Sabbath Conflicts

Introduction

Tonight we are going to look at the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3 of Mark. What we have recently been looking at in the book of Mark is a series of five controversies and tonight we will see the last two as they pertain to the same issue, the sabbath. Last week we looked at the previous two issues that dealt with eating and fasting.

The religious authorities of this time are against Jesus in all that he does. Their hearts are hardened to him. My plea to you as we start is to not be hardened to Jesus. Be open to him and what he has for you.

Tonight we are primarily looking at the importance of the Sabbath day and how the religious authorities of the time had a skewed understanding of it. Jesus desires that we have right knowledge of his word and that we do not twist it. Tonight we are going to look at what the Sabbath even is, what Jesus meant by his responses about the Sabath, and the Sabbath today in our post resurrection churches. Lets begin by reading about these two controversies and then we can dive right in. Mark 2.23-3.6

Mark 2:23–3:6 ESV

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 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: 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?” And 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.” Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 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. 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. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Here we see two controversies and they are the last in a series of five controversies. Both of them here that we are covering tonight are about the Sabbath so I want to start out with what the Sabbath even is and then we can look at the meaning of Jesus’s responses and we will finish with the Sabbath today. Let’s begin tonight in prayer then we can jump right in.

Pray

What is the Sabbath?

Exodus 20:9–11 ESV

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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honoring the Sabbath day is seen here in the 10 commandments and is the fourth commandment. The Sabbath was traditionally the last day of the week and it is derived from God resting on the seventh day of creation. In the Old Testament they had to rest on this day every week and there were laws around what you could do on that day.

The intention for the Sabbath day is to have a day of rest. I think that we can all see that as a general rule we have to take breaks eventually, we cannot just go and go for our entire lives. That is the intention behind God giving us this day, to rest. Within the original command given there are no specifics, there is nothing that says that plucking a head of grain is work. This is why it is believed that the only thing in the first part that they are disobeying is mans unjust laws not Gods. The same could be said for the second part of the story.

The Pharisees over legalized the Sabbath day by adding to it more than was intended. The Sabbath started to become a burden instead of the blessing that it was intended to be. Each of the 10 commandments are made for our good. We can twist them to be against us though if we are not careful. The question then is what did Jesus mean in his response to the Pharisees.

What Does Jesus Mean?

Mark 2:27–28 ESV

And 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.”

Jesus gives the Pharisees an answer to the first dilemma about the Sabbath that recalled the life of David then he finished with this statement. In the second instance where conflict arose surrounding the Sabbath we begin to get a fuller understanding of what Jesus is saying.

Jesus is telling them that the day of rest was meant for them and their good. You should always do good on the day and it is meant to be a day that you rest. In the story of David they needed food to survive, in the case of the disciples they had been working hard and needed some nourishment, in the case of the man with the withered hand why do good tomorrow when Jesus could do it right then. Jesus is saying yes keep the Sabbath but first understand what it even is. The Pharisees were adding to the words of scripture and imposing man made rules on it, so much so that you couldn’t even do some things that are good things by their rules.

How often do we twist what the Lord has for us and it goes from something that is good to something that is not. Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man. It was made for us. It is not something imposed upon us. This is true for so many of the commandments. They aren’t made to hold us back but to help us.

I have used this illustration before but it is a good one. In the game of basketball there are rules that are to be followed. Rules like fowls and travels. without these rules the game looses its fun. We find enjoyment in the game through the rules. The same could be said about God’s design, we actually find the most enjoyment and freedom by living in his design. This is why we follow what God tells us because it is made for our help not our harm and we want to please the master.

The Sabbath Today

So the question that you might be asking at this point is how does the Sabbath apply to us today? Many of you have heard me say that the ten commandments are still for us today so what does that mean in regards to the Sabbath.

The first part about the Sabbath for us today is that it is no longer on the last day of the week but on the first. We get this from Jesus rising on the first day of the week and from then on we see Christians gathering on that day.

We also see that today we are not under the strict regulations of the Sabbath. One person may take it more seriously than another but that is up to our own conscience as stated in Romans 14.5 “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” We are to still have it set apart but it is not the exclusive day of worship for us, we worship every day. In Paul’s explanation he treats the Sabbath like it is a part of the ceremonial law and not the moral law. It is still wise to take regular times of rest and as believers we are commanded to have regular times of worship.

The biggest thing about the Sabbath for us today is that it is the gathering of believers for worship. As John calls it in the book of Revelation it is the Lords day and it should hold some significance. I wake up early on Sunday morning and get ready, I like to dress a little nicer for it, I get everything prepared at home then I come here to the church and get everything ready for our worship, I then spend the time in worship and fellowship with other believers. When at home I personally will do some “work” around the house that I find relaxing like working on my lawn or fixing a RC car. I might also take a nap and read a book. Either way I find that I am resting from the typical task of the week and worshiping the Lord through it. If one of you were to call me needing help I would not say “na I’m resting”, I would help. You might be convicted to only seriously rest and worship and nothing else and that is okay, just don’t ever let it inhibit you from doing good and don’t think others are doing wrong.

We are to not neglect meeting together on the Lords Day. It is a foundational part of our Christian lives and something that we must protect. It’s okay to miss occasionally but we are to not miss habitually. This is not some legalistic rule that we have to follow but rather it is an amazing thing that was instituted by God that we get the honor to be a part of. If you have put your faith in Jesus you come to church not because you have to but because you want to.

For some of you this is right now, nobody brings you to church and you have the choice right now. For some of you you get brought to church weekly and this choice will not effect you till you move out. For me this was when I got to college, that first week at college there was nobody that made me go to church and I had a choice to make. What decision will you make?

Make sure you rest. rest physically and also rest spiritually in the Lord and never neglect to worship with other believers.

Conclusion

Jesus was often faced with controversies because people did not truly understand the Bible. This series of controversies is significant because it deals with the ten commandments and with our worship. The ending line of these stories also begins the series of events that will lead to the death of Jesus. Mark 3.6 “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” Eventually these men will succeed in their attempts to destroy Jesus, they will have him crucified on a cross. This is the most brutal death that you can die. He doesn't stay dead long though because on the third day he will rise from the dead. This is why we worship on Sunday, because this is the day that Jesus rose from the grave. This is also the reason that we worship at all. Jesus in his death made a way for forgiveness for our sins, our wrongdoing. The only thing that is required for this is faith and repentance. If you have not done this you will never truly grasp the significance of the Lords Day.

We worship because he forgives us of our sins. We honor the Sabbath because we honor our savior and thank him for all that he has done for us.