find, if anything, they understood that they themselves were in danger. They were put to shame. They were judged themselves. The very law they used to judge Jesus judged and found them guilty as lawbreakers. And you know what, beloved? I want to say this to you. The law is a double-edged sword. When you use the law to judge someone else, it's going to cut you. It's going to cut you. Let me ask you, what do you trust in? What are you looking to? Who are you resting? What are you resting? Are you living by the law? Are you living by some code that you think is better than anything else? Looking down your nose at someone else? Looking down your nose at everyone else? Or are you living by faith in Christ? Has Jesus become your Sabbath rest like he had become for this afflicted woman? Have you found mercy in him? as countless many who are resting in Him have found. You know, it was a striking year as how the multitudes responded. And all the multitudes rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. The people saw it, friends. They saw the rest. They saw the peace. They saw the freedom and they rejoiced. A glorious thing had been done. And beloved, when Christ is at work, isn't that what happens? People are drawn. Look at this woman. She who was crooked. She was loosed. In fact, the Greek word for loose can be translated united. How fitting. She was united to her true Sabbath rest in Jesus. She was straightened up from her burden. She was rejoicing. There was peace and there was rest. I want to tell you that only Christ can straighten us up. You see, we're all crooked. And our danger is we think that the law can make us straight. It cannot. It cannot. Now don't get me wrong, the law is important. The law shows us our sin and it serves us in that way, but it has to lead us to Christ. It has to lead us to Christ because if all we do is throw ourselves back on our flesh in the law, the more and more we will find ourselves crooked and buckled and bent over and enslaved by Satan. And how many countless Christians have walked away from the faith because they cannot overcome their sin, because they're trying to fight their sin with the law. And the more they do that, the more they are pouring gasoline on the fire. And it is consuming them. Or they learn to pretend. They learn to pretend to be righteous people. They learn to massage the law. They learn to manipulate it. They learn to think in some way that they're keeping it. and they become self-righteous hypocrites and Pharisees. It is only as we see Christ, it is only as we find rest in Christ that we can find freedom, that we can find true rest, that we can be filled with joy. This woman is a picture. I believe. Showing us how Christ is our true rest. Liberating us from the tyranny of Satan and of sin and saving us and delivering us from the curse of sin and uniting us to God himself. But this also shows us how deadly a legal heart is. How deadly a legal heart is. When we're living by the law, people mean nothing to us. They mean nothing to us. It's just their righteous standard, man, that matters. It's just the fact that they're trying to save face and they want to look good and they want to be seen by everyone to be above reproach, but they don't care about people. They trample on them. They cast them aside. We've all met people like this, beloved. We've all met them. They're theological. Heady people. They know theology. They can dot their I's and cross their T's. But oh, you crossed it. You opposed it. And they write you off. And you may have been with them for years. And they feel nothing. That's a legal heart, friends. That's not love. That's what we see here. So my question is, are you living by faith in Christ? Are you walking with your savior? You know, the scripture says this, those who have been forgiven much, love much. And it says we see that all of our sins, past, present and future, have been forgiven in Christ that we are set free. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And it's from that place of rest and completion that we can minister to others. You know what that looks like, beloved? Just bear with me. Go with me to Galatians chapter six. And I will end after this. Galatians chapter six. Look at the heart of a man or of a person who has the gospel in their heart. Brethren, chapter six, verse one, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, This is a spiritual man. This is a gospel man. Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you too be tempted, knowing your own heart, knowing that you are where you are because of Christ, because you are resting in Christ. And from that rest, you can restore one who is in sin. bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Without Christ, we are nothing, friends. But in Christ, we are everything. And in Christ, we can love one another and serve one another and help one another to walk in righteousness and rest