Sabbath is for Man, Not Man for the Sabbath
The Sabbath is for Man, Not Man for the Sabbath
(Mark 2: 23-28)
I can’t help but have some empathy for the Pharisees in this situation. After all, the Sabbath was cherished by the Jews as a sacred institution. God gave the people of Israel the Sabbath after they came out of Egypt.
In Exodus it is written: Exodus Ch 20: 8-10 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.”
And in the book of Nehemiah it is written: Nehemiah Ch 9: 14 “Your Holy Sabbath you made known to them.”
The Sabbath was a special sign between Israel and God. In Exodus it is written: Exodus Ch 31: 12-17 And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel.’ ”
Wow, that seems pretty clear and pretty harsh. So, when Jesus began openly to violate the Sabbath traditions, it was like declaring war against the religious establishment. He began His campaign by healing a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years (the man at the Sheep Gate by the Pool of Bethesda), and then followed with the events recorded in today’s gospel.
So, the objections of the Pharisees seem well grounded. But, then again, so does the argument put forth by Jesus. Jesus’ response was: if a hungry king and his men were permitted to eat the holy bread from the tabernacle (1 Sam. 21:1–6), then it was right for the Lord of the Sabbath to permit His men to eat the grain from the fields. God is surely more concerned with meeting the needs of people than He is with protecting religious tradition.
The Pharisees seemed to have the letter of the law on their side, but Jesus had the spirit of the law on his side. The Pharisees, although they may have been well intended, had their priorities confused. Jesus used the action of David to show that the Pharisees’ narrow interpretation of the Law blurred God’s intention. The spirit of the Law in respect to human need took priority over its ceremonial regulations.
This passage confronts us with certain truths:
(i) Religion does not consist in rules and regulations. Whenever men forget the love and the forgiveness and the service and the mercy that are at the heart of religion and replace them by the performance of rules and regulations, religion is in decline. Christianity has at all times consisted far more in doing things than in refraining from doing things.
(ii) The first claim on any man is the claim of human need. Works of necessity and mercy are quite legal on the Sabbath. If ever the performance of a man’s religion stops him from helping someone who is in need, his religion is not religion at all.
(iii) A good use of sacred things is to use them to help men. That is one way to give them to God.
To illustrate this point let me tell you a story I found – the story of The Fourth Wise Man. His name was Artaban. He set out to follow the star and he took with him a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl beyond price as gifts for the King. He was riding hard to meet his three friends, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, at the agreed place. The time was short; they would leave if he was late. Suddenly he saw a dim figure on the ground before him. It was a traveler stricken with fever. If he stayed to help he would miss his friends. He did stay; he helped and healed the man. But now he was alone. He needed camels and bearers to help him across the desert because he had missed his friends and their caravan. He had to sell his sapphire to get them; and he was sad because the King would never have his gem.
He journeyed on and in due time came to Bethlehem, but again he was too late. Joseph and Mary and the baby had gone. Then there came the soldiers to carry out Herod’s command that the children should be slain. Artaban was in a house where there was a little child. The troop of soldiers came to the door; the weeping of stricken mothers could be heard. Artaban stood in the doorway, tall and dark, with the ruby in his hand and bribed the captain not to enter. The child was saved; the mother was overjoyed; but the ruby was gone; and Artaban was sad because the King would never have his ruby.
For years he wandered looking in vain for the King. More than thirty years afterwards he came to Jerusalem. There was a crucifixion that day. When Artaban heard of the Jesus being crucified, he thought he sounded wondrously like the King and Artaban hurried towards Calvary. Maybe his pearl, the loveliest in all the world, could buy the life of the King. Down the street came a girl fleeing from a band of soldiers. “My father is in debt,” she cried, “and they are taking me to sell as a slave to pay the debt. Save me!” Artaban hesitated; then sadly he took out his pearl, gave it to the soldiers and bought the girl’s freedom.
All of a sudden the skies were dark; there was an earthquake and a flying tile hit Artaban on the head. He sank half-conscious to the ground. The girl pillowed his head on her lap. Suddenly his lips began to move. “Not so, my Lord. For when did I see thee hunger and feed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When did I see thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked and clothed thee? When did I see thee sick in prison, and came unto thee? Thirty and three years have I looked for thee; but I have never seen thy face, nor ministered to thee, my King.” And then like a whisper from very far away, there came a voice. “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it unto me.” And, Artaban smiled in death because he knew that the King had received his gifts.
In some situations, the best way to use sacred things is to use them for men. The showbread, even though sacred, served God’s purpose when it was used to feed a starving man. The Sabbath, even though sacred, must not prohibit one from helping those who need help. The final arbiter in the use of all things is love (as demonstrated by the 4th Wise Man) and not law (as clung to by the Pharisees).