23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 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. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 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.
5 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. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 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.”
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Question 1
What kinds of things do you count as work?
Question 2
Why do you think the Pharisees were angry with Jesus?
We began to see in Mark 2:18-22 that Jesus’ life was entering a new phase in the history of humanity, with the impact of that on fasting. Now we come to another big topic which is the Sabbath. The Israelites were supposed to rest on this particular day in order to show that they were free from Egyptian captivity, dependent on God to provide for them, and they were supposed to enjoy a day thinking about Him. But the Pharisees had lost sight of the fact that the Sabbath was a gift from God, and had created a long list of things that counted as work, and therefore not to be done on the Sabbath. As Jesus’ disciples removed the head of corn to eat, the Pharisees say that this was the same as harvesting and so they were working on the Sabbath.
Jesus responds by showing them that people are free to do things when they need to. Reminding them of the time King David and his men ate bread they wouldn’t normally have eaten because they were in need.
Jesus then reminds them that the Sabbath is a gift from God for the good of people. So a person is certainly free to feed themselves if they are in need. Jesus himself has created the Sabbath day, and therefore has authority over it, to say what is right and wrong to do on that day. Since Jesus is always seeking the best for us, it is right to do what does us good on the Sabbath.
Following this, Jesus tries to show them that it is right to do good on the Sabbath. His opponents would have preferred that Jesus had left the man as he was, but Jesus says no! The whole point of the Sabbath is to free us from the burdens of the world, to show that we are free from addiction. And so he frees the man and gives him new life. With his withered hand the man couldn’t work on any day, but now he can. King Jesus loves to do good.
Question 3
What should our approach be to the Sabbath? For us, the Sabbath is a Sunday, where we go to church and spend time with God’s people.
Question 4
If what Jesus says about the Sabbath is a taste of what heaven will be like, what things do you think will be true about heaven?
Pray
for freedom to enjoy the Sabbat without working, doing good to all.
