Being Serious About the Sabbath

Aim: To be graciously and yet steadfastly serious about the Sabbath (as the church).

Doctrine: The church must be serious about the Sabbath because Christ's honor is connected to it. This is true among professing Christians and it is true of careless pagans.

Exegesis: How the church shows that we are indeed serious about the Sabbath: by taking practical measures to ensure its keeping (v. 19); by making official (ecclesiastical/gospel) policies that help ensure its keeping (vv. 20-21); by taking heart- (and personal)-account of our desire to keep the Sabbath holy (v. 22).

Further application: Why God calls us to be serious about the Sabbath: because it distinguishes Christ, His gospel, and His church as special (in the world) and it sends a strong message to all the inhabitants of the earth.

Key phrase: v. 19a ''So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath.''