Mark 3

 

Mark 2:23-28

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, 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.”

 

The Disciple and Sabbath

Mark 3

Though this week we are looking at Mark 3 to understand the lesson the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us through Mark is to being in last part of Mark 2.

However, before we start there we need to talk about Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath, a day of rest, was one of the Ten Commands that God gave from the mountain. God repeated it multiple times in the Law he gave from the Tent of Meeting.  

Side note: Mountain commands are for all, Tent of Meeting to the Jews (though the principles are good for all).

Sabbath was a day of rest. God gave it to the people to keep them holy and to remind them and keep them from being like Egypt.

The Law provided a Sabbath not just for the people but for the land (Leviticus 25:4). The people never followed this, but God required it of them and sent them into Exile (Jer. 25, 2 Chronicles 36:21, Daniel 9:2)

When they returned they started to go back to the old habit of not keeping the Sabbath, but the preachings of Ezra and Nehemiah called them back.

There were some major exceptions one was during war, the other was for the priest doing the work of God or someone on a mission for God.

In fact Jesus will talk about not just an exception for Sabbath but the exception for those on a mission from God. He will talk about David eating the unleavened bread of the tabernacle that was to be only eaten but the priest (1 Samuel 21).

By the time of Jesus, the religious leaders had developed guidelines to help keep the people from breaking the Sabbath, they were called the Melachot. They were 39 rules that we designed to keep someone from breaking the Sabbath.

The Melachot were paths, guardrails to keep the people safe.

Example: The paths/guardrails around geysers at Yellowstone.

In the Law God gave permission for those that were hungry to be able to take grain or fruit from the fields or trees but only enough to satisfy their hunger.

In the passage read, The disciples are hungry and pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees look at Jesus and expect him to criticize the disciples.

The Melachot command was that there were to be no tools used for reaping. So they weren’t braking the Law, as the law allowed for the hungry to do this and in reality they weren’t even breaking the Melachot. Jesus, however, touches on something more he is saying to the Pharisees that what they are seeing is like David. This isn’t wrong because they were on a mission from God.

1 Samuel 21, David, Saul, and Doeg (dough egg) the Edomite.

There will be a parallel played out here.

Then Jesus makes the statement: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

1.   Sabbath was a gift from God

2.   The Sabbath wasn’t God 

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

1.   Person of Suffering (elevating suffering greater than keeping man’s law)

2.   Son of Man – Equated in Daniel with the Messiah

3.   Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Mark 3:1-6 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

This is where we will begin to see a Parallel with the story of David fleeing from Saul.

Like Saul after David, the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.

Jesus had seemed to make it clear that elevating suffering was okay on the Sabbath. They were hoping to catch him doing just that. The Melachot clearly said that a physician was not to use their hands do any work.

Church Father Athanasius of Alexandria said, “In the synagogue of the Jews was a man who had a withered hand. If he was withered in his hand, the ones who stood by were withered on their minds… The Savior ploughed up their minds with words, he first softened the up in advance with words so as to tame the wilderness of their understanding asking, ‘It is permitted to do good on the sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?’”

I have to agree with Athanasius these Pharisees were also the ones who were sick.

They like Saul were seeking a reason to destroy Jesus. They didn’t care about the man or his suffering.

Jesus as Athanasius pointed out tried to break up their withered mind by asking a question which was easy.

The problem was if they answered correctly that doing good was the whole purpose of the Sabbath then they would have nothing to accuse Jesus with. They were more interested in finding a way to discredit Jesus than obeying the commands of God.

They had in a very real way, made the Sabbath god rather than to obey God.

It was like the selfish child or adult knocking over the game board and saying, “I may have lost but at least you didn’t win.”

Jesus is rightly upset. These people who were supposed to be followers of God have rejected God.

Jesus then tells the man to stretch forth his hand. Athanasius here says by do it this way Jesus is saying, “I am not touching you so that they may not bring a charge against me.”

Which they couldn’t. Jesus didn’t break the law didn’t even break the Melachot.

Jesus did good on the Sabbath, He brought life.

The Pharisees? Did evil on the Sabbath- plotted to kill

Here is the interesting parallel. When Saul confronted the priest after David was given help. Saul called for the death of the ones who obeyed God’s law. Saul sought the death of God’s anointed priest. His own people wouldn’t do it so Saul had Doeg (dough egg) the Edomite kill God’s anointed priest. Now the Pharisees are working with the Herodians (those who were trying to, support Herod, also an Ebonite) to kill Jesus, God’s anointed one.

Lesson:

1.   Don’t be so intent on your purpose that it causes you to disobey God.

2.   Accept the gift of Sabbath.

3.   Let Jesus be Lord of your Sabbath (and others)