Sabbath – Gird Your Mind

“And they were watching Him… in order that they might accuse Him.” Mark 3:1-6

Jesus came into a synagogue. There was a man there with a withered hand. Why was he there? Mark makes it plain that he was to be the point of focus.

The Pharisees were also there. They were intently watching Jesus with a single purpose: to see if he would heal the man. Are they hoping to see a miracle that would end this man’s suffering? Are they joyous over the prospect that he would be made whole?

No. They want to accuse Jesus if He dares to heal the man on the Sabbath.

Jesus’ first concern is the man, but he also needs to make sure the Pharisees understand the depravity of what they are about. He calls the man forward, saying to the Pharisees, ” Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” They remain silent. To engage him would make it evident to everyone there that they were clearly in the wrong.

Jesus is angered by their callous silence. He is grieved by the hardness of their heart, their stubborn, willful resistance to God, their self-importance and pride. He presses forward despite them.

He tells the man to stretch out his hand. He does, displaying the first act of obedience and faith in this scene. His hand is fully restored. If jubilant rejoicing spontaneously broke out, Mark does not record it.

In fact, he notes just the opposite. The Pharisees have now seen what they came to see – a gross violation of their rules for the Sabbath. Without hesitation, they get up and leave to begin plotting to destroy Jesus. They meet with the Herodians, who they would otherwise have nothing to do with. But they would be helpful against One who was becoming too popular and too much in demand by the people, thereby destabilizing the system of power they had become comfortable with.

So what is the answer? To do good, or to do harm? To save life or to kill? Mark trusts his readers to draw the proper conclusion.

“See here, why are they doing…” Mark 2:23-28

How picky can you get? Jesus and his disciples were passing a field of grain. Some of the disciples were picking the heads of grain as they went by. Luke adds that they were rubbing the husks off in their hands and eating the kernels. Here’s the kicker: any other day this would have been fine. But this was the Sabbath!

The Pharisees immediately complained to Jesus. They were well known for their zeal for the nitty gritty details of Jewish law and tradition, but this was bordering on the ridiculous. First, it was not unlawful to gather a few heads of grain, even if the field did not belong to you. Second, it wasn’t wrong to eat on the Sabbath. So the Pharisees call a technical foul: picking was essentially reaping; rubbing the husks would be threshing. Both were defined as work. And work of any kind was prohibited on the Sabbath.

Jesus counters them by citing the example of David, who fed himself and his men with the consecrated bread reserved for the priests. It was for the priests alone. But because of his need and hunger, David was allowed to take the bread and eat it. Jesus’ point is that the Sabbath was made for man’s benefit, not the other other way around.

The Sabbath was to be a holiday from the toils and cares of everyday life. It’s purpose was to provide time for rest and worship. Instead the Pharisees had folks worrying about exerting too much energy or violating some infinitesimal point of religious tradition. Jesus asserts his Lordship over the Sabbath and restores it as a day of mercy and peace, a time of restful devotion to God.

Watching and waiting

Grain pickin’ disciples