Lord of the Sabbath - Tewantin

JESUS in Galilee - Lord of the Sabbath June 2, 2024 Mark 2:23-3:6 Rev’d Lynda Johnson We’re beginning a new series from the Gospel of Mark, looking at the early ministry of Jesus in the north, in Galilee. Around towns like Capernaum and Nazareth. Around the place it’s thought the 5,000 were fed, and where it’s thought the Sermon on the Mount could have been preached. It’s near where Simon Peter lived. All places very close to the Sea of Galilee, which is where Jesus called many of his disciples to follow him. These are some photos of Galilee as it is today, but the landscape wouldn’t have changed that much over the last 2000 years. Buildings yes, landscape no. We’re going to be looking at the end of chapter 2 through to chapter 5. Just a bit over three chapters. There’s some confrontations, some parables, some miracles, and we’ll see what we can ascertain about who Jesus is, and what difference he makes. And part of this is going to be a realisation that we are to be both with Jesus, and sent out by Jesus. What does it mean to be HIS. And what is the difference about being HIS. Six weeks in these 3 and a bit chapters of Mark. Today our rst topic is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. And we’ve got some confrontation happening here with the Pharisees. So Mark gets right into it from the very beginning of his gospel, and even by the middle of chapter 1, Jesus is already in huge demand. 1:28 says 'News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee'. In 1:37 the disciples come to him and say, 'where have you been! Everyone is looking for you!' So his reputation had rapidly spread. But that reputation isn’t necessarily a good one with everybody. The people may be screaming for more of him, a bit like buying tickets as soon as they’re available, but the religious leaders - well that’s another story. So our reading started in v.23 today, but in the rst 22 verses of chapter 2 we’ve already had three confrontations with the Pharisees. One about blasphemy - because Jesus forgave sins; One about his choices of dinner companions - and it certainly shouldn’t be with tax collectors and sinners! And one about fasting - while other religious people were fasting, Jesus and his disciples were not. So it’s very clear that the Pharisees are on his case! fi fi Page 1 of 5 But before we get into the passage - lets see if you recognise some bits of the old testament. What I want us to do today is to think about what Sabbath is; and what Sabbath isn’t. So let’s think about Sabbath being about: • creation • salvation • covenant • recreation; re-creation And that Sabbath is not about: • legalism • cruelty Do you recognise this from Genesis 2:1-3? Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had nished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Sabbath is borne out of creation, God’s creative acts, and as we are made in his image, we are to resemble him. Do you remember following the great exodus from Egypt, and God’s people had crossed the Red Sea, and they rejoiced greatly, but it didn’t take them long to begin whinging. No food, no water. And God provided manna for them. Exodus 16:22 & 23 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much, two omers for each person, and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, "This is what the Lord commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning..’ So Sabbath comes with salvation, with redemption, their escape from Egypt. and Sabbath is intrinsic to God’s provision for them. Do you recognise this from Exodus 20:8-11 - the 10 Commandments Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. So the Sabbath is embedded in the Covenant - God’s protection and promise, and our response to that. Creation, redemption, covenant. And then this from three chapters later, which gives some more explanation on the commandment - Exodus 23:12 fi Page 2 of 5 Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed. So, central to this idea of Sabbath is one of refreshment, or re-creation. It is a necessary part of life’s rhythym. So what is it that Jesus does …. Well, he and his disciples are walking through a grain eld on the Sabbath, and his disciples are plucking heads of grain and chewing on them. The Pharisees are looking on, and they jump on this as breaking the Sabbath law. Horror of horrors, they’re reaping wheat! It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? But when you’re intent on keeping God’s law to the letter, you have to decide what constitutes work. Because if you don’t work it out, life is way too stressful. And by golly, the Pharisees had worked it out. They knew how far you could walk on the Sabbath; they knew how much you could do, before it became work; and this wasn’t on the list! In fact reaping was just one of many different activities that were clearly forbidden. But Jesus defends the disciples’ action. And he uses the sort of argument the scribes themselves might have used. He quotes Scripture - from 1 Samuel 21, our rst reading today. This is at a time when David is running away from Saul and goes into the house of God to nd bread to feed his men. The bread he nds is the consecrated bread that’s meant only for the priests. This came about because of the instruction in Leviticus 24:5-9 - which says Take the nest our and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. The bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is a most holy part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord. And this bread of the presence as it was called, had the particular theological signi cance of being connected with the Sabbath. But in 1 Samuel David could legitimately take some of that bread because of the dire need of his men. Consecrated or not, reserved for priests only or not, and even on the sabbath, David could take that bread to ful l human need. And Jesus uses that story to push back on the Pharisees and their legalistic complaints. The point he’s making is that sometimes human need overrides religious rules. fi fi fi fi fl fi fi fi Page 3 of 5 So too, he says, with the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for humanity not humanity for the Sabbath. Similarly in the next episode in ch3 a man is there with a withered hand. If Jesus heals him he’s doing work. But what’s more important? He asks the Pharisees: “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” He can choose to heal the man or he can choose to ignore him. But to ignore him is equivalent to hurting him. If you have the power to help someone and you ignore them, you’re really hurting them aren’t you? You’re depriving them of something that would make them better. So again for the Pharisees, the Sabbath laws took preference over human need. But Jesus is saying the Sabbath is not about cruelty. And in fact there’s a greater principle involved. And it’s there in chapter 2:28: “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” The Sabbath is not about legalism. In fact, rather, the Sabbath was about freedom. The Sabbath law was meant to free us up to gather together to worship God, without the constraints of work or other things that keep us from gathering together. That’s why the Sabbath is holy to the Lord. Keeping the Sabbath was not about limitation; it was about freedom so that we could enjoy our time with God. Earlier in the chapter Jesus was able to forgive sins, which the Pharisees considered to be blasphemy - that Jesus was acting as if he were God by forgiving sins; And here as Jesus takes precedence over the Sabbath, that again shows that he is acting as God. And the term he uses 'the Son of Man' is known in the old testament as a divine apocalyptic gure, and it’s really interesting that that is the term Jesus uses about himself. What matters in the long run isn’t whether you avoid all work on the Sabbath but whether you give Jesus the honour that’s due to him. Whether you take up having freedom from work, in order to gather and honour him. The Pharisees were much more worried about honouring the Sabbath than they were about honouring the God of the Sabbath - who we know is Jesus. Should we set aside one day a week to gather together for worship and mutual encouragement? God has graciously decreed a Sabbath because of creation, for the sake of salvation, because he loves being in covenant with his people, and because he knows that we need it to re-create and refresh. fi Page 4 of 5 And Jesus, as the Son of Man, and Lord of the Sabbath, shows clearly that the Sabbath is not what the Pharisees think it is. It is not about rules, about legalistic requirements and harsh judgement if you don’t comply, and nor is it about withholding something which would be cruel, but instead to show compassion. So what is your Sabbath practice? And what is your Sabbath attitude? Coming together as the Body of Christ, is and should be the most wonderful point of the week. Do you make sure that you are freed up to do that? To honour the one who is Lord of the Sabbath, to honour the one who is Lord of all. Amen. Page 5 of 5