Mark
2:23-28
The
Disciples Gather Wheat on the
Sabbath
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?
-
- 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.'
-
- 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
that we think, and the way
that 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 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
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article about what Jesus says
about working on the Sabbath may
be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in
any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or
website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction of this
report.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
|
