Lord of the Sabbath - Mark 2:23-3:6

What is the value of asking good questions?

Maybe I should step back and ask, is there value in asking good questions?

Yes!

How do we evaluate that? If there is value, how do we make sure we ask good questions in order to realize that value?

Sometimes we’ve heard that “there’s no such thing as a dumb question”

Is that true? Not exactly. there really are dumb questions out there that lead to nothing.

The purpose saying that there are no dumb questions, though, is to avoid stifling questions. If someone is afraid their question is dumb, they may never ask a good one. So we encourage. There are no dumb questions here. You are free to ask any question because the more questions you ask, the more you learn how to ask good questions that get at the important information. I’m grateful for my pastor who often repeated the phrase “truth never needs to be afraid of investigation” There are no off limit questions. We want to be good critical thinkers who ask really good questions.

Why?

Good questions often stimulate thinking, causing an individual to carefully consider certain material.

Good questions can expose faulty thinking. They probe in and reveal logical fallacies.

Good questions can lead someone to that one missions piece of information that would bring all the pieces together and make them fit just right.

Good questions directly lead to our growth as individuals, and our growth as followers of Jesus Christ.

Not all questions, however, are equally motivated.

Some questions are innocent questions. They are seeking to accomplish one of purposes I’ve mentioned.

Some questions are more nefarious. They can be accusatory. Manipulative. Misleading.

I remember as a high school student and first beginning to stretch my leadership wings, I had a position with some responsibility for a children’s ministry. One of the other volunteers kind of cornered me one day and was asking me some questions. She was smiling, and her tone was pleasant, but let me tell, they were not friendly questions. She had an agenda, and she wanted me to go a certain direction with things, a direction that I did not think was right. But as a high school student I felt like I was under so much pressure to answer how she wanted just by the way she phrased the questions.

I can picture in my mind if someone challenged her on what she was doing her saying something like “what, I was just asking some questions. what’s wrong with that?”

The problem is that they were manipulative questions. Questions are not always innocent.

Well, the last several weeks we have seen Jesus be asked several questions. In fact, you could almost say that the entirety of chapter 2 is built around Jesus answering four critical questions about the nature of his being and minsitry.

At the beginning of chapter two, we saw the paralitic being let down through the roof and Jesus forgiving his sins. This leads to the question: Why does this man speak like that? He is blashpheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

This was not asked of Jesus directly, but he was aware of the question and answered it. An accusatory question loaded with indignation was answered with power: I can forgive, because I am God. and he proves it by healing the man of his paralysis. Jesus answers in a way that reveals his nature. He is God in the flesh.

The next section has Jesus eating with people most would consider to be the scum of the earth. Traitors. Sinners. Tax Collectors. The question is asked, again not to Jesus, but to his disciples: Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

There is an implication in the question. This is not just a question from curiosity. It is a question from their contempt.

Jesus answers, and he does so in such a way that reveals his mission: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”

Last week we saw that the question shifts from “why are you eating with sinners” to simply “Why are you eating?” It was a question about fasting. John the baptist and the Pharisees and their disciples were all fasting, but Jesus and his disciples weren’t. Why gives? Why aren’t you as pious as them? Why are you mourning the roman occupation?

Jesus answers, and he does so in such a way that reveals the results of his ministry. Why would you mourn at a wedding feast? I’ve come to bring joy. I’ve come to take ruined broken sinners who have nothing to offer their Lord, to take them by the hand, cleanse them from all their sin and say “you’re mine now. I’m going to teach you how to live as a Kingdom citizen. Those old ways just won’t do, and I’m going to train you to be who I want you to be”

This week we come to chapter 2 verse 23, where we find Jesus asked another question, and this is where things get dicey. This question is the most direct confrontation to date, and this is a confrontation about the authority and right of Christ over religous practices.

What we find here is that if Christ is Lord over the Sabbath, then He is Lord over all.. If He is Lord of the Sabbath, then He is Lord over all.

This section takes place in two scenes, two settings. The first is in a grain field, where Jesus defends his disciple’s actions.

The second is in a synagogue, where Jesus begins to go on the offensive and directly challenge the way the religious leaders thought and burdened others. Let’s see the first scene.

Scene 1: The Grain Field

Mark 2:23–28 ESV

23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And 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 was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And 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.”

So here is Jesus and they are walking through the grain field with his disciples on the Sabbath day. It’s interesting that the Pharisees are hanging out with Jesus, but that’s what you do when the Rabbi comes to town. You follow him around.

The disciples are plucking grains of wheat and eating them as they go, and that is a problem for the Pharisees. Why?

Let’s seek to understand the historical context here.

The Sabbath day was a holy day in the week. God had commanded the Israelites that every week they were to observe a day of no work. From sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, no work was to be done. This command was one of the Ten Commandments, and it is tied to God’s work in creation. God worked for six days to create the universe, the world, and all that is in them, and then He rested on the seventh day. The Israelites were to follow that example.

There are many misconceptions about the Sabbath day in history and today. For example, some people believe that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. I do not. Some people believe we are obligated to observe the Sabbath. I do not. This sermon is not about those issues. Happy to have that conversation, but it’s not the point of what’s here.

God gave the Israelites the command to observe the Sabbath. The trouble was, for the majority of Israel’s history, she did a pretty rotten job observing that command. In fact, not only was there a Sabbath day, but there were Sabbath years. When God sent the Israelites into exile for 70 year in Babylon, one of the reasons that God revealed was their neglect of the Sabbath years for centuries. The 70 year exile was specific to the Sabbath neglect.

So you can imagine why the religious leaders would be picky about this particular law. God has severely punished Israel for failing to keep this law in the past, and to them, they were taking a “not on our watch” approach.

Their question to Jesus is not just a passing “Hey, pal, what’s the story here?

It’s more like Hey Jesus! Look at what their doing! You gotta stop them! That’s illegal! Why aren’t you stopping them??” They considered what they were doing to be work, and that was forbidden.

There would be some urgency behind their question.

Before we look at Jesus’ answer, there are few more things we need to understand about the Sabbath and the Pharisees relationship to the Law.

First, the Law of Moses does indeed forbid working on the Sabbath.

Second, breaking the Sabbath, as we discussed is serious. Under OT law, breaking it was a capitol offense.

Third, in order to protect the sanctity of the Sabbath Day, the Pharisees and other religious leaders argued over what actually constituted work and what was permissible.

For example. The Old Testament Law doesn’t say anything about how far you’re allowed to travel on a Sabbath day, but the Pharisees stipulated that you can go no further than 1,999 paces. The Old Testament ruled that you couldn’t carry a burden out of your house. The Pharisees stipulated what was and wasn’t a burden, and didn’t allow anyone to carry objects that weighed more than a dried fig. The sad part is that there were a few loopholes in their law. For example, if you wanted to move a sheaf of wheat on the Sabbath, you could put a spoon in it. Then you would be moving the spoon, not the sheaf. Or you can’t tie any knots…unless you could untie that knot which just one hand.

It’s all rather absurd.

The Pharisees had added so much to the Law and were jumping on the disciples for breaking the Law, but the disciples weren’t actually breaking the Old Testament Law, but rather just the Pharisaical rules that the religious leaders had imposed upon the people as safeguards to avoid breaking the Law.

Think of it this way.

Let’s say there is a pit in the road, and falling into the pit is illegal. You’re not allowed to fall in.

In order to keep someone from falling in, we build a fence around the pit and say “hey, we think it would be a good idea to stay behind this fence, because it’s illegal and harmful to fall into the pit.” Well....on second thought. it might be better if you just didn’t even touch of the fence. In fact. maybe you should never get closer than 6 feet from the fence. Oh, you know what, if you measure the 6 feet using actual human feet, but you use a child’s foot, that let’s you get closer without breaking the 6 foot rule.

We might argue that the fence was put in place for wise reasons, but when policing the fence rather than the pit became the focus, we end up missing the whole point.

For the Pharisees, they’ve seen what happens when you fall into the pit. it ain’t pretty. So they enforce the 6 foot rule for the fence, but there are always the loopholes.

So the disciples aren’t actually breaking the Law, but Jesus response is not about that. He takes a much more interesting approach. He gives a three part reason for why its okay that they are doing what they are, and there is wisdom here. His reply is going to be so much more effective than if he had just gotten into a debate about what is and isn’t stipulated by the Law of Moses.

Instead, he appeals to three things.

1. The Precedent of David

There is a story found in 1 Sam 21 that tells of David who is running away from Saul. Saul wants to kill David, so David is literally running for his life. He shows up at the tabernacle and asks the priest for food, and the only food there is food that the Law says is only for priests. To eat this bread is a violation of the law. The priest, who does not know David is running from Saul, gives David the bread because of David’s desperation and urgency.

Quick side note. If you decide to read the story in 1 Sam 21, you might notice that the priest in that text is Ahimelech, but Jesus said Abiathar. Is this a bible contradiction? Jesus Jesus or Mark make a mistake?

As careful handler’s of God’s word, we will notice that Jesus said “in the time of” Abiathar, who was Ahimelech’s son. This was a way of speaking that approximated time and it certainly was during his time, even if he was not yet the acting high priest. It’s important to consider these things, because those who reject God’s Word will throw stuff like this at you to discredit the Word. We need not fear those attacks. End side note.

Why does Jesus appeal to David here? Is it simply “well, David broke the law, so I can too”?

No. Remember, these actions didn’t break the law, only the Pharisees additional rules about the law.

David was God’s anointed ruler, and God promised that there would one day come another Davidic King who would rule over His people. Jesus Christ was and is that King.

The Scribes and Pharisees would have looked at the story of David and said “well, we was God’s anointed, so he had the authority to do that with the showbread. It was a crisis moment, after all”

One commentator noted that the point is not about what David did, per se, but rather the fact that it was David that did it.

He wrote “The logic of Jesus argument therefore implies a covert claim to a personal authority at least as great as that of David”

David had personal authority by virtue of who he was as God’s anointed. He was in need when he approached the priest for food and the urgency of the situation and human need outweighed the letter of the Law.

Jesus is David’s Lord. Jesus is on a mission that carried a greater urgency than even David fleeing for his life, for Jesus’ mission is that of proclaiming the Gospel.

If David carries that much personal authority and his situation allows for his actions, how much more so does the Christ, the Messiah, the Davidic King who is himself greater than David, how much more does He carry personal authority to violate the Pharisees’ imposed code religious behavior?

Because again, Jesus didn’t break the Law. There was a famous celebrity pastor who made the statement that God broke the Law for love. That’s simply not true. Jesus never once actually broke the Law. But he had no problem transgressing the Pharisee’s made up rules.

Next, consider the purpose of the Sabbath

2. The Purpose of the Sabbath

The story with David illustrates a principle that is true about the Sabbath, and all the Law in general.

The Pharisees had taken the Law and turned it into the huge burdensome thing that weighed on the people. They turned the purpose of the Sabbath backward and upside down!

Look at verse 27.

Mark 2:27 ESV

27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Man wasn’t created to serve the religious Laws, and he certainly wasn’t created to serve the added laws of men.

Jesus says the whole point of the Sabbath was to be a blessing to the people. It was to provide a day of rest, a day where mankind could recoup from the week and be refreshed. It was to be a time of spiritual richness of reflecting on and rejoicing in what God had done for them. Man wasn’t made to serve the Sabbath, but rather the Sabbath was made to be a service for man.

Even though we can see this in the goodness and wisdom of why God gave the Sabbath, the Pharisees got everything twisted. They were so effective in their influence that Jesus words here would have sounded like a complete redefinition.

Which makes us ask. Who does this guy think he is? Coming in here and telling us what we can and cannot do on the Sabbath? Who is he who can declare to us what the purpose of the Sabbath is in the first place?

Jesus gave us a pricniple regaruding the purpose of the Sabbath. He finished by stating his authority to do so:

3. The Prerogative of the Son of Man

There was a precedent set by David, there was the original purpose of the Sabbath. Here is Jesus’ prerogative. His personal authority.

Mark 2:28 ESV

28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus here declare to them that he has the authority to make such judgments about the Sabbath, be he is lord…even of the Sabbath.

Jesus has been asserting his authority over various realms throughout the early portions of this book. Demons. Illness. Forgiveness of sins. Here he declares his authority even over the most sacred of divine institutions, the Sabbath.

As one writer said “The Christological states could hardly be pitched higher than this”

If He is Lord of the Sabbath, then he is Lord over all. This is the most fundamental aspect of the Pharisaical religious system. If Christ asserts his authority here, there is no area of authority that does not belong to him.

If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, He is Lord over All

Now. This brings us to the end of the chapter. But there are six more verse that really belong with this section. Jesus has defended the actions of His disciples. Now he goes on the offensive and challenges the position of the Pharisees.

Mark 3:1–2 ESV

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

Seems like you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The Pharisees at this early point in the story have already decided.....we don’t like this guy.

I love what Jesus does here. The people have been asking him questions. Now its his turn. The question asked of him are accusatory. Jesus’ question probe right into the heart and expose the illogic of the Pharisacial system.

Mark 3:3–4 ESV

3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

If you’re a Pharisee sitting there, what are you supposed to say to that?

With this question Jesus challenges them on two points.

First, in relation to the disabled man. Is it lawful to do good or harm? Well, obviously doing good is to heal the man. The way Jesus frames the question, not healing him would be to do harm.

The second part of the question is where the surprise is.

“to save life or to kill?”

No hold on here Jesus. Who said anything about killing? No one is advocating killing the man with the shriveled hand, are they?

No, but this part of the question does not speak of the disabled man, but rather refers to the Pharisees plans for Jesus. Jesus knows what is going on in the hearts of the Pharisees and he knows they want to accuse him. This question is aimed at them and their response to him. In effect he is saying “Are you going to tell me that I can’t do good to this man on the Sabbath, but you can plot to kill me on the very same Sabbath???”

Brothers and sisters, this is how legalism always works. There is alway inherent hypocrisy built in to any legalistic system. Now, I happen to think that the word legalism gets thrown around a little to cavalierly. I’ve seen the charge the legalism be used to cast of genuine authority and wisdom.

But where genuine legalism exists, it is always hypocritical, and always puts a burden on individuals rather than serve them.

The Pharisees added to the law and then policed that as if it was the law, even to the neglect of what the actual law was designed to accomplish in the first place.

So we so Jesus’ response to their silence:

Mark 3:5 ESV

5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Jesus is angry. Righteous indignation at their blatant hypocrisy.

Jesus is grieved. It breaks his heart that they would rather break Jesus’ body than break their made up rules.

The Pharisees? They reject the authority of the Messiah.

Mark 3:6 ESV

6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

They reject the authority of Christ. In just one chapter we see this shocking progression of the Pharisees in relation to Christ. They question in their hearts, they approach his disciples, they directly challenge him, they watch to accuse him, and now here they plot to kill him.

All because they reject his authority.

It’s easy for us to sit here in condemnation of the Pharisees. But there can be a pharisaical spirit in each of us.

So often we think that a rejection of Jesus’ authority means that we take away from the commands of Scripture. I know the Bible says to abstain from sexual immorality, but I’m going to do what I want.

Sometimes a rejection of authority means we add to the commands of Scripture. Jesus, your commands are quite good enough, so I’ve made a few adjustments of things to follow instead.

But if Jesus is Lord, even of the Sabbath, then his is Lord over all.

Our banners here proclaim that we exist with a view toward helping people follow Jesus. That necessarily entails a submission to Christ’s authority.

The good news is this:

Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from my, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus calls us to submit to His authority, but His commands aren’t burdensome to the redeemed! He calls us to come to him for his yoke is easy. The Pharisees added so much baggage to the Law of Moses. Jesus frees from all that.

Following Christ necessarily entails submission to His authority. But submission to Christ is freedom from the world. And that is a true freedom, indeed.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and thus Lord over all. And that is good news.