Mark 2:23-28
23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.
24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25 And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;
26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”
27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath Controversy
Distorted Sabbath
The origin of the Sabbath lies in the fact that God has given it to bless humanity. While circumcision is a sign of Abrahamic Covenant, the Sabbath became a sign of the Sinai Covenant, the covenant God made with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai (Ex. 31:13). Being liberated from labor once a week became evidence of their status as free people. However, in later times, the Jews, in their emphasis on the Sabbath laws, fell into legalism. In today’s passage, the Pharisees accuse Jesus and His disciples of violating the Sabbath. What was the issue? The act of travelers picking and eating grains from a wheat field was permissible (Deut. 23:25). The problem arose because this occurred on the Sabbath. The Pharisees believed there were four sins within this seemingly insignificant act. (1) Picking the wheat constituted harvesting, which was considered work on the Sabbath. (2) Additionally, there was the sin of threshing, (3) sin of separating the grain from the chaff, and (4) sin of preparing food. This may seem like splitting hairs, but we are not entirely unrelated to such Pharisaic mindset. Have we not recently fixated on minor matters? Without love as the driving force, we cannot truly bring life to others.
Meaning of Sabbath
What Jesus is referring to is an incident from David’s life (1 Sam. 21:3-6). David took and ate the “consecrated bread” from the house of God and also gave it to his men. Eating the “consecrated bread” was a privilege reserved only for the priests. However, no one condemned David’s actions, because human needs were valued over the regulations of the Law. Later, Jesus made a remarkable declaration, “The Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.” This was a Messianic proclamation made by Jesus. If David could go beyond the regulations of the Law, then Jesus, the “Son of David,” surely is not bound by the Sabbath regulations. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Furthermore, the Sabbath was instituted for the benefit of humanity. What we need is not merely to adhere to the regulations of the Law, but to live out the spirit of the Law in our everyday lives.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, please give me the wisdom to practice the spirit of the Law. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.