24.124 | JESUS IS LORD OF THE SABBATH | Mark 2:23-28 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Sinon

God’s Word For Today

God’s Word for Today 23 May 2024 23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 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: 26 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?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” -Mark 2:23-28 ESV JESUS IS LORD OF THE SABBATH The Sabbath is an extremely important part of Judaism. As the fourth of the Ten Commandments, God commonly condemned the Israelites should they refuse to honor the Sabbath (Eze 20:13, 16, 21). It is kept in order to honor the seventh day of creation, on which God rested (Ex 20:11), trust Him for their needs (Ex 16:22–26), rest from labor (Ex 20:9–10), exhibit righteousness (Ex 31:14), and as a mark of distinction between Israel and pagan nations (Eze 20:12). According to Deut 23:25, plucking corn from someone’s field is not stealing as long as they use their hands not sickle. The question is whether plucking grain is allowed on Sabbath or it is categorized as ‘work’. It is said that Jewish leaders had created thirty-nine Melachot (working) prohibitions to ensure no good Jew came close to breaking the Law. It's reasonable to assume these Pharisees lived by similar prohibitions. By plucking grain, separating the wheat from the chaff, disposing of the chaff, and eating the grain, the disciples violate at least four of the Melachot: reaping, threshing, winnowing, and selecting. This was the reason why the Pharisees questioned Jesus as they saw His disciples plucking grain. According to their traditional laws, this was an act of "work" dishonoring the Sabbath. Interestingly, Jesus did not argue with them about the law. He cited the hungry David who ate the ‘bread of the Presence’ inside the tabernacle which no one is supposed to do except the priest[1 Sam 21:1-9]. In other words, he did something related to ceremonial laws which was arguably far "worse" than His disciples did. Evidently, he addressed the heart-attitude of the Pharisees. What the priest did by giving David and his men the bread, they acknowledged a "higher law" at work. In that particular case, the command to have mercy on the needy supersedes the purely ceremonial law limiting who can eat the bread. While not explicitly stated, implicitly woven into the Law is the idea that feeding the hungry is a God-given priority. Caring for the needs of the needy, for instance, is more important than ceremonial rituals. Grace supersedes the law. He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast Spotify: http://bit.ly/glccfil_spotify Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-applepcast Google Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-googlepcast Audible Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-audible Follow us on various media platforms: https://gospellightfilipino.contactin.bio #gospellightfilipino #godswordfortoday #bookofMark