Lord of the Sabbath

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the cornfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some ears of corn. The Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?'

He answered, 'Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.'

Then 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.' (Mark 2:23–28)

The disciples had been picking and eating corn as they passed through the fields to satisfy their hunger. But that, according to the Pharisees, had put them in breach of God's law which forbade the people of Israel to work on the Sabbath day.

But could picking a few ears of corn, rubbing them together in their hands and blowing away the chaff, be viewed as work? In the eyes of the Pharisees, apparently, yes; but in the eyes of Jesus, no.

Jesus told them that in criticising his disciples for doing this they were making man a slave to the Sabbath, which was not God's intention for it. God had instituted the Sabbath day for two reasons:

To provide a day of rest and refreshment, both spiritual and physical, for mankind.
To point to the work that his Son, Jesus Christ, would do on man's behalf.

A day of rest

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2–3)

On the seventh day God rested (Hebrew: sabat, meaning 'to rest, to cease, to stop') from all the work he'd done, and blessed (looked with favour upon) the seventh day, making it holy (the act of setting aside or devoting something to God).

So, even from the dawn of creation, God had declared the seventh day to be a special day: a day when man should rest from his labours and look to God.

This general principle was incorporated into the law God gave through Moses and specific rules and regulations were added at that time to test Israel's obedience. However, it was the Pharisees' interpretation of the rules that led them into confrontation with Jesus.

Jesus told them that God had made the Sabbath for man's benefit. I personally don't believe that God felt so tired after creating the universe that he had to rest. The Bible doesn't say that he felt tired, but merely that he rested (or ceased) from his work of creating.

God is spirit (John 4:24) and doesn't need to rest. It's only human beings and animals that need to rest. The fact that man has to rest and sleep is a constant reminder of his humanity.

Even the most powerful people in the world must, from time to time, stop what they are doing, close their eyes and lapse into a state of semi-consciousness where they become vulnerable and defenceless, purely because they haven't the strength to go on.

But the one who created heaven and earth does not sleep, nor does he need to sleep.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:1–4)

God didn't have to rest after creating the universe, but he chose to do so to set us an example. The God who created us knows what is best for us, and it's a wise believer who sets aside regular periods of time for rest and spiritual refreshment, because we need them.

A picture of Christ

The second reason God instituted the Sabbath day was to illustrate what his Son, Jesus Christ, would do on man's behalf. Colossians 2:16–17 gives us valuable insight into this truth and shows how we, as Christians, should view the Sabbath day:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

In the Old Testament, all the religious festivals that God required his people to keep were shadows (spiritual pictures) of what was yet to come. The reality of them all—all the spiritual truth they portrayed—is found in Christ.

All the festivals (including the Sabbath day) had spiritual significance because they pointed to Jesus and the salvation he would provide.

We haven't time to look at each in detail, but the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26–32) is a good example because, on the cross, Jesus atoned for the sins of the world (1 John 2:1–2).

Likewise the Sabbath day also pointed to Jesus, because it spoke of a day when man would rest from his labour (his attempt to find acceptance with God through his own righteous life) and receive, by faith, the righteous life that Jesus would live on his behalf (Romans 1:17; Jeremiah 33:14–16).

Those who have put their faith in Jesus have entered into the rest that God has provided for them through his Son (Hebrews 4:9–10).

Let no one judge you

Because of this, no Christian should judge another with respect to how they observe the Sabbath day, because God's main purpose for the Sabbath was to point man to Jesus.

For this very reason Romans 14:5 says:

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Once we have entered the spiritual Sabbath (the spiritual rest) provided for us by God, through Jesus Christ, it is entirely up to us how we observe the physical Sabbath.

Since the Church began, Christians have traditionally met together on the first day of the week, which is Sunday (Acts 20:7), rather than on the Jewish Sabbath (the seventh day), which is Saturday, probably because our Lord rose from the dead on the first day.

But it doesn't matter when a church meets. Jesus has promised to meet with us whenever two or three are gathered together in his name (Matthew 18:20). So, if the Lord is present at all of our meetings, then a Sunday meeting cannot be more sacred than a meeting held on any other day.

Christian festivals

Having been brought up an Anglican, as soon as I was born again Good Friday and Easter Day took on new significance as the full meaning of what Jesus had done for me on the cross flooded my heart.

But, as I've grown in the Lord, every day has become the same. I walk in the power of my Saviour's death and resurrection every day of my life so, for me, every day is Good Friday and Easter Day.

I remember a sister walking into our church one Pentecost Sunday and shouting: 'Hallelujah, the Spirit has come!' I reminded her that when you're baptized with the Holy Spirit (as both of us were) every day is Pentecost.

Christian festivals are not taught in Scripture. Nowhere in the New Testament are we told to celebrate certain aspects of our faith at particular times of the year. It was required under the Old Covenant, but it's not under the New.

In 325 AD the Church declared that Easter Day (a non-biblical festival) should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (equal day, equal night), which is why the date changes each year. Was that decree issued by the Lord? I don't think so.

Why, having given us his Spirit to lead us in worship (John 4:23–24), should God then decide that the theme of church meetings, on certain days of the year, should be governed by the position of the moon in relation to the earth, and the position of the earth in relation to the sun?

God used the stars to lead his people in worship in the Old Testament (Numbers 10:10; Matthew 2:1–2), but he doesn't now. However, each of us should be convinced in our own minds about this.

The scripture says that if a Christian regards one day as more sacred than another (Easter Day, for example) then to them it is more sacred—and the Lord will accept that. But to regard each day as the same is equally acceptable to the Lord.

I cannot personally regard one day as more holy than another because, when you walk with the Lord, every day is holy. However, we must be sensitive to each other's beliefs in these matters and do nothing that would upset our fellow Christians. If we do that we are not walking in love.

Romans 14:1–23 gives a complete teaching on this subject.

He is Lord

In the final verse of our text, Jesus told the Pharisees that he was Lord even of the Sabbath day. The Greek word translated 'Lord' (kyrios) means someone who has complete authority over something.

Who could have complete authority over the Sabbath day except the one who had brought it into existence—namely God himself?

This was the second claim to deity that Jesus made in Mark's Gospel and it served to increase the persecution that would eventually lead to his death.

Michael Graham
January 2003

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