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KEEPING THE SABBATH (II)
THURSDAY, MAY 28
Mark 2:23-28
1 Samuel 21:1-6
 
“The Son of man
is Lord also of the sabbath.”
 
KEEPING THE SABBATH (II)
 
In Mark 2:25-28, Jesus rebutted the accusations of the Pharisees by citing the example of David who ate of the shewbread that only the priests were allowed to eat. David was hungry, and Ahimelech the priest, knowing the law for sure, did not forbid David and his men to fill their stomachs (1 Sam 21:1-6, cf. Lev 24:9). Ahimelech “broke” the ceremonial law of Leviticus 24:9, but was blameless. David likewise “broke” that law by eating of the ceremonial bread, and was guiltless as well. If Ahimelech and David were innocent, how could Jesus be guilty? Moreover, Jesus Himself is the Lord of the Sabbath! The higher law of necessity overrides the lower law of ceremony. It ought to be noted that Jesus in this particular instance did not even depart from a God-given ceremonial law, but a man-made rabbinical tradition. The charges of the Pharisees were totally baseless and without merit. Jesus did not break the law but kept it perfectly — His active obedience.
 
Jesus laid down a wonderful principle for Sabbath-keeping when He said, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath was instituted not as a burden but as a benefit to man. Thus any legalistic application of the Sabbath law contradicts its Godgiven role for man (cf. Luke 11:46).
 
The puritans, in their overemphasis on the doctrine of sanctification, became legalistic. Instead of stressing on the spirit of the law, they put an undue emphasis on the letter of the law. Calvin has rightly commented, “The point of it is that it is wrong to turn the sabbath to man’s destruction, since God instituted it for his sake. The Pharisees saw Christ’s disciples busy in a holy work, they saw them exhausted and famished by their journey, yet they were angry that these hungry men should refresh their weary bodies with a few grains of corn. Is it not an ignorant perversion of God’s will to demand the observance of the sabbath to man’s hurt when God intended it to help him?” (New Translation, Harmony, 2:30).
What insight and wisdom!
 
THOUGHT: Sabbath is a day of worship.
PRAYER: Lord, may I be found in Thy house every Lord’s Day.

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