Lord of the Sabbath
TRANSLATION
(1) One Sabbath, while they were walking through grain fields, Jesus’ disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. (2) Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” (3) And Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, (4) how he entered the house of God, took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” (5) He then said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
(6) On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand was withered, (7) and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees watched to see if he would heal on the Sabbath so they might have a reason to accuse him. (8) But knowing their thoughts, he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” He got up and stood there, (9) and Jesus said to them, “I ask (all of) you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?” (10) And after looking around at each of them, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And when he did this, his hand was restored. (11) But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
OBSERVATIONS
Controversies regarding the observance of the Sabbath swirled around Jesus who refused to be bound by the legalistic traditions of the Pharisees and their ilk. Repetitions once again point us to the message of the segment. We find “Sabbath” six times (vss. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, & 9). Other repetitions included “grain” (twice in vs. 1), “Pharisees” (vss. 2 & 6), “man” (vss. 6 & 8), “withered” (also in vss. 6 & 8), “hand” (twice in vss. 6 & 8 and twice in vs. 10), and “stand/stood” (twice in vs. 8).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus defended his disciples against the Pharisees’ charge of working on the Sabbath when they plucked and ate a few ears of grain as they passed through a field. (1-5)
II. Jesus defended himself against the Pharisees’ charge of working on the Sabbath when he healed the man with the withered hand in the synagogue. (6-11)
IDEA STATEMENT
As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus refuted his critics’ accusations that he and his disciples had violated the Law by “working” on the Sabbath.
APPLICATION
Legalism always involves an imbalance, that is, placing a lopsided value on that which is inconsequential and thus missing out on what is vitally important. Jesus called it “straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel” (Mt. 23:24). In this narrative, the Pharisees with their legalistic mindset could only focus on the fact that Jesus’ disciples had violated the Sabbath by “harvesting,” that is, plucking a few heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands to get rid of the chaff, and eating the kernels. They had completely ignored the value of Jesus training these disciples in the ways of God and who it was who was doing the training. In defending his followers, Jesus reminded the Pharisees that David had “violated” the law by demanding that the tabernacle priests give his hungry men the loaves dedicated to worship in the Tabernacle, bread which only the priests were supposed to eat. And if that were not enough, he concluded with the provocative statement, “The Son of Man (messianic title) is Lord of the Sabbath.” In essence, he was saying, “If you only knew my true identity, you would not criticize my followers for what they are doing.”
In a later incident on another Sabbath, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand who had likely been planted in the synagogue by the legalists to see what he would do. Again, the Pharisees could only focus on the fact that he had dared to heal on the Sabbath, again violating their interpretation of the fourth commandment to include any kind of medical “work” on a day of rest. They were unable to see the glory of God displayed in the spectacular miracle Jesus had just performed, proving that the Messiah, himself, was in their midst.