Mark 2:23-3:6 - 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.
These two Jesus teaching stories that Mark groups together are,
of course, about the Sabbath. But they
are also about more than the Sabbath. Let’s
talk about the Sabbath first and move out from there.
There were many rules/laws governing the Sabbath. It was to be a regular day of rest where one
would refrain from working for a day. Over
the centuries since the Sabbath was a law, hundreds of thousands of pages have
been written to further elaborate on the particulars of this day of rest. What
constitutes work? Exactly when does the
Sabbath start and end? How do necessary things get done on that day without
working? What if an emergency requires you
to work on the Sabbath? These are just a
small fraction of questions covered by the countless volumes of commentary on
the fourth of the Ten Commandments.
Don’t get me wrong; these questions aren’t
insignificant. But it is easy to get so bogged
down and distracted by the endless questions about the Sabbath that one can
lose sight of the very core purpose of the Sabbath. In the first story above,
Jesus points out that this is exactly what has happened. Jesus and disciples are simply feeding
themselves on the Sabbath and what the Pharisees see is that they have violated
one of minute interpretations of what constitutes work.
Jesus points out two problems with this accusatory
question. First, the Sabbath was
intended as a lifestyle structure that would benefit the people who followed it,
not a law that would require unquestioned obedience to the point of going
hungry until the next day. Building a
time of regular rest and renewal into the weekly grind is a healthy practice
and part of that practice should include worship of the God who is Lord of
All. To worship is also a healthy
practice that benefits those who do it regularly. Neglecting regular rest and worship has natural
consequences that ultimately diminish a person.
But Jesus and his disciples were not neglecting rest and worship. They were hungry and so they ate. ““The
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”
The second problem is pointed out in the second story. It’s clear that the Pharisees are looking to
use the Sabbath rules to actually cause harm to Jesus and His ministry. They are more concerned about catching Jesus “breaking
the rules” than they are about a man being healed of a horrible malady. Mark doesn’t have to include any commentary
here to show how ridiculous it is that the Pharisees are planning to use the
healing of a man against Jesus. The commandment
to observe the Sabbath was never to be used to persecute others; that is evil
and Jesus slyly suggests that in his rhetorical question.
If you’ve read any number of my gospel reflections, then you
know that my encouragement is to always put ourselves in the place of the Pharisees
in these kinds of stories. It’s much too
easy to simply make them the “bad guys.”
When Jesus exposes pharisaical misgivings, He is also exposing universal
human tendencies to misunderstand, misuse, and even mistreat others using the
very guidance offered by God for our benefit.
I’ve gotten into trouble for breaking a rule in order to help someone,
but I’ve also quietly judged others for doing the same. I, too, have gotten so distracted by the need
to find fault in another’s actions that I was willing use a “technicality” to
malign someone with good intentions. I
don’t like admitting that I can be like that, but my observation is that most
people I have ever know can be like that. The first step toward becoming better is
awareness of the need to be better.
Questions: In what
ways am I guilty of misunderstanding, misusing, and mistreating others with the
guidance of God gives me for the benefit of myself and others?
Prayer: God, show me the
things in my spirit that are keeping me from the life you want for me, the life
that truly is life. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Continue
to pray for the people in SW Florida, particularly Pine Island and Matlacha. Pine Island does not get the media coverage
that places like Sanibel and Captiva do.
The island will be mostly uninhabitable for at least the next several
months. There are still many people
missing and feared dead. The situation
there is dire. Pray hard.
Song: Lord, Have
Mercy – Michael W. Smith (ft. Amy Grant)
