Mark Vol. 1 - Week 8 (2:23-3:6)
Mark 2:23-3:6
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The Lord of the Sabbath
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Mark 2:23-3:6 〰️ The Lord of the Sabbath 〰️
This week, we get to see an interesting conceptual overlap between last week's passage in 2:13-22 and this week's, 2:23-3:6. Two underlying themes in these passages are the failure to uphold the old covenant and the teaching of the new covenant. In 2:23-3:6, Jesus and His disciples are walking through a grain field and picking some grain to snack on; a big no-no on the Sabbath, as that is seen as work according to Pharisees' interpretation and expansion of the law. Jesus responds to their legalistic view of the Sabbath by saying, "The Sabbath was made for* man, not man for the Sabbath" (v27). Jesus also performs a miracle, healing a man on the Sabbath in a synagogue. Once again, He displays His power over physical infirmities while actively setting aside the old covenant to make room for the new. This is part of what we read last week when Jesus spoke of the patch of garment and the wineskins in 2:19-22. The time of the old ways and the Law given to Moses by God is transitioning out; the rules of engagement for righteousness and salvation have changed. Now, salvation comes through faith rather than religious devotion and following the letter of the Law.
This brings us back to the central question Mark continually asks readers in his Gospel: Who is this Jesus? If we were a witness in the field in 2:23-28 or in the synagogue in 3:1-6, we might think that He was a guru who just broke the laws of the Sabbath twice in one day. The religious leaders pounced at opportunities to catch Him in the act. "In order to accuse him, they were watching him closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath" (3:2). In the synagogue on the Sabbath, they weren't worshipping as they should have or even paying attention to the teaching. Instead, they watched Jesus closely to see what he would do, hoping He might break the law. And He does. But Jesus doesn't break the Jewish law for the heck of it. No, Jesus takes His time to remind the people that the Sabbath was a gift from God to the nation of Israel.
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God gave the Sabbath (šabāṯ - to rest, cease, or stop) to the Hebrew people as a reminder of His blessing and love (Exodus 31:12-17). God's Law in Exodus is straightforward and broad for a reason. God told His people to rest. He wanted His people to rest in Him rather than work seven days a week—the specifics of what it means to rest matter less than the heart behind it. Today, we're a little removed from that mindset with our structured 40-hour work week and built-in time off on Saturdays and Sundays. While different jobs have different schedules, chances are your job has some time off. The nation of Israel wasn't like this, though. When God gave the law, Israel had just come out of slavery in Egypt. They didn't get a day off or time to rest, and for generations, they were oppressed and forced into harsh physical labor. There was a deep groaning for rest that they didn't know they needed. It's like a parent "forcing" their young child to nap. The son or daughter might not want it, but they need it because it's good for them. Likewise, God commanded His people to Sabbath, which is why Jesus told the Pharisees, "The Sabbath was made for (or because of) man and not man for the Sabbath" (v27). God did not make man to "serve their time" every week like a prison sentence. God created the Sabbath after He created man.
So why is this important to know? Well, when the nation of Israel finally settled and expanded generation by generation, they felt a growing need to clarify God's original commands. While we don't know the motive behind it (it could have been a fear of sinning or a desire for power), we do know that by Jesus' time, there was the expanded written law, with over 613 commandments.[1] The gap between receiving the Law from God and adding hundreds of detailed laws is big. We should remember that God never intended for the Law to separate man from Himself. Unfortunately, that's precisely the issue in this passage in Mark. The Sabbath is not a bad thing or something to undo entirely. The Sabbath is the baby, and the human-expanded laws are the bathwater. These sub-laws that the Jews wrote created a fence around people, fostering fear and religion rather than adoration and gratitude for God. In both parts of this passage in Mark, Jesus is teaching that the Law was made for the good of the people, not to be a barrier between man and God.
So here we are again, with this recurring theme over the last few weeks. The Old Law is gone. Why? Well, the Israelites thought they could rightly obey and follow God, but they were wrong. By its nature, sin traps us. God knows we can't keep a law, and the existence of the Law made that clear. In his letter to the Roman church, Paul wrote that "the law came along to multiply (reveal) our trespass" (Romans 5:20a). The purpose of the law wasn't to burden us by showing the gap between us and our holy Lord, but to reveal our need for salvation that isn't dependent on our merit. That's why Jesus came, upending the old law. Righteousness is not dependent on performance but on the finished work of a savior.
So, as we're reading through this passage and discussing it in our community groups, we want to view all the factoids and discussions around the Sabbath and healing through the Gospel lens. God created the law for the good of His people (Israel), and God sent His Son, Jesus, for the good of His people (all those who believe). Jesus teaches us that the law has its limits. When in need, David and his men were permitted to eat the unpunished consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:1–6). Again, the law was intended to reveal our need for God and the Savior, not separate us from Him.
When we read about the Sabbath and rest, it can feel really antiquated and old-fashioned. We can't talk about rhythms of rest if we don't first read the opening chapters of Scripture (Genesis 2:2-3). Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) are commonly discussed in conversations around the Sabbath. They're a specific corner of Christianity where members rigidly adhere to resting every week. They work for 5-6 days and rest for 1, no questions asked.
Interestingly, the average life expectancy of SDAs is 6-10 years longer than the average American, at 79 years. If you factor in their lifetime of resting days, they get those days back. Taking one day a week (52 days a year) for 79 years equates to 11.25 years, almost a 1-to-1 return on the days rested. Now, this isn't an endorsement of becoming an SDA. But there are things we can glean from this. So much of our culture, even in the church, is about hustling, unending work, and wringing it out. We should give 100% on our work days and fully rest in God on the Sabbath.
Sabbath looks a little different for everyone, but the purpose is to rest in God and His presence, delight in Him and His creation, and be grateful for our blessings. Some so many nuances and details can feed into a healthy or unhealthy Sabbath or day of rest. I can't even begin to scratch the surface here, but Practicing The Way and The Gospel Coalition have excellent resources and explanations of what it looks like and what it means to rest rhythmically. In the end, the most important piece is this: rest is good because God said so.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
What are some repeating words, phrases, or concepts in this passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Read 1 Samuel 21:1–6. Why does Jesus mention this story when responding to the Pharisees in Mark 2:25-28?
What does "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" mean? How does that impact the way we should view the Sabbath?
The Pharisees were more concerned with keeping the law than with knowing God and His heart for people. What are some areas where you struggle with this?
How does it make you feel to know that righteousness before God doesn't depend on your merit but on Jesus' finished work on the cross?
*Some manuscripts say “because of man” rather than “for man.”
1. John Mark Comer, Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 2015), 222.