Mark 2:23-3:6
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Today’s passage take us through the rest of Mark 2 and then into Mark 3 a little bit. I had originally had these two passages down as two separate lessons. But they are both kind of hitting at the same teaching.
Jesus here is teaching about the Sabbath, but also teaching about His Lordship over everything. Every aspect of life. That’s honestly one of the main themes we have taken away thus far from Mark.
Jesus being LORD & KING.
Let’s dive right into it.
Mark 2:23-28
Mark 2:23-28
23 On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry—26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Now, in bringing up the Sabbath… I could literally do a whole series on that word. SABBATH.
But we first are introduced to the principle in Genesis after God created the heavens and the earth. That 1 day in 7 is to be observed as a day holy to God. From the reason given for keeping the sabbath day in the ten commandments, REST had been set by God Himself in creation.
The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition (Sabbath)
In Ex. 16:21–30 explicit mention is made of the sabbath in connection with the giving of manna. The sabbath is here represented as a gift of God (v. 29), to be for the rest and benefit of the people (v. 30). It was not necessary to work on the sabbath (i.e. to gather manna), for a double portion had been provided on the 6th day.
It’s hard for us as western Christians to grasp the implications of the Sabbath from a religious leader point of view in the scriptures. There was this very strict conception of “DO NOT WORK.”
The scribes had come up with the list of 39 kinds of work that were prohibited, and the third of these was reaping.
Now, in Deut. 23:25, picking a little grain by hand from a neighbor’s field was legal. When harvesting, the corners of the field were not harvested. And it was actually ok for other people to come and pick grain as long as you did not have a sickle.
But when Jesus and His disciples are seen doing this on the Sabbath, they interpret this as reaping, winnowing, threshing, and preparing this meal.
MORE rules SURROUNDED the SABBATH than any other commandment. But when thinking about the way the Pharisees thought of the sabbath… how to you keep it? IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
If I do not go to work on the Sabbath, is that enough?
But what about working around the house? Okay, no house work. No preparing meals because, as any cook can tell you, preparing a meal is work.
Untying a sash is not work because it is relaxing something. Tying something, however, is work and is forbidden.
What about walking? That can certainly involve work. So do I not walk at all? Or when does walking become work? How far can I travel and have it not be considered work?
The Sabbath laws, and the purity laws, encompassed every moment of life. If you were a good Pharisee, there was not a moment of your life that you did not question whether what you were doing was violating either the Sabbath or the laws of purity.
The Jews were even forbidden to defend their lives on the Sabbath. Barclay discusses the wars of the Maccabees and how the Syrians finally overcame them by attacking on the Sabbath because they were not willing to break Sabbath laws (Barclay, Mark, p. 67).
And so the laws became more and more minute as the Pharisees, with the very best of motives, tried to define work. The fences they set around the Sabbath became larger and larger, encompassing more and more, as they tried to make sure the Sabbath was not broken. While setting up minute rules ensured that they kept the Sabbath, the Pharisees also became expert at finding the loopholes in their own law. Legalism in this context loses sight of the holy.
I can almost hear Jesus tell these dudes… CHILL....... (Everlee)
V. 25-26
The “consecrated bread” was twelve loaves that were put on a table in the tabernacle (the “house of God” of v. 26) each Sabbath, probably to symbolize God’s presence and provision or to represent Israel before God (Exod 25:30; Lev 24:5–9), and which were eaten only by the priests at the end of the week. David and his men were not priests, but Jesus implied that what they did was justified because they were famished. Jesus set forth the basic principle that human need should take precedence over ceremonial laws.
The Pharisees could have objected that Jesus’ disciples were not starving, but the point remains that Sabbath observance should not be reduced to legalistic restrictions.
We see Jesus here getting at the fact that human beings were not created to observe the sabbath… that’s not our purpose. It’s not our end goal to glorify the Sabbath and to keep it holy. No, the sabbath was created for our benefit.
And then He also tells them… I am LORD even of the Sabbath.
“Jesus here affirms and even celebrates the original principle of the sabbath- the need for rest. Yet he squashes the legalism around its observance. He dismantles the whole religious paradigm. And he does it by point to His identity.”
Sabbath means deep rest, a deep peace. It’s a near synonym for shalom- a state of wholeness and flourishing in every dimension of life.
So when Jesus says, :”I am Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus means that he is the Sabbath. He is the source of deep rest we need. He has come to completely change the way we rest. The one day a week rest we take is just a taste of the deep divine rest we need, and Jesus is it’s source.
Who really enjoys a good nap???
There are a lot of good benefits to taking naps.
-Relaxation
-reduced fatigue.
-increased alertness.
-improved mood
-improved performance, quicker reaction time and improved memory.
Although there is no replacement for the deep sleep that we receive at night.
Deep sleep is in stages 3 and 4 of your sleep cycle.
Stages 3 and 4 are when you experience deep sleep.
During these stages:
your heartbeat and breathing become their slowest as your muscles relax
your brain waves become the slowest they’ll be while you’re asleep
it’s difficult to awaken even with loud noises
Deep sleep is also referred to as “slow wave sleep” (SWS) or delta sleep.
The first stage of deep sleep lasts anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes. It lasts for longer periods
The benefits of a good nights rest are HUGE!
Glucose metabolism in the brain increases during deep sleep, supporting short-term and long-term memory and overall learning.
Deep sleep is also when the pituitary gland secretes important hormones, like human growth hormone, leading to growth and development of the body.
Other benefits of deep sleep include:
energy restoration
cell regeneration
increasing blood supply to muscles
promoting growth and repair of tissues and bones
strengthening the immune system
Deep sleep is responsible for helping process the information you encounter each day. Without enough, the brain can’t convert this information to your memory.
Not getting quality sleep is also linkedTrusted Source
to conditions, like:
Alzheimer’s disease
heart disease
diabetes
stroke
Ok… I just gave you way too much information on deep sleep. But all of that to drive home this point...
Obviously physicians will tell you that it is not merely naps that you need, but deep sleep.
“You can take all the vacations in the world, but if you don’t have the deep rest of the soul, resting in what Jesus did on the cross, you will not truly rest. On the cross Jesus experienced the restlessness of separation from God so that we can have the deep rest of knowing that He loves us and our sins have been forgiven. “
Mark 3:1-6
Mark 3:1-6
1 Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a shriveled hand. 2 In order to accuse him, they were watching him closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him.
We then come to another story where you can already feel this disdain that Jesus has for these religious leaders who just aren’t getting it.
You have this understanding of Jesus already knowing what is going on in their hearts...
He starts with… “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?”
NoW obviously, no one would claim that it was lawful or right to do evil or kill on the sabbath. The obvious alternative is that it must be right to do good and save life.
And THEY ARE SILENT.
SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES HERE.
For Mark we see that not merely doing work and resting on the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day was enough. The day must be used for all kinds of good things.
The Pharisees were silent because whatever answer they gave to Jesus’ question would have undermined their position on Sabbath observance.
We then see that Jesus is said to have looked at them with anger and grief. I love that is says anger and grief.
We see Jesus have the ANGER OF GOD toward the legalism being displayed.
But He also has grief for them. Grief that they can no longer rejoice in God’s goodness.
It makes you think of the saying “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” It’s a fine line to walk without falling into error on either side, but one that we must walk as followers of Jesus.
The POINT
The POINT
These religious leaders are all concerned about the regulations. They’re insecure and anxious about it.
They have become tribal, judgmental, and self-obsessed. (Almost reminds me of the brother who stayed home in the prodigal son story.)
The religious leaders are operating under this understanding of the Sabbath as a “I must perform” since of obeying. If I perform, If i obey, then i’m accepted.
Most religions are based on this model actually. Millions of different variations.
Nationalistic: You connect to God, they say, by coming into our people group and taking on the markers of society membership.
Spiritualistic: You reach God by working your way through certain transformations of consciousness.
Legalistic: There’s a code of conduct, and if you follow it God will look upon you with favor.
BUT, they all have the same logic. If I perform, if I obey, i’m accepted. THE GOSPEL of Jesus is not only different from that but diametrically opposed to it: I’’m fully accepted in Jesus Christ, and therefore I obey.
JESUS IS ASKING…
Am I Lord over your choice of rest?
We all choose some form of rest.
IS HE YOUR REST?
We all have things we run to for rest…
naps
a good book
working out or running
Netflix
social media
friends
sports either playing or watching
security of accomplishments
All the while these things are not really providing us with rest.
These things much of the time just pile on the worry, stress, anxiety and depression.
We are told of a Savior here in God’s Word who tells us, “I am the bread of life”; “I am the light of the world”; “I am the way, the truth, the life”; “I am the true vine”; “I am the Good Shepherd.”
Is He your LORD?
I love how Keller points us toward this N.T. Wright quote in his book that I have used for my study on Mark. This is a whole quote from Keller’s book that quotes N.T. but also continues to what Keller says… it is phenomenal.
N.T. Wright says,
“How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself has became life and walked in our midst. Christianity either means that, or means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality of the world, or it’s a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful playacting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between.”
Keller continues...
“Either he’s a wicked liar or a crazy person and you should have nothing to do with Him, or He is who He says He is and your whole life has to resolves around Him and you have to throw everything at His feet and say, “Command me.” Or do you live in that misty “world in between” that Wright says no one can live in with integrity?
Do you pray to Jesus when you’re in trouble, and otherwise mostly ignore Him because you get busy? Either Jesus can’t hear you because He’s not who He says He is - or if He is who He says He is, He must become the still point of your turning world, the center around which your entire life resolves.”
NOTICE ALSO WHERE THE LORDSHIP/KINGSHIP OF JESUS TOOK HIM THROUGH CHAPTER 2...
It brought Him into contact with sick, hurting, and sometimes hostile people.
Having Jesus Lord over us will take us to the same places! It will take us to the poorest of the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, the outcast, even if they happen to be people who live next door.