The Lord of the Sabbath

Introduction

Welcome to the Anchor!

Guys this is our last Anchor of the month of November!! Next time we will meet will be in December, isn’t that crazy?! I feel like the first night of the Anchor was yesterday, when we played “Capture the Banana.” We are here. God has been teaching us through His word in the book of Mark. We’ve been learning about the Anchor Himself, Jesus. The King who came to save us from the punishment we deserve. The King who holds us amidst the storms of life.

Around a month ago we covered the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man, remember when they lowered the paralyzed man down into the room. That was the start of Mark chapter 2. Mark does something interesting when he’s writing the content in chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3.

5 Stories of Jesus being Challenged

He shows us 5 different stories of Jesus being challenged. 1. The Pharisees challenge Jesus about Him forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man. (Mark 2:1-12)

2. The scribes challenge Jesus when He eats with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:13-17)

3. The people challenge Jesus about fasting, “why don’t your disciples fast?” (Mark 2:18-22) that was last week.

This week we are looking at number 4 and number 5. The two remaining challenges to Jesus in this section.

Both have to do with the Sabbath. Can someone tell me what the Sabbath is?

7th day of the week, Holy day of rest

Why is Mark focusing on Jesus being challenged in all of these ways though?

He’s answering questions people might have, he’s displaying Jesus’s authority, and as we talked about last week showing how the Kingdom of God is something new, fulfilling that which was old.

People challenged Jesus then, and people still challenge Jesus today. Think about this, what are some ways people continue to challenge Jesus today?

Mark 2:23–28 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.”

So Jesus and His disciples are going through a grainfield on the Sabbath, it looks like the disciples wanted to snack on some heads of grain. Then they get confronted by the Pharisees, who try and do a gotcha to Jesus.

“See look at what they are doing, they are breaking the law!”

The Pharisees were rule followers and then some. They added to the rules too, and would be harsh on those who wouldn’t measure up to the law.

They walked in self-righteousness, legalism, and were “perfectionists”. What do you guys think legalism means?

So the law in play here is from the Old testament, where it says not to reap on the Sabbath. There is a difference though between using tools to gather in the harvest and plucking grain heads for a snack. The Pharisees were extreme with what the law said.

So Jesus responds. He tells a story of King David, does anyone by chance remember who King David is?

King David, was hungry and took the Holy Bread of the Presence to eat only lawful for the Priests. There is nowhere in scripture that shows David getting in trouble for that.

The Pharisees definitely knew this story.

Jesus then says: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus shows an example of King David, in need taking precedence over ceremonial laws. David had a much more serious charge too, and isn’t as powerful or as authoritative as Jesus.

Jesus declares that He is lord of the Sabbath. The Son of man is a name Jesus calls Himself.

The Sabbath is a blessing from God, it is not meant to be a burden. Imagine trying to rest and someone comes over to you every 5 minutes to check on if you are resting correctly. That would be tiring and not a blessing at all.

“Okay cool, why does any of this matter?”

The things that God created are not meant to be burdensome but blessings.

For example, it is not to be a burden to gather with other believers, or even to spend time in God’s word. He doesn’t want us to have a mindset of doing it for ritual and ceremonial sake. No He wants us to spend time with Him out of love and enjoyment, He wants us to gather with other believers with a heart of gratitude and love.

Are the activities you are doing in your life burdensome or a blessing?

Let’s continue on.

Mark 3:1–6 ESV

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.

They go back to the Synagogue, and Jesus sees a man there with a withered hand.

Let me pause here. Jesus sees you. He sees the hurt you are in, He sees every situation you face. He saw this man right here.

The Pharisees immediately scrutinize Jesus, looking at him critically with a mean spirit.

The question they are asking is whether or not He will heal on the sabbath. Will he heal this man with a withered hand?

So Jesus calls the man to Himself. And He challenges the Pharisees.

“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?”

They however were blinded and did not respond. They couldn’t

We see Jesus get angry here. Yes, Jesus gets angry. Not in a sinful or evil way. But He gets mad rightfully at sin. Their hardness of heart saddens Him.

We are going to come back here in a sec, their hardness of heart.

Then Jesus heals this man’s hand. He tells the man to stretch it out and it is restored.

Jesus is the great physician.

Instead of being amazed or in awe of the healing, the Pharisees get super angry and plot to kill Jesus with the Herodians. They chose to do evil on the Sabbath.

Application

It’s easy to sit back and go, they are definitely the bad guys. They are the worst. Do be careful with that thinking. My brothers and sisters we ourselves are the Pharisees too often.

How often do we live life thinking we are right? Everyone else is wrong? It says here they hardened their heart against Jesus. Many in our lives today do just the same.

“Yeah yeah we hear what you are saying Jesus, but I don’t want this to effect me. I don’t know if I believe and I don’t really care.”

It might not be that thought exactly but it might be unconscious.

The other side of it too is falling into self-righteousness and comparing. At least we are not as bad as so and so, we didn’t do that. I’m not as bad as someone in jail. I’m pretty good.

Where is your heart at? Have you ever took the time to examine your heart? Is it healthy?

I need to ask the same questions.

We need to always be careful as Jesus followers to not give into a works based acceptance. I work therefore I get reward.

Nope.

The truth for those of us who believe Jesus, is we get the reward so now we work out of love. The truth is so great it effect how we live?

Are you being effected by the truth?

Here are some questions to think about, you can even chat about them in small group:

What are some ways people challenge Jesus today?

Are the things you are participating in for God a burden or a blessing?

What does letting Jesus effect us in our lives look like?