The Disciples
Gather Wheat on the Sabbath
Bible Study Lesson from Mark
2:23-28
2:23
"One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain
fields, and as his disciples walked along, they
began to pick some heads of grain.
-
- 24
The Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they
doing what is unlawful on the
Sabbath?'
-
- 25
He answered, 'Have you never read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry and in
need?
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- 26
In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he
(David) 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.'
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- 27
Then 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.''"
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way we think, and the way we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Jesus talks
about working on the Sabbath
By first reading this
passage, you might get the impression that Jesus
and his disciples were picking the grain without
permission or were trespassing. But,
in reality, it was customary for farmers to leave
the outside rows of their wheat fields unharvested
especially to feed travelers and the
poor.
Breaking the
Law
So, what law was being
broken? According to Exodus
34:24 crops should
not be harvested on the Sabbath in order to keep
farmers from worshiping God on this holy day which
was set aside for rest.
The Pharisees were masters of
"majoring in the minors" when it came to
interpreting the law and sought out every small
misdemeanor as reason to apply the laws to others;
especially when these "crimes" involved
Jesus.
Were the Pharisees Bad
People?
Not all but they were
thorough. They (Pharisees) had the noblest of
intentions when interpreting the law. But, many
times they completely missed the point. They were
so caught-up in the laws of the Sabbath that they
ignored the true meaning of why the law was
created.
Jesus completely understood
the true meaning of the Sabbath. He confirmed that
the Sabbath was made in order for us to rest, to be
physically & mentally restored, and to
talk to God.
I feel that we, in many ways,
are like the Pharisees; sometimes eager to point
out wrong doings of others in order to hide our own
shortcomings (Matthew
7:4).
As Christians, let's be
careful not to apply God's laws to other people
unless we understand them ourselves. Even then,
let's use what we know to gently nudge; not to
chastise others.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
read John
3:16 for more
information.
Verses about working on the Sabbath are from
Life Application Study Bible: New International
Version
More Study Lessons from
Mark
Mark
1:21-45 - Jesus Teaches and Heals with
Authority
Mark
2:1-12 -
Jesus
Heals a Paralyzed
Man
Mark
2:13-17
- Jesus
Eats with
Sinners
Mark
2:18-22
- Religious
Leaders Ask Jesus about
Fasting
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