Lord Of The Sabbath

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”  He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?  I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.  And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:1-6 (ESV)

In my last devotional, I discussed how the Sabbath can be used to prevent idolatry, a way to focus on God and not to solely rely on our work and money.  But there is another side to this coin.  Can we take the Sabbath too far; can we be legalistic about it?

I wanted to see how some people observe the Sabbath.  I have a friend whose mother was Mormon.  He told me he hated Sundays because he was not allowed to go outside and play, he had to stay inside all day.  I wanted to research this.  According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, which can be found on Brigham Young University’s website, the Sabbath should be void of work and recreation.  Instead, it is really about worship; church, singing, reading the Bible, meditation, visiting the sick, and family.  Not surprising since the ultimate goal of being a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints is to obtain god-hood. (Please note that The Well Church does not ascribe to Mormonism or recognize it as a path to salvation).  Another example is from a movie; don’t worry, it’s based on a true story.  In the film Chariots of Fire, the protagonist, Eric Liddell, is ason of Scottish missionaries.  He is a gifted runner and competes in the 1924 Summer Olympics for Great Britain.  He finds out that his event is on a Sunday and being a staunch member of the Church of Scotland, he finds himself in a pickle.  He has a once in a lifetime opportunity, but he would have to break the Sabbath.  This movie is very good, and I enjoy it very much.  But when I watch it, I’m not sure if I should admire Liddell’s courage, or critique him for being legalistic.

Let’s look at this narrative from Matthew.  The Pharisees were accusing the disciples of work, but they were way off.  The Law did not prevent people from picking grain to eat, it prevented the picking of grain for harvest.  The disciples, were not farmers; so,their argument didn’t hold any water.  The real issue, as always, was their heart.  The Pharisees were an interesting group of people.  Jerusalem (and the rest of what was once Israel) was under Roman rule, and the Jews were not too happy about that.  A sect within Judaism formed which believed that if they were good enough by following the Law, that God would send a Savior to physically overthrow the Romans and establish a kingdom on Earth.  In order to make sure that they were as righteous as possible, they practiced what was known as “fencing the Law.”  In other words, they made extra rules to make sure that they didn’t break the ones already in place.  This is why they viewed what the disciples did as breaking the Sabbath.  

But what they didn’t realize is that Sabbath was a way to remind us of God’s sovereignty, that there is ultimate rest in Him, not ourselves.  It should be joyful, not a burden.  The next six verses look at another accusation of Jesus breaking the Sabbath by healing a man with a withered hand.  Jesus heals this guy and gets in trouble.  Why would He get in trouble for doing something good?  Apparently, healing was considered work.  Jesus responds by stating “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (vv. 11 & 12).  Let’s put this into modern terms; if your car broke down on a Sunday, would you leave it in the middle of the street?

Going back to verse eight, Jesus refers Himself as the “lord of the Sabbath.”  Why does He say that?  This is because Jesus is king.  He has dominion over creation and salvation.  As I mentioned before, the Sabbath is a sign of God’s sovereignty.  By making this bold statement, Jesus puts Himself on the same level as God the Father.  Jesus tells the Pharisees that He knows the Sabbath better than they do.  They are angered by this because they are so blinded by their own self-righteousness, that they cannot see the living God right in front of them.  Do not be blinded by your self-righteousness.  Observe the Sabbath because you love God and trust Him, not so you can be “good.”

I love you all,

Justin