One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
We are surrounded by rules. We make rules in our society, in our churches, in our families. Many of them are unwritten. Sometimes, we try to soften the idea by saying it is a principle, or a routine.
In society, we have laws. When those rules were first put in place, the principles from which they flowed were well understood. But as time goes on nuanced interpretations are needed.
This section of Mark's Gospel, the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3, are both about the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a big deal for God's people.
Exodus 20:8-11 says:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
And from that a whole ever increasing list of do's and don't arose. How do you define work?
By the time of Jesus, religious people had made this one of the crucial distinguishing marks of being God's people. Honouring the Sabbath is to honour God. It is more than a rule. It is a commandment.
When I was growing up, most stores were closed on Sunday. Many places had “blue laws” which prohibited the sale of certain products like alcohol on Sunday.
Today, it is news when a store is closed not just on Sunday, but on Christmas. In our world today, all days of the year are days to work.
Honouring God, by not working on and taking a day of resting with God, is a excellent intention. God does command it. There are so many jobs, within health care for example, that Sabbath can be a day other than Sunday.
Any rule that is enforced in isolation, enforced to the limit, begins to look like tyranny.
In the passage at the end of Mark 2, objections are made against the disciples rubbing their hands together (that is the work) to have some sustenance. You and I might think this ludicrous because it is a small amount of work. Jesus takes on the objections not by the “degree to which” they have broken the law, but whether or not they have really broken the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
God's intent for the Sabbath was for the good of people. We need that weekly rest.
In Mark 3, Jesus uses his power to regenerate a human’s hand. Again, Jesus appeals to the principle by asking the question,
“Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”
Jesus, has the power to heal. If He does not, He is in one way not doing the good His Father calls him to do.
I am not saying that we ignore the Sabbath. Too many violate this commandment. Nor am I suggesting that we rationalise away God’s Laws.
Rather, look at what Mark is describing. There is a growing, increasingly intense conflict. In verse 3:2 they were lying in wait in order to accuse Him. In verse 3:5 Jesus looked out upon them in anger. In verse 3:6 they leave plotting on how to destroy Him.
In the Gospels, we see that the conflict between Jesus and his opponents is often the most intense when he heals on the Sabbath. Jesus is challenging their power. Their power flows from their position as the keepers of all the rules.
When those holding power collide with principle, something has to give.
Which leads to the question, where in my life am I trying to hold power over God, instead of embracing His principle? How about you?
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