What is the Purpose of Sabbath?

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.”

There are many of us who remember a time when Sunday was seen as a Holy day. Stores were closed, restaurants are closed, streets looked like ghost towns. Those who were “church going” would go to church, afterwards a Sunday “dinner”, and then visiting with family and neighbors until time for Sunday evening service. We dedicated that day to rest, and to the Lord.

Now, it seems Sunday is viewed as any other day, a day of work, a day of convenience, and for many the only “day” of the week where we can “catch up” on chores and home duties. You are just as likely to find someone mowing a yard, plowing a garden, cutting firewood, or anything else on Sunday. We no longer observe the Sabbath in the way it was originally intended, or for its intended purpose.

If we look at the creation of the Sabbath, in Genesis 2:2-3 we see where God establishes a Sabbath after working six days - a time of rest where the work of creating the World ceased.

Genesis 2:2–3 ESV

2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The seventh day - Might I ask one question, what “day” did the first “day” start on? Was it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? Scripture does not specify, but we apply our understanding of the week to this example and start the week with Sunday and, as observed by the Israelites, the Sabbath would start from sun down on Friday and go until sun down on Saturday. This day, according to verse 3 was made holy because God rested from all His work. Should this not also translate into a need for rest by all of God’s creation? It was important enough for God to not only institute it, Himself, but to also place it into the law.

Exodus 20:8–11 ESV

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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.

We are reminded of the need for rest, and as a day to reflect on God’s holiness. Reflecting on the qualities that describe God and His characteristics, His nature, and what He had done in our lives. I mean, truly, if we think of what God has done in our lives - literally saving us from our earned place in hell - simply if we believe on Him as our Savior, why would we NOT want to set aside a time of praise and adoration to Him?

In today’s text, there is a focus on the legalism of the Sabbath, not the need for the Sabbath. Jesus then explains to the Pharisees that the Sabbath is not about just keeping a command, a law, but the Sabbath was made for man. You see, we need to take a deep breath for us to break the worries of the week, to take a break from labor and work, and for us to focus on our Creator. You see, the Sabbath was made FOR MAN. I often wonder if the reason we are so run down and tired, so mentally stressed, so physically worn because we have failed to recognize how the Sabbath is meant for us.

Exodus 23:12 ESV

12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.

Exodus 31:17 ESV

17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Do we see a key word in these two verses? A time of refreshment - instead of the hustle and bustle, the thought and premise here is to “take a breath” and the concept is to renew or restore our strength. We need renewing. We need restoration. We need to find rest in our Creator and Savior. While it is easy to become legalistic in our attendance at church, this is exactly the issue Jesus addressed here with the Pharisees. This should not be viewed as a legal issue, but instead a relationship issue with God. In these six verses, we see an accusation, a defense, and then an appeal to the person.

The Accusation

Mark 2:23–24 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?”

Now, if we look back to the law in Exodus 20, one might ask, what constitutes “work” according to God? What was the purpose and intent of this law? Now, add into this the “interpretation” of the law.

Today, some basic activities from which are refrain from on Shabbat (Sabbath) are:

writing, erasing, and tearing;

business transactions;

driving or riding in cars or other vehicles;

shopping;

using the telephone;

turning on or off anything which uses electricity, including lights, radios, television, computer, air-conditioners and alarm clocks;

cooking, baking or kindling a fire;

gardening and grass-mowing;

doing laundry;

Of course, the most common explanation of this is it’s not meant to be an inconvenience, but instead should bring a time of preparation so that the Sabbath can be enjoyed. But, let’s look a little closer at what I found as some clarification in Chabad.com. “Lights which will be needed on Shabbat are turned on before Shabbat. Automatic timers may be used for lights and some appliances as long as they have been set before Shabbat. The refrigerator may be used, but again, we have to ensure that it's use does not engender any of the forbidden Shabbat activities. Thus, the fridge light should be disconnected before Shabbat by unscrewing the bulb slightly and a freezer whose fan is activated when the door is opened may not be used. Many objects have been designated by our sages as muktzeh--we are forbidden from moving them, in some cases, even for activities permitted on Shabbat.  Muktzeh may not be moved directly with one's hand or even indirectly with an object (such as sweeping it away with a broom). However, muktzeh may be moved in a very awkward, unusual manner, with other parts of the body, e.g.: with one's teeth or elbow, or by blowing on it.”

So, you can’t work unless you find a way to not make it “work” by keeping the letter of the law. Forget the original intent…

Here the Pharisees saw the disciples gathering something to eat on the Sabbath. We really don’t have any background, it just says “one Sabbath”, so it doesn’t necessarily follow a timeline for us to know where this fits. This also means we have no idea what the disciples had been doing leading up to the Sabbath. Where they had been, how long they had been gone, whether they were near their place of lodging, whether they had been able to prepare for the Sabbath.

The point here is the Pharisees are more focused on the legalism aspect than they are the intent or need of the person. As stated before, what did God mean by “work”? What was His intent? While there are a number of views on what it means to keep the Sabbath today, it seems that the focus is on rest, remembering, and worship. Tony Merida, in the Christ Centered Exposition Commentary says “Work hard to the glory of God, and enjoy the worship on the Lord’s Day.”

So, were the disciples breaking the definition of the Sabbath law? Better yet, were they breaking the INTENT of the Sabbath law? This is where Jesus offers a defense.

The Defense

Mark 2:25–26 ESV

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?”

How is the best way to respond to theological questions? With the theological textbook. Jesus defends the actions of the disciples with scripture, taking them back to the “man after God’s own heart”… David.

1 Samuel 21:1–6 ESV

1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

Oh my, the priest gave him the holy bread. So, the religious leader in the temple saw nothing wrong in letting David and his men have the bread of the Presence - the Shewbread. Now, this bread was baked daily, 12 loaves for the 12 tribes, and was considered holy, only to be eaten by the priest when it was replaced the next day. So, it was eaten, but again was meant for the priests, no one else.

So, how was this seen as okay? The intent of the law - for those who were clean to consume the bread. David answers that the men were clean, they were holy. It was not the letter of the law, but the intent of the law that allowed David and his men to eat of the break. Meaning, we are to follow the INTENT of the law found in scripture.

We can allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with the “law” that we forget the intent. Jesus points out, while it was not normal or lawful for David and his men to eat the bread of Presence, God didn’t want them to starve. God was more concerned on supplying the physical need, the food, for David - His anointed king. And, here is the other interesting thing… we do not see any teaching against this act in scripture. He uses this to then appeal to the Pharisees.

The Appeal

Mark 2:27–28 ESV

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.”

Jesus then makes an astounding revelation - the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was meant to be a blessing to us, not us to bless the Sabbath. We are to enjoy the rest, the worship, and the restoration given by the Sabbath, not the act of following law to make the Sabbath “holy”. Jesus shows us that we are free from the legalistic constraints of the law (and the human interpretations), and we are to take comfort in the intent of the Sabbath.

Now, does this mean we don’t have to come to church, that we can worship God at home, on the river bank, at the race track, etc? No, I don’t think that is the case. I do think the Sabbath is meant as a time of reflection and worship to God in a house of worship.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

There are times we are to gather together, and if Sabbath is meant as a time of worship, what better time to gather together and worship with other believers?

What we should be concerned with is this, though. Are we treating the Sabbath as a legal obligation, or as a time of worship? Do we view the Sabbath in the intent of the law, the intent of Scripture, and are we coming together to be restored through our worship of God?

So, do we follow the law or do we follow Jesus? Jesus concludes with verse 28 expressing His authority from God. As the Lord of the Sabbath, He determines what is lawful. John MacArthur in his book “Jesus is Lord” explains the significance of this statement well: Jesus dropped the bomb of all bombs on their self-righteous minds in verse 28.… “I am,” He says, “the sovereign ruler over the Sabbath.… I am the sovereign of this day. I designed this day. I am the Creator.” Doesn’t John say that at the beginning of his Gospel? Everything made was made by Him, and without Him was [not] anything made, so it was He who ceased to work. It was He who rested. It was He who ordained this day to be blessed and separated from work. “I am the sovereign of this day. I am the interpreter of the will of God for this day. You do not rule the Sabbath. You do not set the standards of behavior for the Sabbath, I do. I interpret God’s will and God’s Word.” Yes, Jesus is the interpreter of God’s will. He is the interpreter of God’s Word. He is the interpreter of God’s Law, not men.”

The Pharisees were neglecting the intent of he Law, they missed the point entirely. Jesus re-oriented them to the truth.

Closing

Legalism raises a biblical mandate and command to a level that God never commands or prohibits in His Word. It is taking our traditions and preferences and raising them to a place of spiritual superiority. We place our own thoughts and opinions over the expressed intent of God’s Word.

The Pharisees had placed themselves in the position of authority based on their interpretations and tradition, and in doing so missed the whole intent of God’s law.

Too often, I think we, too miss out the intent of God’s law for our lives, for our families, and for our worship. Today, I want to encourage you to worship God well. Look past the tradition, and look to the intent - to be restored and renewed in our relationship with our Savior.

But to be renewed in our relationship, it means we must first have a relationship with Him.