Now it happened that He went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: "how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
Jesus dealt with a lot of difficult people. The lame and lepers were brought to Him and Jesus radically changed them both physically and spiritually! Now it was quite obvious the changes made physically. One could walk and run while the other person could touch and be touched by family and friends. Both were witnesses to the work of the Master! They were accepted back into society and righteousness. But Jesus could not and would not change a human heart that refused to believe in Him. The legalistic Pharisees refused to trust Him. They had their religious ways established. He was a threat to them and wanted Him destroyed.
As we examine this passage, I do not believe it was an accident that the Pharisees “saw” His disciples eating the wheat. They were spying on Him and needed a report to discredit Him. That is how it is with legalistic people. They don’t want to know the truth or anyone else to know the truth. They want to detroy those who don’t agree with them. But Jesus cannot be held down.
Introduction – Divorced in your sleep
Sohela Ansari told friends that her husband Aftab had uttered the word "talaq", meaning "I divorce you", three times in his sleep. Saying "Talaq" three times is the way Sunni Muslim husbands can divorce their wives. But it was just a bad dream. The couple really didn’t want to divorce. But when local Islamic leaders heard about the dream, they said Aftab’s words constituted a divorce. The couple, married for 11 years with three children, were told they had to split. The religious leaders ruled that if the couple wanted to remarry they would have to wait at least 100 days, and Sohela would also have to spend a night with another man and be divorced by him in turn.
It is not uncommon for many people to practice a form of legalism. It is our perverted way of thinking that God will accept our works. People in the church do this as well. We think that only one style of music, one liturgy or even one church denomination will please God. However, there is only one way to please God and that is through faith in His Son, Jesus.
Today we are considering the Sabbath principle. Established in the Old Testament, Jesus was presenting a new idea to many. The Sabbath, or Shabbat, was made for man. It is intended to help refocus man on his relationship with God. The word Shabbat means to rest, to cease or to be in a state of inactivity. But the religious rulers of the day had made it a day to dread! The rules for the Sabbath were rigid and cumbersome. The joy of being refreshed was gone!
Because the regulations for Sabbath had been made unyielding, we catch a glimpse of…
The Pharisee’s BURDEN 23-24
What should have been a day of rejoicing, relaxation and reflection in the Lord became a time of condemnation. The Pharisee’s were joy killers! They wanted one to follow their rules and regulations to the letter of their law! Notice three thoughts given in verses 23-24.
First, we hear their COMPLAINT. They didn’t like what Jesus’ disciples were doing! They were working on the Sabbath. They complained to Jesus because He was their leader. He should’ve known better!
Then we observe their CONSTRAINTS. Condemning Jesus and His disciples had become an obsession for them. What they were doing was not unscriptural. But in their minds, the disciples were not obeying the Pharisees regulations. Funny though, the Pharisees would find ways to circumvent their own rules! Jesus warned His disciples to obey the religious rulers but not to behave like them.
Third, we notice their CONTEMPT. They hated Jesus. He was a threat to their religious “life”. Honestly, the Pharisees had a simple philosophy: Get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can and poison the rest! They had man-made rules that would choke a horse. David Hewitt, in his commentary, Mark: Free to Follow Jesus, listed several forbidden work items. Finger nails were not to be cut; a bucket could be tied to a belt but not on a rope. It was also forbidden to wear heavy shoes on the Sabbath. Each time you lifted your foot you would be guilty of carrying a burden. You could not look into a mirror for you might be tempted to pull a gray hair out and that would be working on the Sabbath. It is also stated that a person could not spit on the Sabbath because one might hit the ground creating a furrow…and that was work!
What rules and regulations we often add to the Word of God. Note the following illustration and how people often view us in living a Christian life.
Illustration - Jesus Accompanies Teens on Trip to Movie, Mall
Jesus went to the mall and a movie Saturday. As one might have hoped, he was welcome wherever he went. The life-size cutout of Jesus was accompanied by a youth group from Lamoni United Methodist Church who came to Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines to view the movie "The Nativity Story." As they took turns pushing the cardboard Jesus on a two-wheeled handcart through the mall’s festive decorations and Christmas music, the faces of the shoppers around them registered surprise and curiosity. Chatter at the food court quieted when the kids pushed Jesus by. Kiosk shopkeepers asked what was going on. One older man burdened with shopping bags was so fascinated, he nearly blundered into a glittering Christmas tree. The cardboard Jesus is an exercise in living their faith and "taking Jesus Christ with them everywhere," said the Rev. Steve McElroy. Earlier this year, McElroy had talked to about 20 middle school and high school students in his church about the challenge in living as a Christian. The discussion became more real when the pastor showed up with the cardboard cutout and asked the youth group if they would take Jesus with them any time they were together. "It’s one thing taking Jesus around local places. It’s more difficult to be a public Christian when you’re hauling him through the mall crowded with shoppers," Pastor McElroy said. "It’s a good test." Some of the teens admitted they felt self-conscious fear about meeting people they knew in the mall. Paige Toney, 14, of Davis City and Tylea Rippey, 14, of Leon were mortified at that thought. When it was their turn to shepherd the cutout around, they took Jesus to sit by the fireplace at the food court. "If the person we meet is a teacher, it would be OK," said Toney. Her brother had a explanation for anyone he knew, "I’ll just tell them our pastor made us do it," said Colton Toney, 12, of Davis City. Except for one woman who "wrinkled her nose up" at Grayson McElroy, 14, and Brady Kelsey, 11, both of Lamoni, "people stared at us, but mostly they smiled."
And the group didn’t have to buy a ticket to get Jesus into the theater. "Jesus gets a free pass!" Kelsey said. The group thoughtfully propped Jesus up to one side of the theater so the cutout wouldn’t block anyone’s view. After seeing the movie version of their savior’s birth, the mood young people was much more somber than when they were shopping, McElroy said. Perhaps they better understood their pastor’s purpose with the cardboard Jesus. "It’s a chance to show people we are Christians and we’re not embarrassed about it," said Agnes Ansong, 16, of Lamoni. "We want people to know what we believe in and that we take the Christmas season seriously."
We often look at our relationship with our Lord as a burden. It shouldn’t be that way. While I would not require someone to carry a cutout of Jesus around, I wonder if we feel that living or sharing our Christian faith is an embarrassment or inconvenience.
(Optional Illustration) The Gift of Guilt
In his book Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller writes about a Christmas Eve when his view of God was changed, and how that affected his perspective on everything else. For my mother that year I had purchased a shabby Christmas gift—a book, the contents of which she would never be interested in. I had had a sum of money with which to buy presents, and the majority of it I used to buy fishing equipment... I drifted in and out of anxious sleep, and this is when it occurred to me that the gift I had purchased for my mother was bought with the petty change left after I had pleased myself. I realized I had set the happiness of my mother beyond my own material desires. This was a different sort of guilt from anything I had previously experienced. It was a heavy guilt, not the sort of guilt that I could do anything about. It was a haunting feeling, the sort of sensation you get when you wonder whether you are two people, the other of which does things you can’t explain, bad and terrible things. The guilt was so heavy that I fell out of bed onto my knees and begged, not a slot-machine God, but a living, feeling God, to stop the pain. I crawled out of my room and into the hallway by my mother’s door and lay on my elbows and face for an hour or so, going sometimes to sleep, before finally the burden lifted and I was able to return to my room. We opened the rest of our gifts the next morning, and I was pleased to receive what I did, but when my mother opened her silly book, I asked her forgiveness, saying how much I wished I had done more. She, of course, pretended to enjoy the gift, saying how she wanted to know about the subject.
The guilt of giving at Christmas can be a tremendous burden. It is a heavy burden when we give because we feel that we HAVE to. Religion is also a burden. We do it because we MUST. The Lord has freed us from having to worship Him. We do it because we WANT to worship Him.
We now move from the Pharisees burden to the response Jesus gave. He shows us…
The Lord’s BLESSING 25-28
Life is to be lived in obedience through faith in Christ. It’s not about the requirements of the letter of the law but the spirit of the law. Notice the four things Jesus addresses.
First, Jesus gives a BIBLICAL response. That should encourage us to read the Word and answer our critic by knowing the Bible. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus responded by using the Word of God. He now answers His critics using the Word and correctly interpreting and applying it.
Jesus then provides them a HISTORICAL lesson. He uses the example of David fleeing from Saul. Modern scholars believe that either Jesus or Mark erred in naming Abiathar as the High Priest. It was not uncommon for the greater to be named over the lesser. Ahimelech was the High Priest in that day but his son, Abiathar, was greater in stature in later years. Jesus addressed this by implying in the Greek, “in the days of Abiathar.” This historical lesson should have cleared the disciples and Jesus. After all, God is more interested in our welfare than He is in the illegitimate rules of man. This lesson was given to show God’s concern about every aspect of our lives.
Then Jesus gives us a SPIRITUAL principle. The Sabbath was made for mans rejoicing, relaxation and reflection in the Lord. We are designed to take time off and remember our Savior. A continuous work load without rest will only break us down physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. God designed us to have a days rest.
Finally, Jesus makes a PRICELESS statement. The Creator of the Sabbath is also Lord over it! He made the day and rules the day! The Pharisees understood Him completely! In Matthew 12:8, Jesus confessed that He was the Messiah and had rule over the Sabbath! How they hated it for it. They began to intensify their desire to have Him destroyed and ruined.
Illustration – Hospital Bound
I received a phone call at work at 2 AM in the morning. At the time I was working at Procter and Gamble in Dallas and my wife, Deborah, was nine months pregnant. She told me that she wanted me to come straight home. (In my mind I’m thinking, “where else am I gonna go?”) I drove home as quickly as possible. We called our babysitter to watch the other two kids and headed towards the hospital. It was a twenty mile drive to the hospital in Dallas on nearly all freeway. I drove 80 MPH even though the speed limit was only 60. We made it to the hospital where our youngest son was born 15 minutes later!
Had I been stopped, it would’ve been doubtful that any policeman would have written me a ticket. Although I was disobeying the law, there was a higher law involved…an emergency situation!
The Pharisees believed their laws superseded all laws. They missed the point of God desiring compassion and not sacrifice. Faithfulness to Him in obedience is greater than the blood of bulls and goats.
Jesus gave His life that we may honor Him by living a life in faithful obedience. It’s not about obeying a meticulous man-made regulation. It’s living faithfully to Christ.
Churches can forget what our calling is. It’s not ultimately about American success. It’s about a simple obedience to a living Lord who loves and transforms us to be more like Him.
