Saturday, February 27, 2010

Lord of the Sabbath

Genesis 41:1-13
1 Corinthians 4:1-7
February 27, 2010

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the cornfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some ears of corn. The Pharisees said to him, Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath? He answered, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions. Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, Stand up in front of everyone. Then Jesus asked them, Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they remained silent. He looked round at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. -Mark 2:23-3:6

Jesus defends His disciples for breaking the Sabbath law by plucking grain as they walk through a field on the Sabbath. Here we have a Christian interpretation of the proper use of the Sabbath. The starts a controversy with the Pharisees on the proper observance of the Sabbath. They ask Jesus why His disciples break the Sabbath law by plucking grain and eating it while passing through a field. He justifies their action on the basis of need in terms of hunger just as David and his men ate holy bread (1 Samuel 21:1-6) Further, their action could be defended on the basis of priorities. People are more important than a law. In addition, Jesus said it was OK because He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

In Hebrew the word, “Sabbath,” means “rest.” For the Jews it fell on the seventh day of the week because God rested after six days of creation. Because Christ rose on the first day of the week, Christians preferred to rest and worship on that day to commemorate the Resurrection. Sunday, since the fourth century, became for Christians, “the Lord’s day.” Since the principle behind the Sabbath is to take a day of rest each week, it does not matter on what day the rest is taken. Biblical literalists, however, have difficulty seeing this and continue to observe the seventh day as the Sabbath.

The Law is not an end in itself but is given for a person’s benefit. The law is not intended to be a burden but a boost. The Sabbath is good for a human because its observance brings him/her rest. It gives him/her time to worship and to feed his/her soul. A law that goes against one’s welfare is not usually obeyed nor can it endure indefinitely. A law that discriminates and causes injustice is doomed to perish. It is a matter of values and priorities: it is a person for the law or the law for a person? [1]


O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant to us, Your humble servants, that by Your holy inspiration we may think the things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[2]

[1] Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH
[2] Collect for the Second Sunday after Pentecost Lutheran Book of Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House St. Louis

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