Starving

 

Mark unfolded for people who Jesus is by telling about His ministry. In Mark 2:1-3:6, he told five stories of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. At first, they questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive. Jesus realized the unasked questions they raised in their hearts and minds and replied to them. After that, He met with open opposition to His teaching, healing, casting out of demons, and forgiving people of their sins.

The reason the religious leaders challenged Jesus is that God ordained the tribe of Levi, their tribe, to be His priests. These priests were God’s intermediaries between Him and the Israelites. The rabbis and Pharisees taught and enforced God’s Laws, led holy services, offered sacrifices for the sins of the people, and were leaders in the community. For this, God provided them with a place to live, income, and food. The religious leaders enacted 633 laws based on God’s Laws to help the Israelites learn how to be righteous before God. Over time, these manmade laws caused the Pharisees to get a bloated sense of worth and righteousness. They ended up using the laws to broadcast their own piety. Putting their piety next to other people would show the sinfulness of the people. This standard made the religious leaders appear righteous to the Israelites. The religious leaders’ intentions had changed. God appointed the religious leaders to guide the Israelites to focus on Him. Instead, they focused on themselves.

After Jesus’ last encounter with the Pharisees in the chiasm in Mark 3:1-6, those leaders joined the Herodians to catch Jesus breaking the law. They wanted to arrest and kill Him. By doing this, these leaders would remove Jesus’ influence. They aimed to regain their own self-declared stature in the nation. These Pharisees considered their status and self-declared righteousness more important than killing an innocent man by crucifixion.

In the next section of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee reached its apex. Jesus continued to teach. He called the twelve disciples, and they began to understand better who Jesus was. The Pharisees and scribes hated Him more openly. More people were curious about Jesus and swarmed to Him, not having a deep understanding of who He is and what He came to do on earth. Whether or not a person believed what Jesus said, the crux for them and for people now, is that Jesus’ presence requires a response from each person.

The Multitude

⁷ Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea and from ⁸ Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. (Mark 3:7-8 [NASB])

Remember, Jesus summarized His preaching and purpose in Mark 1:14-15. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” After this passage in Mark’s Gospel, Mark showed Jesus’ ministry of teaching, healing, casting out demons, and forgiving people of their sins. He recalled Jesus said He is the Son of Man, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. Of the other Jews who watched Jesus do these things, some trusted in Him as the Messiah. Other people still questioned if He was the promised Messiah. Another group of people resolutely sided with the Pharisees, deciding He was not the Messiah. With this new section of his Gospel, Mark tells his readers of the multitude of people who flocked to Jesus. They were like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 3:7-8 provides answers to the questions of who, what, why, whom, and for whom. Mark established the setting in which Jesus ministered. Jesus, from this time, rarely entered cities and large towns. He avoided them because the Pharisees sought to charge Him with a crime and arrest Him. Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life for the sins of others. That time had not come yet, though. He did not flee from the cities and towns out of fear. Jesus did not go to these places because the Pharisees were in them and the time had not come yet for His sacrifice. More people must learn about Jesus first. Because of these two things, Jesus stayed in the places outside of villages, towns, and cities. He no longer needed to visit people. They traveled to Him.

Verse seven recalls, “Jesus withdrew to the sea.” The sea about which Mark wrote was probably the Sea of Galilee because of the closeness of it to Jesus’ “home away from home.” The Gospels record Jesus often going to a place away from people. Sometimes He wanted to pray and other times He wanted to refresh Himself or teach His appointed apostles. Mark does not explain why Jesus walked to the sea this time. Jesus may have gone there to retreat and refresh Himself. What questions are important in this setting who and by whom?

Jesus walked to the sea with His disciples. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus had not appointed His twelve disciples yet. Disciples followed Jesus. These disciples followed Him to observe and learn. Besides the disciples (people who regularly follow Jesus), a “large multitude” of people followed Jesus to the sea. Strong’s dictionary defines a “multitude” of people as a vast number of people. In the stories of Jesus’ ministry, the gospel writers often used “multitude” to refer to the 4000 and 5000 people Jesus fed on the hillside. Whether 100 or 5000 people followed Him that day, the important thing is people came to watch and listen to Jesus. This may have been their first or second time, but they had received information about Jesus and wanted to observe and listen to Him for themselves. Who led and taught this group? Jesus. To whom did Jesus address His message? The multitude of people.

Jesus’s reach grew. Mark wanted people to understand about Him. He wanted them to realize the good news spread beyond the borders of Israel. The curiosity about Jesus grew. Mark said a multitude of people came from Galilee, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, Tyre, and Sidon. If you study a map of Israel, Galilee is the northern part of Israel. Samaria is between Galilee and Judea. Judea is the southern part of Israel. Below Judea is Idumea. On the upper left border of Israel, Tyre and Sidon laid, both on the Mediterranean Sea. The other side of the Jordan included the nine cities of the Decapolis, Nabatea (Arabia), and Syria. Jesus drew people from these regions. To these people, He addressed His message, and they saw what happened. This answers the question of what.

Who were the people who traveled to watch and listen to Jesus? Galileans descended from a mix of Jews, Romans, and Greeks. People from other nations lived in Galilee because of the Roman road built through Capernaum. Judea was about 109 km (67.7 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was a Roman province, too. The people of Judea were mostly Jews. Jerusalem was 123 km (76.5 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was the capital of Judea and in it, the Jewish Temple stood. The ruler of Judea was a Herod whose lineage came from outside Israel. He ruled Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. (Note Mark did not include Samaria in this list from where the multitude came.)

Mark listed areas where people came from outside of Israel. Idumea was one of those areas. Herod Archelaus ruled over Judea, Idumea, and Samaria during the latter part of Jesus’ life. He came from the Edom/Idumean part of the Roman empire, which was south of Judea. Edom/Idumea was not part of Canaan that God gave to His people, Israel. How did Herod become a Jew and become acceptable as a leader to the Jews? During the rule of the Maccabeans (Hasmoneans) 165-63 BC, the Jewish leaders—Maccabeans/Hasmonians—coerced the Edomites to convert to Judaism and submit to circumcision. Because this made Herod the Great a Jew in the eyes of the Hasmoneans, Hyrcanus, a Hasmonian leader, approved the marriage of his daughter to the future Herod. This first Herod over Israel was Herod the Great. He came from Idumea. Herod the Great lobbied the Roman emperor so he could be the ruler of Israel in the Roman empire. The Roman ruler made him an ethnarch over the Jews. Herod the Great died and his sons and daughter inherited portions of his territory. Herod Archelaus, one of Herod the Great’s sons, ruled over the southern part of his father’s territory. The Romans renamed Edom to Idumea. From this region, Mark said people traveled to see and hear Jesus at the sea. These people walked for about 256 km (159 miles) to the Sea of Galilee.

Mark noted three other areas from where people came. People came from Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were 63 km (39 miles) and 83.8 km (52 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. These two cities were located in Phoenicia. The people of Phoenicia made purple cloth and were sailors. They descended from early Canaanites, who occupied Canaan before God gave the land to the Israelites. Phoenician and Israelite royalty married each other and never warred against each other. Rome overthrew the Phoenicians and ruled them. The third group of people came from the other side of the Jordan River. These people came from Nabatea (Arabia) and descended from Ishmael. The east side of the Jordan included people from Syria, too. These people were not part of the Israelite promise from God. Yet, God sent Jesus to save all people. That includes the people of Ishmael.

Each person of that multitude came to listen to and watch Jesus. They sought the truth for themselves about what they heard from other people. Did some of them earnestly hope Jesus was the Messiah, or did they seek entertainment? Considering the distances which the people traveled to see and hear Jesus, one must wonder who would walk that far just for entertainment.

The Preparation

⁹ And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the masses, so that they would not crowd Him, ¹⁰ for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had diseases pushed in around Him in order to touch Him.

Jesus told His disciples to make a boat ready for Him. Why would Jesus need a boat? He did not fish. He did not say He wanted to get to the other side of the sea. Though, if Jesus wanted to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee quickly, going across by boat was the quickest route. The width of the sea is 13 km (8.1 miles).

Jesus explained He wanted the boat to be ready for Him because of the multitude. He wanted to be able to separate Himself from the crowd. Did this mean Jesus wanted to run away from them? Definitely not. Jesus already told the disciples a few times why He came to earth. More towns and villages needed Him to visit so more people could hear about Him. Jesus did not want to flee this crowd of people.

Why would Jesus want the disciples to prepare a boat? Consider what Jesus had done so far. He had healed a paralyzed man and made a withered hand new. Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law and cast out evil spirits from people. The people from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, the other side of the Jordan River, Idumea, Tyre, and Sidon came to observe Jesus. Some of the people may have wanted Jesus to heal them. Others may have just wanted to touch a part of Jesus’ clothing. The idea of touching, as Mark recorded it, conveyed the understanding that a person wanted to touch someone in a way that changed him or herself. They wanted to touch Jesus for a personal gain, such as healing. People in our time want to be near a person of influence, talk with him or her, and/or get his or her autograph and picture to say and prove they, themselves, are important to other people, too. This crowd of people around Jesus wanted something from Jesus, too. They wanted to understand if He was truly the Son of Man and if He truly healed people and cast out demons.

For this multitude of people from throughout Israel and the surrounding nations to be near Jesus, they would have had to crowd Him—push and jostle Him. Healing people, having people crowd around Him who touched and jostled Him, would have wearied Jesus physically and mentally. It might have caused physical harm to Him and other people. Jesus did not want anyone hurt. If Jesus found Himself tightly enclosed among the people, He might have found it difficult or impossible to teach this crowd. What do people do now to get a crowd of people to watch and hear them? They stand separated from the people, often on a raised dais, so the entire mass of people can look at and listen to them. So that the crowd would not crush Jesus and more people could watch and hear Him, Jesus told His disciples to get a boat ready.

Jesus would not flee people seeking Him. God spoke about seekers in the Old Testament. He said, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13 [NASB]). God spoke through Azariah in 2 Chronicles 15:2b when He said, “If you seek Him (the LORD), He will let you find Him.” David wrote in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and rescued me from all my fears.” Instead of fleeing, Jesus brought the LORD near to them with His presence and His sacrifice. He stayed with the crowd but prepared to stand in the boat to teach them. Jesus declared who He is and made Himself ready for people to find Him, for those who sought the Son of God.

The Proclamation

¹¹ And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.

Jesus desired people to seek Him and come to know Him as the Messiah. People sought healing and exorcising of evil spirits. More of them wished to see for themselves if what they had listened to another person saying about Jesus was true. Jesus took every opportunity to share with the people that God incarnate has come to save them. He came to earth to preach, teach, heal, and give freedom from sins and eternal death. This opportunity Jesus had with the multitude was no different.

During this time with the crowd, people observed Jesus. They listened to Him. Evil spirits inhabiting people saw Jesus. Though people tried to deny Jesus as the Son of God, evil spirits could not deny Him. Instead, they proclaimed who Jesus is. Mark records another of these instances in verses eleven and twelve. In Mark 1:23-26, and 34, unclean spirits declared Jesus is the Holy One of God and submitted to His authority. Mark 3:11-12 shows this once again, except the demons call Jesus something different. They shouted a genuine witness declaring Jesus’ divinity.

Based on what Mark said in these two verses, Jesus met people possessed by evil spirits. He wrote, “And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him.” This phrase connotes more than one encounter with evil spirits among this multitude of people. Satan’s minions were not more powerful than Jesus. They recognized when they met someone of greater power, as seen in verse eleven. The evil spirits—demons—fell prostrate at Jesus’ feet. The spirits controlled the people which they inhabited. They made the people fall prostrate before Jesus. These demons recognized who Jesus was. Because they inhabited people, the people would recognize who Jesus is—the Son of God.

The spirits declared this exact thing about Jesus. They shouted, “You are the Son of God!” Though no person so far in Mark’s Gospel declared this about Jesus, the demons could not silence themselves. They had to shout it just as Jesus said, even the stones would declare who He is (Luke 19:40).

The demons could not silence themselves from telling the truth. Jesus, though, had the power and authority to command them not to make Him known. In verse twelve, He “strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.” Jesus ordered these demons not to tell people who He is. Did this powerful and authoritative warning make the people even more curious and more determined to tell others about Jesus—what He did and spoke?

Jesus recognized the right time for people to listen to and accept Him as the Son of God. This time, when the multitude met Him at the sea, was not the right time. Because of that, Jesus commanded the demons to be silent. He wanted the changed hearts of people who trusted in Him for salvation. He did not need or want the confessions of the evil spirits.

Application and Conclusion

Luke 19:10 records Jesus saying, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.” Matthew 18:11 states this, too. Jesus did not come to seek one person to join Him for eternity in heaven. He wants all people to know Him and believe in Him for salvation. For this reason, Jesus traveled to many towns, villages, cities, and hillsides. He healed and cast out demons with divine power and authority. Jesus taught the Scriptures as one who was acquainted well with them and God’s intention for them.

Jesus did not flee from a crowded seaside. He did not run for fear of His safety. Jesus chose a way for all the people in the crowd to hear and see Him. His reach extended beyond the borders of Israel by this time. People from the entire area sought Jesus because they had heard about Him. People starved for more. They did not realize they starved for Jesus until they met Him.

Today, mass media allows the teaching of God’s word and His interventions in this world to be known when it happens. Still, many people from different tribes, nations, and languages have not heard about Jesus. At the time of Mark 3:7-12, Jesus realized He should appoint people to take His message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Since that time, every believer in Jesus has become His messenger in their own sphere of influence and thousands in other nations. Jesus declared this in Matthew 28:18-20, when He appointed the apostles to go make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After that, they were to teach everything He commanded them. Jesus reiterated this for every believer, as Luke recorded in Acts 1:8. Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

What does this mean for you today? Ask yourself these questions.

1.     Do I believe Jesus is God’s Son and have I trusted in Him and received from Him salvation from my sins and eternal life with God?

2.     Have I told anyone about Jesus and His love for them?

3.     If not, what keeps you from obeying Jesus’ command to each believer? How much do you hate someone not to tell them?

Jesus still heals even now. He gives freedom to people enslaved by people and things like unhealthy habits. Jesus casts out demons. He gives sight to the blind. Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him in His kingdom for eternity. People are starving for hope. The gospel of Jesus fills each person’s need so they starve no longer. 

It is time for you to make a choice:

Are you starving for what the world does not offer?

Jesus will meet you at your need.

He will fill you with what you crave and need.

God loves the people on earth so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die for their sins so that whoever believes in Him will not die eternally separated from Him, but to have eternal life with Him. (John 3:16 [my paraphrase])

 

 

 

The Rescue

 

Mark dedicated himself to showing Jesus’ ministry and, through that, revealing who Jesus is. In this section of his gospel, he used a chiasm. A chiasm is a literary learning technique. Mark used it to reveal Jesus’ power and authority over each part of life. These stories show how Jesus’ authority is greater than that of the Jewish leaders’ authorities. As Mark progressed in the telling of these encounters Jesus had with the Jews, he relayed Jesus’ power and authority more fully. Prior to this chiasm, the religious leaders had not confronted Jesus openly. The chiasm shows how their anger and hatred of Him increased from internal musings and questionings to outright, confrontational questioning. They challenged Jesus about who He thought He was. The religious leaders questioned Him about His power and authority to heal, forgive, cast out demons, set aside religious laws, and forgive sins.

How did Mark get us to the point of this chiasm? Mark told us about Jesus in the first two chapters. Jesus walked to the Jordan River to be baptized by John, His cousin. After that, God’s voice boomed from heaven, saying, “This is My Son, with whom I am well pleased.” People heard this, and yet, Jesus still had to prove who He is. As Mark continued in chapter one, Jesus called four men to follow Him and taught in the Capernaum synagogue with power and authority. He healed Simon’s mother-in-law and the leper. Jesus cast out demons. He told the four men He must go to more villages, because He came for all people. Each of these, Jesus did to give freedom from human maladies and, thus, prove He can free people from sin and death.

With Mark chapter two, Jesus encountered opposition. At first, He faced silent opposition, but He knew what was in the hearts and minds of the people who watched and listened to Him. When Jesus healed the paralyzed man, the scribes internally challenged Him about who can forgive sins except God alone. Jesus proved continually He is the Son of Man, like He stated. He affirmed He came to eat with sinners. To the Pharisees, Jesus said He came to those who are sick, not to those who are well. He taught that religious ritual is not what He seeks, but those whose lives have been transformed. New life in Christ should not be a new patch of cloth on an old life, Jesus taught, but be a completely new cloth a saved person wears. New Life in Jesus should be His pouring of the Holy Spirit into new wineskin. Religious ritual should not forbid what the Lord allows, like fasting when the Bridegroom is with the disciples. After this, Mark relayed a story from Jesus’ ministry of the Pharisees challenging Him about His disciples working—plucking grain heads—on the Sabbath. Jesus explained He is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not lord of Him, nor of any person. The purpose of the sabbath day is to focus on God and serve Him. Sometimes serving God means serving people. Sabbath day rituals should not forbid helping someone who has a need, like hunger, illness, homelessness, etc. God permits good. He is good, always. As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus taught meeting human needs is paramount over the sabbath day laws. By saying and proving with authority He is Lord of the Sabbath, for any learned religious leader, that would have meant He is the Son of Man—the Messiah. Son of Man refers to Daniel 7:13-14. Jesus said, using this title, He has all dominion, authority, glory, and power over all created things. Jesus has authority to forgive sins, heal, cast out demons, and teach. He is Lord of all. The Jews should have realized Jesus, as the Son of Man, is Lord of the Sabbath.

The Setting

He (Jesus) entered a synagogue again and a man was there whose hand was withered. (Mark 3:1 [NASB])

In the six verses of this story, the readers and hearers learn three things. These things are as follows. Jesus healed a man. He taught what is right and good to do on the sabbath day. The Pharisees and their followers had hard hearts. These religious leaders wanted to hurt or kill Jesus.

Mark jumps immediately into this story from Jesus’ ministry with no preamble. He disclosed the setting. In a synagogue, Jesus noticed a man who had a withered (shriveled) hand. Why was a withered hand a big issue? The man’s predicament was a big problem for him. Jesus wanted to help the man, and by it, prove further that He is the Son of Man, the Messiah.

Jesus, as a good Jew and the Son of God (Son of Man), walked to the synagogue. Up to this time, most Jews did not recognize Him as the Messiah. Jesus continued teaching and performing miracles. Some people believed in Him. Jesus did more than go to the synagogue. He entered there with a purpose. Like most Jews, He went to the synagogue because it was religious practice to worship God together. It was part of the laws God gave—to focus on and worship Him only. Jesus explained in Mark 2 that God set aside the Sabbath to focus on and serve Him. In the Old Testament, God told His people to come together on the sabbath day in His tabernacle/synagogue/temple. Jesus obeyed these spiritual laws. He entered the synagogue with the purpose of joining other Jews to worship and focus on Yahweh.

Jesus entered to the synagogue for a second purpose, too. He knew a certain man who needed Him would be there. Jesus realized this man with the withered hand. He expected the religious leaders would be in the synagogue. Jesus discerned this would be a prime time to teach the Pharisees, scribes, rabbis and the attending Jews again about who He is. Jesus did not come to earth just for one group of people. He came for all people. The synagogue was the place to meet a mixture of Jewish people.

Did the Pharisees set up this meeting by making sure the man with the withered hand was in the synagogue? Mark does not say this. The man with the withered hand, as an observant Jew, probably went to the synagogue out of faithfulness to God. What we know, from the first two chapters of Mark’s Gospel, is the Pharisees and other religious leaders wanted to trap Jesus into breaking any religious laws. They had attempted to trap Jesus when His disciples plucked heads of grain while following Jesus on the sabbath day. At that time, Jesus told the religious leaders He was not made for the Sabbath. He is Lord of the Sabbath. He taught the sabbath laws were subordinate to the needs of humanity, like the disciples’ hunger. Moral laws were more important than ceremonial laws.

What would this mean for Jesus’ appointment with the man with the withered hand? Would Jesus do something else the laws forbade? Can you hear the pin drop in the synagogue? Can you see the Pharisees holding their breath as they waited for Jesus to say or do something they considered unlawful?

The Sly

And they (Pharisees) were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. (Mark 3:2 [NASB])

Mark explained what the Pharisees did in their hope of catching Jesus doing “wrong,” according to them. They watched Jesus with evil intentions. These men secretly hoped to remove Jesus’ allure for His followers. They sneakily and purposefully watched Jesus so they might harm Him. They resolved to harm Jesus if He continued to proclaim Himself the Son of Man, gain followers, and usurp their role and authority over the Israelites. These religious leaders did not care about the Jewish man’s useless hand. They did not have the concerns of God for the impoverished and the hurting people in their country. The Pharisees sought their own desires.

The Pharisees, put in their positions by God’s decree as declared by Moses, legally could accuse someone of breaking religious laws. They watched every little thing Jesus did. The Pharisees dissected everything Jesus said because they wanted to accuse Him of breaking their sacred-to-them laws. They had little concern for the people. The religious leaders’ intentions were to highlight other people’s sins. With Jesus in the picture and considering what He was doing and saying, the Pharisees scrupulously watched Him. Their focus was not on God, even on that Sabbath day. The Pharisees’ focus was not on the physically challenged man. To them, this man’s hand was not a life-or-death emergency and should not be dealt with on the sabbath day. They had enacted a law allowing a doctor to work on a sabbath day if the patient was in a life-or-death situation. This occurrence was not that.

The Command

He (Jesus) said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” (Mark 3:3 [NASB])

Jesus acknowledged this particular man in the synagogue. He focused His attention on him. Jesus commanded the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!”

This may have been an unusual command for the man. According to Jewish teaching, a person who was sick, physically or mentally challenged, or demon-possessed was a sinner and unclean. This man was unclean to the Jews and should not have been in the synagogue. Because of this, he might have wanted to go unnoticed. This man wanted to worship God with his brothers on the sabbath day in the synagogue. He wanted to be with the community. (Notice the Pharisees did not attack the man for being in the synagogue.) Jesus did not speak about the man’s supposed uncleanliness and unworthiness to be in the synagogue. He recognized the man needed Him. Jesus spoke to the man about the area of his need. This man needed healing.

Why was this man’s plight something Jesus needed to discuss? First, a person with a useless hand could not do manual labor. Most people of that time worked with their hands. This means this man would have had a hard time providing for his family and taking care of himself. This man might have faced ostracism by the religious leaders. These leaders may have challenged him to give up his sins so God would heal him.

In a later meeting, the Pharisees would challenge Jesus about a blind man by asking who sinned, the man or his parents. Jesus told the Pharisees then, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:1-4). Why was this man’s problem something Jesus needed to discuss? Jesus addressed it because the man needed healing and other people needed to see the works of God displayed. By seeing Him heal the man, He hoped people would come to believe in Him for salvation. By healing the man, in the minds of the Jews, it meant Jesus forgave the man’s sins. Jesus rescued this man from abject poverty and ostracism, and would forgive his sins.

One other thing to note, no one questioned if Jesus could heal the man. They did not say they did not trust Jesus could heal him. Does this mean people began to accept He could heal others? Were some beginning to believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah? God arranged this appointment so the people could see His works displayed through Jesus in this man, then acknowledge and profess Jesus is the Messiah. At the right time, the Son came forth. He made Himself known. In Mark’s words, in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.”

The Lesson

And He (Jesus) said to them (Pharisees), “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. (Mark 3:4 [NASB])

Jesus directed His question to the Pharisees. They are the makers and keepers of the laws. Overtime, the Pharisees wrote 633 laws to explain what the Jews could and could not do to stay right with God. These same laws, written to help the Jews not sin (as if sinful humanity could succeed at it in their own power), ended by showcasing the religious leaders’ “goodness” to have the Israelites look up to them. The laws resulted in keeping the people’s focus on themselves and not on God, which was not the purpose of God’s laws.

Jesus directed His question to the Pharisees. He asked, what makes someone or something good? Jesus' exact question was, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” If the Pharisees defined goodness as obedience to the laws, they could have told Jesus that healing on the Sabbath was not good. Yet, from their studies and understanding, they realized goodness comes from and is defined by Yahweh. He is the fount of goodness and determines what is good. So, the Pharisees were trapped with their definition of “goodness.” They had to admit goodness is always permissible.

Of course, the Pharisees would say doing good is lawful. Doing good is always lawful. Jesus asked the implied question behind the original question. “Is it lawful to do evil?” To say it another way, “Is not doing good unlawful/sinful?” Had the Pharisees considered it that way before, that not doing the good you should do is evil and sinful? If they answered Jesus by saying doing good on the Sabbath is lawful, then they would have to explain why Jesus was not allowed by law to heal the man with the withered hand. Wouldn’t Yahweh, who they served, have agreed with them? Yet, if they did not agree with Jesus, then they would not be doing good and so would be sinful.

Thinking further about this, would this mean, for the Pharisees and each Jew, that sabbath day laws had to be set aside to do good whenever doing good was necessary? By agreeing that need known about on the sabbath day must be taken care of, the Jews would end up “working,” by the definition of the religious leaders. But if they did not do good, they did not help; they harmed and were ungodly. A complex question for highly educated people who wanted to appear godly.

Jesus, in this verse, was not asking only about the physical health of the man or of any person. He used the Greek word “sozo,” which means to rescue or deliver out of danger into safety. Bible writers used this word most often to speak about God rescuing from eternal condemnation any person who believes in Jesus as the Son of God and their Savior because of God’s grace. This rescue is from destruction. That destruction is eternal separation from God after physical death. Jesus spoke about physical rescuing to figuratively point to spiritual rescuing.

Jesus rescued this man with the withered hand from poverty by healing him. He rescued the paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12). Jesus delivered Simon’s mother-in-law from sickness (Mark 1:30-31). He delivered the people possessed by demons (Mark 1:24-26, & 34). Jesus did these things because it was good, because God’s will is to free people from what binds them. He came to earth to free people from the sins that bind them and will lead them from eternal separation from God. Had Jesus not healed this man or helped any person, He would not have done good, but evil. But Jesus is innately good. He will not do evil. No darkness can be where light exists. Jesus knows the Father’s heart because He is Himself part of the Godhead. He knows the purposes of God to deliver and do good for each person.

The Pharisees recognized they had backed themselves into a corner. They understood what was more important. They understood God gave His laws so people could know Him and focus on Him. People, His creation, are important to God. Yet, the manmade laws the religious leaders had created had become more important to them than God or His purposes. These leaders had hard hearts. They did not want to lose their battle, the one between their importance and God’s will to save people. The Pharisees made themselves to be a god by doing this.

Mark recorded in this verse, the Pharisees kept silent. With their silence, they admitted they did evil and were not good. Either a person is doing good or not. No fence-sitting exists. If one chooses not to do what is right, then that person does what is sinful. By Jesus asking the Pharisees this question, these religious leaders realized they had condemned themselves by their silence and actions. Their silence was deafening after Jesus’ question in verse four. The Pharisees' silence affirmed the goodness of Jesus’ teaching and led more Jews to follow Him. Their recognition of their sins and their jealousy of Jesus would lead them to kill Jesus as soon as possible. The religious leaders actively sought to kill Jesus.

Notice, Mark did not record speaking by any other Jews in the synagogue after Jesus asked this question of the Pharisees. Was this because they did not want the wrath of the Pharisees on themselves? Was it because they agreed with the Pharisees but were afraid to say it aloud so Jesus would know their hearts, too? A third reason the people might have stayed silent is that they were processing this interchange between Jesus and the Pharisees to decide if they believed Jesus is the Son of Man, the Messiah.

The Rescue

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He (Jesus) said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. (Mark 3:5 [NASB])

Imagine the look on a parent’s face when a child deliberately disobeys him or her by taking another child’s toy. The look of disappointment mixed with grief and with anger rising from the frustration. The emotions people have come as part of God creating humanity in His image. Our disappointment with our child, sibling, spouse, parent, etc. is like His with us when we disobey Him. A standard we set in our minds that another person knew about and broke because of his or her willfulness of that person can cause this anger and grief. Our sinfulness comes from breaking the godly standard God has for the world. God enables Christians to achieve godliness through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Before a person believes in Jesus, that person has God’s “coding” because of being made in His image. That “coding” is each person’s conscience that God gives him or her. Everyone knows what is right/godly to do. Going against the conscience given to each person is sinning. Sinning is disobeying God and rebelliousness.

Each of us has experienced the disappointment and grief over our own or someone else’s sin. We may have become angry because of it. Our anger differs from God’s anger. Our anger comes from our inner being because we or another person crossed a boundary--sinned. Sometimes that boundary is imposed by us and sometimes by God. (Not every boundary a person creates is godly.) Anger at a person for crossing our personal boundaries/morals is different from God’s anger. God’s anger, as taught in the Bible, comes from His righteousness and His care for our relationship with Him. Human anger most often comes from our sense of being offended or dismissed as unimportant. The source and intention behind the anger of God and a person differ. Jesus’ anger came from His grief over the Pharisees stubbornly choosing to hold on to their self-righteous intentions. Human anger comes from offense taken. Jesus’ reasoning with and rhetorically discussing good, evil, harm, and help did not make the Pharisees change their minds.

Jesus hoped the Pharisees would see Him as an example of godliness. He hoped they would become like Him and be an example of godliness for the Israelites by focusing on God and not on personal intentions. Because the Pharisees refused to trust in Jesus and to accept the superseding moral good of helping someone over the human-imposed rule of sabbath rest, Jesus was angry. The Pharisees would continue to lead the Israelites away from God with their religious rituals instead of toward Him. Their innermost intentions of having followers and being better than everyone else kept them from conceding Jesus’ truth, goodness, and better way.

Jesus had a second agenda for His meeting with the man. He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched out his hand and found it restored, like God intended. Jesus commanded with authority when He spoke to the man. He taught with authority when He spoke to the Pharisees and tried to reason with them. This man with the withered hand recognized Jesus’ authority, based on His teaching and the authority in His voice. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain by admitting Jesus could do what he had heard Jesus had done. The man stretched out his hand toward Jesus in hope. With this meager belief and hope in Jesus, this restored man’s faith, hope, and belief grew. His one step toward Jesus strengthened him spiritually and renewed him physically.

Jesus restored the man’s hand. The action started and completed at that time. Jesus did His miracle specifically for this man. He did not partially heal his hand. Jesus did the action. The receiver of the action was the man. Jesus restored the man for the Pharisees, too, so they would accept and receive what He said and who He is. The Pharisees refused to accept Jesus and believe in Him. Jesus’ salvation for each person begins when the person believes in Him and continues until each believer arrives in heaven on resurrection day.

The Rejection

The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death. (Mark 3:6 [NASB])

The Pharisees had to take a stand on one side of the fence or the other. They had to decide if their sabbath day laws were more important than anything or anyone else. If they said healing the man on the sabbath day was good, then their laws about not working would forever be broken. The people would not look up to them as much anymore. If they said the healing on a sabbath was evil, then again the people might not consider them authorities anymore since all good is permissible. But, if they agreed with Jesus, more people would follow Him and they, the intermediaries between the people and God, would be redundant. Their income and stature would decrease, they figured. Instead of choosing one or the other, they kept quiet. The Pharisees left and sought their enemies, the Herodians, to conspire with them for a mutual goal.

Herodians were people who supported Herod and the Roman rule of the Jews. The Herods in Israel during New Testament times were descended from the Edomites south of Judah. They came from Idumea. The people in Idumea converted to Judaism by force in the four-hundred-year period between the Old and New Testaments. The Romans chose them to rule the territories of old Israel and Judah because they were faithful to the Roman Empire. According to the Jews, the Messiah would take the throne and return the rule of the nation to the Israelites. The Herodians did not want to lose their power in the land.

The Pharisees left to conspire with the Herodians because they had much to lose if Jesus was the Messiah or if He caused rioting in the province. If the Herodian rulers did not keep the peace for which Rome was famous, then the Roman army would remove, by force, the troublemakers and restore peace. The Roman supervisors of the Herods might remove them from their throne as governors of the provinces. For each of their reasons, the Pharisees and Herodians did not want Jesus to be the Messiah and rise to power. The Pharisees chose to get the help of their enemies to defeat their other enemy.

The Pharisees did not intend to focus on God. Their laws did not keep their fears and selfish intentions in check. The religious leaders firstly sought what they considered was for their own good. God was not preeminent in their lives. They, too, were sinners who needed a Savior, but they refused to admit it.

Application and Conclusion

The Pharisees harbored malicious thoughts about Jesus. They were jealous and afraid of losing power, stature, and income. In their effort to keep their desired status quo, they condoned evil by not agreeing a man with a withered hand should receive help on the sabbath day. God was not their focus. He was not central to them in word, action, or thought. By making the Pharisees choose to help or harm, it may have seemed to them that Jesus caused them to sin. Before that point, they could justify not helping the man as keeping the sabbath day laws, which were merely religious ritual.

What are the points in Mark 3:1-6 of Jesus’ ministry? Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. Doing good on the Sabbath and any day is always right. The Pharisees had hard hearts; do not be like them. Instead, choose what is good. Good is always permissible. Focusing on God on the sabbath day will lead a person to serve Him by serving people in need.

This encounter with Jesus was not the only one where they felt challenged by Him. He challenged the Pharisees in the grain field as His disciples plucked grain from heads to eat as they walked (Mark 2:23-28). Jesus spoke with them when they asked why His disciples did not fast like they themselves did (Mark 2:18-22). He spoke to the scribes when they asked why He and His disciples ate with sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2:13-17). Jesus showed He knew what they thought when He healed the paralyzed man lowered through the roof (Mark 2:1-12).

A person is not the same after meeting with Jesus, even today. He teaches people even today. A person can choose to change his or her life to live according to Jesus’ teaching or the person can choose not to change. Disobeying, ignoring, or obeying a lesson or command are choices that arise when a person encounters Jesus.

Each person is like the Pharisees. We each want to live our own ways and make something or someone preeminent in our lives. Some of us choose to believe in Jesus for salvation and follow Him. Jesus offers salvation to each person freely by God’s grace through that person’s faith in Him as the Son of God, the Savior. Jesus paid the price for our sins. He died in our place.

Each of us gets to choose how we respond to Jesus. Will we cheer and be excited to believe in Him or will we turn away in silence? In earlier miracles, Mark recorded the people were amazed. They excitedly told other people about Jesus. The people in this last story from Jesus’ ministry were silent: silent because of resentment and brooding, silent because of thoughtfulness, or silent in amazement at seeing the Pharisees challenged and defeated. We each get to choose how we react to hearing from Jesus. Will it cause us to focus on God and obey Him? Or will we turn away from Him and focus on self?

Jesus said to them (us), “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4 [NASB])

Rescuing lives is Jesus’ purpose

Doing good is permissible, always.

Believing in Jesus and obeying Him is always good and permissible.

Righteousness or Religiosity?

 

Mark wrote his gospel to tell people about Jesus’ ministry. He did it by first showing Jesus’ power and authority. Mark showed this by telling of Jesus’ baptism, forty-days in the wilderness, succeeding over Satan’s temptations, calling men to follow Him, casting out demons, teaching in the synagogues, and healing people. Through Mark chapter 1, Jesus did not meet any overt challenges to Himself. From chapter two, the religious leaders began challenging Him outright.

In Mark 2:1-3:6, Mark used a teaching method called a chiasm. Because the people learned orally, teaching this way made for easier remembrance. The style used a step method of A, B, C, B’, A’. A and A’ tell about Jesus' healing people. B, C, and B’ relay Him teaching about and using food as an illustrative tool. The middle and last stories, C and A’, emphasize the main point. As Mark taught each level of the chiasm, the people would understand better the main point of the teaching. They would learn about Jesus’ authority and power. The people would learn more and learn to believe He is Deity.

The lesson relayed in the Bible study titled “The Standard” explains Jesus is the bridegroom. Jesus taught the religious leaders that His disciples do not fast when the Groom is with them. Only in the Old Testament does God use the analogy of Himself as the Groom. Jesus took this title when the Pharisees challenged Him about His disciples not fasting like they did. This teaching is the central one of this chiasm because in it, Jesus explains He is God in a way the Pharisees, who were learned men, would recognize and understand.

This lesson comes from Mark 2:23-28. Through this third teaching moment, Jesus instructs people using food for illustrative purposes. The Pharisees openly challenged Him in this retelling of Jesus’ meet with them.

The Setting

And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. (Mark 2:23 [NASB])

This verse begins by telling the hearers and readers, “And it happened.” What happened? Mark sets the stage. He leads his audience to set their focus and pay attention to what would be said in this passage. Mark does this by aiming people on the person and occurrence coming up in his retelling of history.

Mark said, “And it happened that He (Jesus) was passing through the grain fields.” Many people, if they are walking somewhere, they will try to take the quickest route. Sometimes that meant they walked through another person’s property. We readers might think that is why the disciples and Jesus walked through a field of grain, because it was quicker. Yet, often, the destination was not the main purpose for Jesus doing what He did. Many times, the journey was more important than, or just as important as, the end point. The disciples may have thought Jesus took them through the grain field because it was quicker, but Jesus knew the Pharisees looked for a way to find fault with Him. Jesus wanted to meet the Pharisees. He wanted each person to believe in Him and receive salvation. This was not an “Uh oh, we’ve been caught moment,” but a planned meeting by Jesus.

Besides the meeting being intentional, let’s consider another matter. In this verse, we notice the disciples picking heads of grain. They did not pick them to harvest the grain for the landowner. The disciples picked the grain to quench their hunger.

Mark made one other point to set the scene for Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees. Jesus and His disciples walked through the grain field on the sabbath day. They did not walk to go to the synagogue in Mark’s retelling in this verse. They may have already left or were going to the synagogue. Mark does not give us that information. The day of the week was important in this story about Jesus’ ministry. The sabbath day was the focus.

Mark recalled pertinent details for his readers and hearers. He relayed Jesus, and the disciples walked through a grain field on a sabbath day. The disciples plucked heads of grain. The Pharisees laid in wait to catch Jesus and His disciples. What would be the lesson for the listeners?

The Challenge

The Pharisees were saying to Him (Jesus), “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:24 [NASB])

The Pharisees never seemed far from Jesus. They boldly approached Jesus with their accusation couched in a question. These men scrutinized Him and His disciples so they could confront and accuse Him. When people want to accuse someone of doing wrong, it does not take much scrutinizing to find a fault. Each person is a sinner, after all.

The Pharisees felt their job was to point out a person’s sins so the person could make amends with God. Their idea of holiness came from a skewed interpretation of God’s intent of His laws. God gave His laws, statutes, and commands to lead people to Him, not to drive a wedge between Him and them.

The religious leaders had created 633 laws for the Israelites to live by, based on God’s laws. Instead of making it easier for people to live godly lives, it created a caste system of sorts. The people who publicly lived the laws obviously were holy, according to the religious leaders. To appear holier than the common people, the Pharisees, scribes, and rabbis prayed aloud on the streets and in the city gates. They fasted twice a week instead of on the only day of the year God required. These religious leaders publicly repented with ashes and loud prayers for people to see and hear them.

The only use the Pharisaical laws gave was to create a sense of holiness, which people call religiosity. Doing religious actions do not lead to holiness. Works do not save a person from their sins. They do not convince God a person is holy enough to redeem. Yet, for the Pharisees, the laws they created served a purpose. It showed their pseudo-holiness, a lack of righteousness.

With this mindset, of course, the Pharisees would challenge Jesus. They saw Him as a threat since He daily gained followers. If Jesus became great in people’s minds, people might give fewer offerings to the synagogues and temples. They would be less inclined to follow and obey the religious leaders. The religious leaders would lose stature in the nation.

With this understanding, the Pharisees waited for Jesus and His disciples to make a mistake. To them, plucking grains of wheat on the Sabbath was not lawful. The Pharisees considered their actions and opinions made the sabbath day revered. How they lived—what they said and did—mattered more than the purpose God set aside for the day. Their Pharisees showed the intentions of their hearts with their question to Jesus. Actions determined a sabbath day’s purpose, according to the Pharisees.

Notice, the Pharisees did not say the men plucking grain from another man’s field was wrong. What they pointed out was that they plucked grain on the sabbath day. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15, no work was allowed on the Sabbath. That permitted people to keep the sabbath day holy. Holy means consecrated by God and set apart for Him. The focus of the sabbath day was to keep one’s mind set on God. The focus was not work was disallowed. For the Pharisees, the sin was plucking the grain on a Sabbath.

Is plucking working? Is plucking to satisfy hunger work? Many Old Testament passages teach about this topic. Each deals with “working” on the sabbath day. Is plucking a few heads of grain reaping? This takes us back to the intention of the Ten Commandments and, particularly, the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment states, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The intention of this commandment, according to the wording, is to keep the sabbath day holy. God’s nature defines holiness. For people to keep the sabbath day holy, they must focus on God and set themselves apart only for His purposes. The purposes of a person for the sabbath day sets it apart in their lives as being for him or herself or for God. Those purposes originate in the heart, take form in the mind, and can cause each person to act for God or him or herself.

What were the disciples’ intentions for plucking grain that sabbath day? Did they intend to harvest the grain, or did they intend to quench their hunger as they followed Jesus, the Son of Man? What were the intentions of the Pharisees that day? Did they intend to help a person realign to be in God’s will or to accuse a person so they themselves seemed more holy? What was the intention of Jesus that day? If He meant to catch the Pharisees by setting Himself and His disciples in their path, He succeeded. If He meant to help them see Him as the Messiah, He tried, but the Pharisees' hearts still were stubborn.

God set the sabbath day aside for rest because it was a day of rest for Himself. Instead of focusing on the sabbath day or on what one can or cannot do, people should focus on the One who created it and gave it to them. The sabbath day is not god over Yahweh. Yahweh is God over the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, people are to rest and focus on God because He created it and gave it to them.

For the Pharisees, the laws based on the interpretations of God’s Laws were more important than the words God gave the Old Testament writers. They became inflexible in applying their own interpretations and put more emphasis on them that on God. All the while, God gave the Old Testament to point people to Himself. God judges each person according to His Word, not the rules humanity makes.

God forbade men to work for their profit on the Sabbath, not for gathering a few grains to feed themselves. Jesus’ disciples wanted to know Jesus more and to see Him teach, preach, heal, and cast out demons. They followed Jesus, even on the Sabbath. By following Jesus, they kept the sabbath day holy. They focused on the Messiah. When they became physically hungry, these men ate what they could find, heads of grain near their hands. This action was not harvesting, but gleaning. Deuteronomy 23:25 teaches about this. It says, “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.”

The disciples’ plucking grain was not work. It did not distract them from God. The disciples’ actions did not make the day unholy. The intention of Jesus’ followers was to continue to follow Him, but they had a need. Their physical bodies required sustenance to continue following Jesus.

The Reminder

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry: how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” (Mark 2:25-26 [NASB])

Jesus continued teaching. He taught with words and with actions. He knew the Pharisees followed Him to trap Him in what He did and taught. Jesus understood the educated religious leaders would learn from His use of history and Scripture. It would be easier for these learned men to discount miracles and harder for them to push aside known historical facts and sacrificial laws. Jesus meets each person where they will listen most to Him.

Jesus did not debate or argue with the Pharisees. He focused the Pharisees upon a man whom they held in high esteem in Israelite history. That man was David, God’s chosen man as king for His people. David had expanded the borders of Israel. The crops and livestock of the nation had increased. David was deeply devoted to God and enjoyed His favor. God had promised David that his kingdom would never end (2 Samuel 7:11-13) and, from him, the Messiah would come (Isaiah 59:20). The Israelites considered David godly. Jesus then reminded the Pharisees of the time David fed his soldiers with the showbread on the altar in the holy place of the temple.

Jesus taught the Pharisees in the method to which they were accustomed by asking questions. This was the rhetorical method where education happens through discourse, orally. He said to the Pharisees, “Have you never read?” Jesus knew these learned men had read about David. He realized they held David in high esteem. To the Israelites, David was the model for being a great Jew. People sought to emulate him. They also had hope in the promise God gave to David about the Messiah coming from his line. Because of this, Jesus showed His disciples’ actions were like David’s men’s actions. This could then be reason enough, according to the religious leaders, for the disciples to pluck grain. David and his men were hungry and so ate from the temple offerings (1 Samuel 21:1-6). Likewise, Jesus’ disciples were hungry and so plucked and ate on the Sabbath. The actions of both leaders’ followers ran parallel.

According to Leviticus 24:5-9, only the priests were to eat the showbread that was in the holy place. Yet, the high priest, Abiathar, offered the showbread to David and his men, if they had kept pure from women. God never condemned this action by the priest. David had not acted in rebellion to God when he asked for food and accepted the showbread. He wanted to meet the immediate need of hunger in a life-or-death situation. God never condemned the priest for giving David the showbread. God considered David just.

Like David and his men had a just reason for eating the showbread, Jesus’ disciples had a just reason for plucking and eating the grain. They hungered while following Jesus. The disciples did not reap and steal a man’s grain. Their intention was to eat while continuing to follow and learn from Jesus. Staunching the hunger was a necessity. Ceremonial law was less important than the necessities of men.

The Pharisees would not dare to say David and his men eating the showbread was inappropriate. They held him in too high a regard to consider saying that. If they could not judge David, then they could not judge Jesus’ disciples. In both instances, the men ate out of necessity. The bread was still holy in that the men received it from God. Likewise, Jesus and His disciples still held the sabbath day in high esteem. The followers did not stop to harvest a field so they could make bread; they just plucked a few grains to eat as they followed Jesus.

To Jesus, ceremonial ritual is not always necessary, but moral duty is. Feeding people. Helping the sick. Caring for the homeless, orphans, and widows. These are moral duties. As Christians, our care for people shows our love for God. This being said, Jesus did not encourage willful disobedience. He considered how God’s Word deals with the issue. Scripture should always guide how we live.

The Lesson

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27 [NASB])

Jesus helped the Pharisees to realize ceremonial rituals are not as important as giving what is necessary for people to live. He then arrived at the point of His teaching. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of David. He wanted to make sure the Pharisees, and each person, understood this lesson. Jesus understood if a religious leader learned a truth, then his/her followers would learn the truth, too. This model of getting the truth to more people is one reason Jesus trained His followers and made them fishers of people. A quicker way to get the gospel to each person was to multiply the messengers.

Jesus used the sabbath day to teach His disciples and the Jewish religious leaders. He willingly faced the Pharisees’ accusations so He could discuss God’s intentions and His heart. Plucking grain heads on a sabbath day and having the Pharisees see it allowed Jesus to instruct both sets of people about God’s intention for the Sabbath. The lesson about the Sabbath is that God’s faithful ones should serve people, not restrict activities. This promoted keeping one’s focus on God and not on self. This teaching showed the Sabbath say was for serving God by His ways.

The purposes of the Sabbath are about keeping it holy to serve God and providing a rest day to serve people. If we truly serve God, then helping someone on the sabbath day can honor God. It can allow someone to hear the gospel or get needed encouragement and prayer. God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest and focus on Him.

With this lesson about David breaking ceremonial law, Jesus taught a principle that governed this incident. The “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This lesson would help the Pharisees accept the disciples’ actions of plucking grain. The disciples plucked grain because of their hunger. The Sabbath law created by the Pharisees hindered the moral law of meeting the hunger need of the disciples. Ceremonial laws they created were secondary to the necessity of the men. Jesus differentiated between ceremonial law and moral law. He wanted the Pharisees to learn this and believe in Him. Jesus wants each person of every nation, race, people, tribe, tongue, and time to learn about God, His Sabbath, and the salvation He offers.

The Point

So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:28 [NASB])

God created the Sabbath Law (“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8].) to keep us focused on Him and to give us regular rest. This Law is for the good of each person. This Law is a divine law, not human created. Since this law is a divine law, the Son of Man, as Daniel wrote in Daniel 7:13, can direct which of humanity’s laws can be interrupted for the moral good. Because of this, plucking grain to feed hungry people is not working. People are affected for good when they are not starving. Jesus’ disciples did not faint from hunger. He explained to the Pharisees and His disciples that He has the authority to suspend law to meet the needs of humanity for his/her spiritual and physical good.

Further, this means it was right to eat with sinners so they would come to know God through the Messiah (spiritual good). It was right to heal the paralyzed man because it was for his physical and spiritual good. It was right to eat with the bridegroom—Jesus—while he was with the groomsmen, His disciples (spiritual good). Each of these was for spiritual and/or physical good. Jesus, as God, had authority to suspend manmade Sabbath laws for the physical and spiritual good of these people and everyone He healed, cast out demons, and ate with during His three-year ministry.

By feeding the disciples grain (taking them through the grain field), Jesus sought to ease their hunger. By forbidding their plucking grain, the Pharisees showed they cared not for the plight of men, but for their own system of godliness, which did not include God. These Pharisees did not argue with what Jesus said. If they did, they would show their stony hearts of not caring for other people. The Pharisees’ pride was bound up in their laws and self-ordained religiosity. They would hate whatever and whoever came up against their standard of faith, yet their faith was not in God, but in their ability to do every one of the 633 Judaic laws. The Pharisees were religious, according to their standards, but not godly, according to God’s standards. Religiosity is following rules and rituals as dictated by a religion, but not necessarily having the faith in Jesus that is the hallmark of being a Christian. Doing things does not make a person faith-filled. Actions do not save a person from his or her sins. Faith in Jesus alone by God’s grace saves a person from his or her sins and eternal death.

Jesus showed His innate power and authority. He did this by healing people, casting out of demons from people, feeding people, and teaching people. His love issues from His being. God is the source and definition of pure love. Jesus speaks, acts, and thinks morally. From Him comes absolute morals for the good of all humanity.

From this time onward, the Pharisees sought to catch Jesus blaspheming so they could add it to His list of crimes. Jesus has been calling Himself the Son of Man. If the Pharisees had been paying attention, they would have realized His statement meant He is Deity and has authority over God’s laws. Jesus’ statement was like peeling another layer of the onion to show more to people that Jesus meant He is the Son of God—the Messiah.

Application and Conclusion

The Pharisees were preoccupied with every ritual of the Sabbath. They did not see Jesus as the Messiah. They put more emphasis on the day of the week than they did on the Savior. Jesus should have been their priority. Instead, they chose the demands of human traditions as their priority.

Jesus suspended a ceremonial law to meet the moral law. He taught the Sabbath Law God gave was to serve God and humanity, so keep it holy by focusing on Him and helping people in need to whom He sends you. Often, people cannot or will not hear a person tell them about Jesus because they are hungry or in pain. Sometimes only when a person receives tangible love from a Christian can or will he or she see Jesus. Often, people are stubborn, like the Pharisees. Other people refuse to see or hear Christians until Jesus shows proof of His love. Sometimes even tangible proof does not move a stubborn heart.

The point of this chiasmic story from Jesus’ ministry is that Jesus has authority over the Sabbath because He is the Son of God, Deity. The Pharisees, after this discussion with Jesus, still refused to believe in Him as the awaited Messiah. They continued doing their ceremonial rituals and immersing themselves in religiosity. We do not have to be like them. At this point, we can choose to believe in Jesus for salvation and cast away the empty rituals we follow aimed at proving our self-proclaimed goodness. This will allow us freedom from sacrificing ourselves on the altar of good-enough-ness. We can know without doubt Jesus redeemed us and set us free to be holy, focus on God and His intentions, and serve Him and other people. The Sabbath Law of God is our law of rest and service.

This leads to questions:

1.     Are you too busy policing others that do not worship?

2.     Are you too busy criticizing the music or sermon that you do not worship God?

3.     Are you telling other people about Jesus, while feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and taking care of the widow, orphan, and foreigner?

Take your day of rest before God and receive what He offers you-wholeness, peace, joy, renewed energy, and His mission—for you to serve other people.

¹⁷ Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,

 ²⁴ knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:17, 23-24 [NASB])