Picky Picky - Mark 2:23-28 Series

Mark 2:23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 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.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Accusation: Sabbath Breaking

Mark 2:23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields

Jesus is travelling somewhere on the Sabbath day. The “roads” around Galilee were mostly walking paths that went through the fields. That’s a problem, because according to the rabbinic law, you could only walk 1999 total steps on the Sabbath day, because travelling was forbidden.

Mark 2:23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.

That’s another problem. Any kind of harvesting or farming was strictly prohibited on the Sabbath. But the disciples are hungry, McDavid’s was closed on the Sabbath, so they grab some heads of grain as they walk. And guess who happens to see this.

24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful

What are the Pharisees doing in middle of the wheat field on the Sabbath? The disciples are just walking along, they grab a little grain, and suddenly these Pharisees pop out from behind the wheat stalks: “Ah ha! We caught you farming on the Sabbath!” What are the Pharisees doing out there?

In John’s gospel we find out that Jesus had gone down to Jerusalem and healed an invalid on the Sabbath, and it turned into a huge conflict with the Pharisees. Jesus deliberately goes down to Judea, right into Jerusalem, right into the hornets’ nest, and smacks the nest with a big ol’ stick. And the hornets come flying out of the nest and go on the attack. And they follow Jesus back up to Galilee (Jn.5:15). They were dogging Jesus’ steps, watching for him to do something wrong.

24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

The Sabbath Law

That is a very, very serious accusation. The Sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments. And God brings it up numerous other times, like in Ex.31.

Exodus 31:14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ ”

Twice he lays down the death penalty for anyone who works on the Sabbath. So this is a very serious accusation. If you’re living in ancient Israel, you don’t ever want to be guilty of violating the Sabbath, or your life is over.

What Counts as a Violation?

So that raises the question – what counts as a violation?

Put yourself in their shoes. There was a guy in Nm.15 who got caught gathering wood on the Sabbath and God commanded that he be stoned to death. If God threatens to put you to death if you work on Saturday, wouldn’t you want to be really clear on the definition of work? And if some activity were questionable, wouldn’t you want to err on the side of caution, so you don’t even come anywhere close to violating the Sabbath?

So did God give any specifics about what he meant by “work”? Yes. You were to cease your normal work – not even animals were to work. No buying and selling, no carrying a load, no lighting a fire, no gathering wood. Scripture mentions each of those examples.

What counts as carrying a load? What counts as farming? The rabbis debated those questions endlessly, and came up with some 1500 specific rules divided into 39 categories of forbidden activities.

A few examples to give you an idea: You couldn’t do any cleaning. So you couldn’t take a bath, because you might drip on the floor and you’d be guilty of washing the floor. You couldn’t drag a chair because the legs would make little ruts, which is like plowing. So you would be guilty of farming on the Sabbath. And a load is defined as anything that weighs more than a dried fig. Women couldn’t wear jewelry because it weighed more than dried fig. You couldn’t wear dentures on the Sabbath, because that’s a load. You couldn’t put any more grain in your hand than would fit in a lamb’s mouth. You could only carry enough ink for 2 letters of the alphabet – 2 characters. If was almost Sabbath, and you were picking up food, and suddenly it was Sabbath had to drop food before you drew your arm back. If you threw an object and caught it with the same hand, that’s fine, but if you catch it with the opposite hand, that’s a violation. You couldn’t blow out a candle. You couldn’t tie a knot. You couldn’t leave a radish in salt because it would become a pickle and that’s food preparation. A woman couldn’t look in mirror because she might find a gray hair and be tempted to pluck it out. It goes on endlessly about grain, wine, honey, milk, spitting (could spit into a rag but not on the ground, because that’s irrigation, and now you’re farming again). You could stop a man from dying but you could not help him get better. You could put a bandage on but not a medicated one. You could only walk 1999 steps.