Mark 2:23-28
That
concept of having a Sabbath rest is something the LORD started. Work and rest
are important. Most of us have forgotten how to rest, or perhaps never learned
the joy of resting. We are a pretty driven people. Even when we “rest” we are
usually doing something. But as I read the original establishment of the
Sabbath Day as part of the LORD’s covenant with Israel, one thing jumped out at
me. When we take a day of rest, others also enjoy the benefit. The text in
Exodus speaks about the household help and the working animals getting the
benefit of our taking a day of rest. I had never thought about the benefit
others receive when I rest.
The
example of rest is of course the LORD. He worked for six days and then rested
the seventh. This pattern of work and rest is given to Israel for their
benefit, and a way to remember how important rest is. It is a way of
demonstrating faith in the LORD to provide. We don’t work during that seventh day,
and the seventh year as a demonstration of the LORD’s faithfulness and our
dependency.
But
we can get the application of this idea of rest all messed up, so that it loses
its true meaning. The religious climate of Jesus’ day made keeping the Sabbath
anything but restful. You had to ‘do’ all sorts of things on the Sabbath in
order to not be working. There were multiple steps and complicated rules that
must be followed in order to be a good Jew.
Jesus
is walking through a grain field. We don’t know where he was coming from or
what His ultimate destination was. All we know is that Mark includes this
section of teaching as part of this series of teaching and miracle to prove the
teaching. Here Mark shows Jesus refocusing the Sabbath observations. The
Sabbath is to benefit us, not the other way around.
Jesus’
disciples were hungry and picked some grain to eat. This was a common custom,
an accepted practice. They weren’t doing anything wrong. But the rules became
what was important, not the observation of the LORD’s Sabbath, a demonstration
of trust in Him.