One Sabbath [Jesus] was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And 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.” Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” (Mark 2:23–3:6, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The pharisees go up against Jesus, again. He violates the Sabbath, according to them. It usually doesn’t turn out good for them. “Look, why are your disciples violating the law of the Sabbath!” Jesus responds with an example from the Old Testament. David and his men were hungry, they ate the bread of the Presence. This bread was set aside for the priests (the sons of Aaron), it was place before the Ark of the Covenant as a sign that God provides for the people Israel in all things. David commanded the priest to give it to his men, because they needed food after their long journey, and no other bread was available. Jesus uses this example to show that the ceremonial law must give way to human necessity. He caps it off by saying,
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27, ESV)Then Jesus caps it off by going into the synagogue, and healing a man with a withered hand, on the Sabbath! He did it in full view of the Pharisees, who were watching for just such a violation. Jesus’ question to them puts the whole discussion into context,
And [Jesus] said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But [pharisees] were silent.” (Mark 3:4, ESV)The pharisees were silent. The word in Greek is σιωπάω which means they were ‘unable’ to speak. Jesus words made them silent. They are caught in their hypocrisy. They couldn’t answer for fear of being found out. They hate being trapped and shown to be what they are by Jesus. And hate is understating it. Their loathing for Jesus is so strong they side with the Herodians, who were in bed with the Romans, in other words their political enemies, to destroy Jesus. Again, the word destroy is mild. The Greek word means to “destroy in battle”. They set the Son of Man as their enemy. So violent is their intention that nothing Jesus says will convince them otherwise. According to the Pharisees, Jesus must die.
Where does this hatred come from? Jesus is confronting their hypocrisy. He is challenging their authority to declare what is right and wrong for God’s people.
Later in the Gospel of Mark,
And [Jesus] cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (Mark 8:15, ESV)When Jesus puts the Pharisees together with Herod, he points out their thirst for power. In context, the disciples are worried about having enough bread to feed them. Jesus reminds them of his feeding of the four thousand, and how he provided for the peoples needs. The pharisees and Herodians depend on their political power. God’s people are to depend on him.
So, what does Jesus mean when he says,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”The Sabbath was God’s provision for working people. He established the Sabbath day so that people had a day of rest from their labors. Especially, those who work menial jobs. Everyone needs a day off, especially those whose work is difficult. The Sabbath was set aside by God for just that. Luther recognizes this in the Large Catechism.
In that way [the observance of the Sabbath Day] both man and beast might recover and not be weakened by endless labor. (LC, 80)He goes on to say,
Later, the Jewish people restricted the Sabbath too closely and greatly abused it. They defamed Christ and could not endure in Him the same works that they themselves would do on that day, as we read in the Gospel [Matthew 12:11]. They acted as though the commandment were fulfilled by doing no manual work whatsoever. This, however, was not the meaning. But, as we shall hear, they were supposed to sanctify the holy day or day of rest.We see it in our reading for today. They could not endure Jesus’ activities on the Sabbath, because it didn’t bring them control and power over people.
Luther says that we honor the Sabbath day, even though we don’t do it on the correct day, by hearing God’s Word. It is something we ought to do every day, but sometimes our work prevents us. So, God has set aside a day for just that. We use Sunday (Luther calls it the Lord’s Day because it is the day Jesus rose from death). On this day, Luther says, we have the freedom and time to attend divine service.
But our primary focus is on God’s Word. Especially, hearing and learning it. As he says in the Small Catechism,
You shall sanctify the holy day. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.In the Large Catechism Luther says,
Whenever God’s Word is taught, preached, heard, read, or meditated upon, then the person, day, and work are sanctified. This is not because of the outward work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. Therefore, I constantly say that all our life and work must be guided by God’s Word, if it is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force and being fulfilled
God has provided a place and time for you to hear preaching and the Word, for your meditation. The day and place are holy, not because of the day itself or even the place itself, but because of what God does here, and what you do here. I hope you have a feeling for how rare it is, especially in a location like ours. It is only by God’s blessing that it continues. Every week I preach justification by faith to my people, because every week they forget it. Martin Luther
Luther isn’t talking about how forgetful his people are, he is commenting on how Satan, the world and our sinful flesh work against it. You need to hear about Jesus for you constantly. You need to hear that you are sinner who cannot be justified in any other way but Jesus. You need to hear about his life, all that he did for you, he death on the cross where he took your sin into death. You need to hear that he rose again from death on the third day. You need to hear about his pending return to bring you to himself. It seems such a simple message, but as Luther says, you forget it every week. And it isn’t because you are forgetful, there is so much noise out there, and in here. It all fights every day against the Good News of Jesus for you. Sometimes it is very subtle, sometimes it is overt.
God provides for you a way to fight it. It’s here. This place isn’t holy because of anything we do but because of what God does here. I’ve been told (not here) that I am a one-point preacher. Well, if that one point is Jesus, I’m doing what God has called me here to do. If you hear about Jesus here, especially how he won your forgiveness, if you take that into your everyday life, it is enough. You need to hear it every day, because you forget it every day.
Do you break this commandment? I’d be a poor preacher if is said no. You have your sinful flesh that wants to stay in bed instead of hearing God’s Word. You have work calls for you not to attend. You don’t let God’s Word permeate all that you do every day. You keep silent when you should speak. You fight for your best interest instead of what is best for the church. Your mind drifts instead of paying attention to the Word and preaching here. There are even times when you forget all that Jesus did for you. You are not alone. I do it all too. Your brothers and sisters sitting next to you have the same sins. We are all weak.
We all need a Savior. No one more than your preacher. That’s what this place is all about. Proclaiming your Savior to you. Proclaiming his life, death and resurrection to cover even those sins. That’s what makes this day, time and place holy. It is God’s gift to you, for you. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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