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.''
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Rev. Mark Henninger received his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and he has been Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois for more than 30 years.
