Mark 2:23-28

Introduction: JESUS IS OUR REST

“Where do you go when you’re tired—not physically tired, but spiritually tired?

We all know what it feels like to be physically tired. We work, we come home, we sleep, and eventually our bodies recover.

But what do you do when you feel spiritually tired?

Maybe you're tired of trying to get everything right. Tired of trying to be good enough. Tired of carrying guilt. Tired of trying to prove yourself to God or to other people.

Even religion can make us tired.

We can take something God intended to be a blessing and turn it into another burden. We can become so focused on doing everything right that we forget the God we're doing it for.

That's exactly what we see in Mark 2.

The Sabbath was given by God as a gift of rest, but the Pharisees had turned it into a burden.

And Jesus comes to show us something we desperately need to understand:

Our ultimate rest isn't found in a day, a rule, or our performance. Our rest is found in a Person.

Jesus is our rest.

The Sabbath points to rest → the Pharisees turn rest into a burden → Jesus reveals Himself as Lord of the Sabbath → therefore, our ultimate rest is found in Jesus.

1. (V23–24) “He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.”

1. Legalism turns God's gift of rest into a burden

The Pharisees were watching Jesus and His disciples closely.

They weren't simply observing what Jesus was doing; they were looking for something they could use against Him.

a) There was nothing wrong with what the disciples were doing (V23)

The Old Testament made provision for someone who was traveling through a field to eat from the grain.

Deuteronomy 23:25 says that a person could pluck the heads of grain with his hand, although he could not use a sickle to harvest his neighbor's crop.

So the disciples weren't stealing.

They were simply walking through the fields and eating because they were hungry.

The problem, according to the Pharisees, was the Sabbath

Harvesting — plucking grain 

Threshing — separating the kernel from the husk

This is important because legalism doesn't always begin by rejecting God's Word.

Sometimes legalism begins by taking something good that God has commanded and adding so many rules around it that the original purpose gets lost.

b) The Sabbath was given by God as a gift of rest

In Exodus 20:10, God commanded: “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work…”

Genesis 2:2–3 “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

The Pharisees took something God had given as a good gift—the Sabbath—and surrounded it with human rules.

God was telling His people to stop working, stop producing, just rest

They could stop working because God was still their provider.

It was an invitation to trust God.

The Sabbath served as a reminder of God's covenant with Israel and pointed to the spiritual rest that would ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

c) But God's gift of rest became surrounded by human regulations (V24)

The Law commanded Israel not to work on the Sabbath, but it did not give an exhaustive definition of every possible action that could be considered “work.”

Over time, Jewish teachers developed detailed interpretations about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath.

Examples:

You couldn't tie certain knots — but whether a knot was forbidden depended on what kind of knot it was and whether it was intended to last.

You couldn't carry something from one domain to another — even if it was something tiny. The rabbis discuss things like carrying food, a needle, or even a writing implement.

Can you wear a fake tooth? The Mishnah discusses whether a woman can go out on Shabbat wearing a golden tooth, and whether other artificial teeth are considered acceptable adornments. The concern is partly that she might remove the tooth in public and carry it.

Can you put a bandage on a wound? Medical treatment on Shabbat gets complicated. Some treatments are permitted, while others are prohibited because they may involve preparing medicines or performing one of the forbidden labors.The rabbis even discuss whether you can put wine or oil on a wound.

Can you carry a baby? This is one of the classic examples. Carrying an object in a public domain is prohibited, but the rabbis discuss carrying a child under various circumstances. There are also discussions about a child carrying an object, whether an adult can carry the child, and what happens when the child is holding something.

d) The irony: the gift of rest became another burden

God gave them the Sabbath so they could rest.

But now they could spend the Sabbath worrying:

“Did I break a rule, “Was that considered work,“Am I allowed to do this, “Did I carry that the wrong way?”

The day that was supposed to remind them to trust God could become another day when they were trying to prove themselves.

That's what legalism does.

It takes our eyes off the God who gave the command and puts them on our ability to keep the rules.

We can fall into to the same trap:

How much is enough prayer?

How much Bible reading is enough?

How much serving is enough?

How much giving is enough?

Performance will never allow you to enter into His rest

We can earn from God, he simply gives it to us

1.2 (V25-26) But Jesus said to them, Have you read what David did when he was in need and hungry

In Matthew’s account, Jesus gives three arguments to defend His disciples:

What David did — Matthew 12:3–4

What the priests did — Matthew 12:5–6

What the prophet Hosea said — Matthew 12:7

Jesus points them back to David to show that God’s Law was never intended to be interpreted in a way that ignores genuine human need.

a) God's commands were never intended to crush His people

The Law of God is good.

But the Pharisees had missed the heart and purpose behind God’s commands.

David and his men were hungry, and their genuine need mattered.

Human need was never meant to be ignored in the name of religious ritual.

b) Jesus is teaching them to see the Sabbath correctly

The question is: “What is the purpose of God's command?”

And Jesus is about to give them the answer.

2. (V27) The Sabbath was made for man and not man for Sabbath

2. Jesus reminds them that the Sabbath was made for man (V27)

a) The Sabbath was made for man

God gave the Sabbath as a gift, not a heavy burden as it was turned into

b) The Sabbath points us to a greater rest

The Sabbath was never meant to be the ultimate destination.

The sabbath was pointing to the ultimate rest in Jesus Christ

God's people need physical rest from their labor, but humanity needs something much deeper:

Those are burdened by sin.

Burdened by guilt.

Burdened by trying to prove ourselves.

Burdened by trying to make ourselves acceptable before God.

The Sabbath can give your body rest, but only Jesus can give your rest from striving in your own power

Hebrews 4:9–10 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

3. (V28) Therefor the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath

3. Jesus doesn't merely give us a day of rest—He is Lord of the Sabbath and fulfills what the Sabbath points toward (V28)

“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus doesn't merely say that the Pharisees misunderstood the Sabbath.

He makes a much greater claim.

a) Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

The Sabbath belongs to God, and Jesus declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus has authority over the Sabbath because He is greater than the Sabbath.

Jesus is saying: “I am Lord over it.”

b) Jesus is the fulfillment of what the Sabbath pointed toward

Jesus says, in effect: “Come to Me and rest.”

Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

The Sabbath provided temporary rest.

Jesus provides ultimate rest.

The Sabbath gave rest one day a week.

Jesus gives us spiritual rest every day

The Sabbath reminded Israel to trust God.

Jesus gives us the One in whom we can trust completely.

c) Jesus is our true rest

Our greatest problem isn't that we don't take enough days off.

Our greatest problem is that we try to carry what we were never meant to carry.

We try to carry:

our sin

our guilt

our shame

our righteousness

our need to prove ourselves

our desire to be accepted

But Jesus came to carry what we could never carry.

We don't work in order to earn our rest in Christ.

We rest in Christ because He has finished the work for us.

Application: Where are you looking for rest?”

“Are you trying to find rest in your accomplishments?

In your work? In money?

In entertainment? In approval?

In being a good Christian?

In trying to make yourself acceptable to God?”

“Jesus doesn't say, ‘Work harder and eventually you'll find rest.’ He says, ‘Come to Me.’”