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 him 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."  It is the Sabbath, which means that work is prohibited.  But Christ's disciples pluck the heads of grain because they are hungry.  So, the Pharisees, concerned as they are with the traditions built up around the Law, question Jesus about what His disciples are doing.  Jesus points out a blameless violation of the Sabbath which was done by David and his men.  Taking refuge with the priest Ahimelech, they are in need and hungry, but there is nothing to eat but the showbread (consecrated or holy bread) which was meant only for the priests.  Effectively they find means whereby David and his men may eat this bread (see 1 Samuel 21:1-6).  Christ stresses they were in need and hungry, emphasizing that the true aim of the Law was meant to be care for human beings.  This He declares when He says, "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 him 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.  My study Bible explains that once again, we are encountering certain traditions the Pharisees had built up around the Law.  According to these traditions, healing was considered work, and therefore not permissible on the Sabbath.   They believed that they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, my study Bible says, but this legalism made them insensitive to God's mercy.

 

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 comments that righteous anger is a natural human emotion experienced in the face of sin.  It notes that while there is anger that is certainly sinful (Matthew 5:22), there is also anger that is God-given and proper to humanity (Psalm 4:4).  Christ's anger here is in response to people who profess God, but have such hardness in their hearts that they cannot rejoice in the healing of one of their brothers.  

Let us note once again (in keeping with yesterday's reading and commentary) how the themes of healing are especially strong in our recent passages.  In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus called Himself a Physician, and in addition to His many healing miracles which He's already become known for at this early stage in Mark's Gospel, He declares sin to be a kind of sickness which is treatable by healing.  He declared to the scribes and Pharisees, "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."  In today's reading, we again get the emphasis on healing, but this notion of healing is again expanded into other forms of care for humanity, for human need.  This also extends to His identity as divine Son who has become a human being.  Taking each of these factors together, we are given the compassionate identity of Jesus Christ as a whole, because as Lord, He's telling us (and the Pharisees) about the entire purpose of the Law and the Torah, the teachings for the people of God as given by God.  The purpose of this faith is for healing, for the wholeness of human beings, to give us guidance on what is ultimately good for us.  Its essence (and the character of Christ, as Jesus exemplifies in His Incarnation as human being) is compassion, mercy, grace, love.  This is not to say that there are no "rules," there is no good and bad, no discernment necessary, or no sin.  But it is to teach us what the primary understanding of God and God's work in the world, and interaction with human beings and the rest of creation, is all about.  Jesus makes this clear when He tells the Pharisees quite bluntly, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  He is at once declaring that the aims of the Law are for the good of people, for healing; essentially to serve humankind.  And He is moreover declaring that He, as Son of Man, through His Incarnation, is Lord of the Sabbath.  As a human being, He has known our suffering, and becomes fully Lord as Son of Man.  When He heals the man with the withered hand, Jesus not only expresses this in the flesh before them, but is in fact  declaring that it is God who creates hands for working, and He as God declares His healing work to be appropriate for the Sabbath.  This incenses the Pharisees, who proceed to plot with those in close connection to Rome (to the court of Herod the "king" of Galilee), to destroy Him.  Too many people who misunderstand faith are quick to label Christianity oppressive, to consider that its values are difficult and condemnatory.  But all of Christ's actions express the opposite, and declare it to be otherwise.  Everything He expresses, even a calling to repentance, must be seen in the light of this healing and His declaration that the Sabbath was made for man, and the Son of man the Lord of the Sabbath.  For, in God, all things work for our benefit.  St. Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  This is today's Gospel message, for such a message only becomes possible through the God who loves us do much that God became one of us to suffer even as we do.  He fully reveals that He is the Lord who made the Sabbath for human beings.