“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.
Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley