The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

- Mark 2:23-3:6

Yesterday we read that Jesus went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and he taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."   Jesus has already begun to disgruntle the religious leadership.  After all, He's seen dining with tax collectors and other apparently unsavory types of people (yesterday's reading, above).  He calls Himself a physician in response to the criticism, suggesting that those who sin are ill and in need of healing -- something quite in line, for example, with the words of Isaiah that Jesus quotes to explain His teaching in parables (Isaiah 6:10, Matthew 13:13-15).  Here the conflict grows, as Jesus continues to emphasize the healing (even nurturing) nature of His ministry, with human need as the basis for the Incarnation.  It is again an expansion of the Law, an illustration of the necessary "new wineskins" of His new covenant.  Under the old covenant, the food which was at one time not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat is now freely given to all by the Lord of the Sabbath, which David prefigured when he gave the showbread to those with him.

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.   My study bible notes here that according to certain traditions that the scribes and Pharisees had built up around the Law, healing was considered work, and therefore wasn't permissible on the Sabbath.  They believed they were serving God by zealously keeping these traditions peripheral to the Law.  But their legalism makes them insensitive to God's mercy.

Christ continues a ministry -- now in conflict with the religious leadership on various occasions -- which emphasizes and expresses Himself as healer, physician.  Nominally speaking, this would not, of course, as an idea be considered offensive.  But it is the way that healing is expressed through Christ under various circumstances that these religious leaders find offensive.  There is first of all His association with known sinners, people considered traitorous and highly offensive to the whole community of Jews, the tax collectors (in yesterday's reading, above).  They not only work for the Romans, they also practice graft and extortion from their fellow Jews.  We are not talking about mildly offensive, so-called "victimless" crimes, but crimes that are extremely offensive to the notion of community among the Jews.  But Christ speaks of repentance as healing and restoration to community.  He goes as Physician who wishes to heal spiritually, as well as physically.  In today's reading, this idea of Physician is expanded, and again, it is in conflict with the ideas and the strict enforcement of traditions of the party of the Pharisees.  Both concern the idea of working on the Sabbath.  What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy?  God rested on the Sabbath, and therefore it was a command for the Jews to do the same.  But what is the Sabbath for?  Here in Mark's Gospel, Jesus makes the profound statement that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore this puts the Sabbath into a context that teaches that it is entirely for healing.  In the first circumstance, the disciples need food for nurturing, as did David and his men for whom an exception was made regarding the showbread, normally only for priests to eat.  In the second instance, the leaders are readily prepared to confront Jesus.  But so important is the basic issue of God's mission for human beings that the Sabbath becomes the occasion for a healing, despite the Pharisees' now open hostility, and the provocation for them that this will make.  Jesus makes the point that the Sabbath was made for man.  But the very holiness of the Sabbath is for our healing.  And in this context, the Church is seen as hospital.  We are brought to a place in which whatever it is we need for restoration and full communion must be present.  We are given tools, and nurturing, and guidance.  But most of all, we are given communion with a loving God, who wants only what is best for us, and can bring us to that place with compassion.  Compassion is not the same as indulgence for our selfishness, or a tolerance for bad ideas that harm people.   Compassion is giving us the right medicine, and doing so with love.  The very notion of compassion (so frequently given to us in the Gospels as Jesus is moved with compassion) characterizes the Incarnation, Jesus' mission and ministry into the world.  Here in today's reading, and in the example of the tax collectors as disciples, we have illustrated for us what it means that Christ has come into the world as Physician.  The very place of healing is in our union with God, a fullness of love and guidance for our "best selves," the true fullness of identity as persons.  This is what it means to be fully healthy and healed.  Christ has come not to condemn but to save.   There are seemingly infinite ways in which we as human beings can be in need of healing, but within God is contained all the ways of help.  Let us remember why He is here for us as Lord of the Sabbath.