Unlimited: The Lord of the Sabbath
Oct 18, 2024 2562
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”Then 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” (Mark 2:6–12, NIV).
One issue that causes controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees repeatedly is their different understanding of the Sabbath. This passage is the first time this issue has come up in the Gospel of Mark.
One Sabbath, the disciples were hungry. So, as they walked, they picked some heads of grain and chewed on them to kill their hunger.
The Pharisees had all kinds of human rules about what you weren’t allowed to do on the Sabbath day, and they were always looking to point out anything that Jesus or his disciples did wrong.
So, they asked Jesus why his disciples were breaking the law on the Sabbath.
Jesus Did Not Say The Sabbath Did Not Matter
When Jesus responded, he didn’t say that the Sabbath didn’t matter.
Instead, Jesus told the Pharisees that they didn’t understand the Sabbath’s true purpose: it wasn’t so that humanity should be slaves to it but so that it should meet humanity’s needs.
The Pharisees put their own legalistic rules above mercy and compassion.
But Jesus went further. He told them that he himself was the Lord of the Sabbath. In other words, if he wasn’t concerned with what his disciples were doing, it was no business of the Pharisees to be worried themselves.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: Like the Pharisees, we often make invalid excuses about why we shouldn’t help others. These excuses can be social, political, or even religious. Think carefully about your attitudes to the needy.
Cris Tautho
Oct 26, 2020
Thanks you Sir for the very nice message about Sabbath day....God Bless