Christ and the Sabbath

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Luk 6:1-5 KJV)

Here we have presented to us one of the instances where the Pharisees rebuked Christ and His disciples for breaking the Sabbath. The response that Jesus gives is not expected as it doesn’t speak directly to the question at hand…the Sabbath regulations.

Rather than pointing to what the Law requires, Jesus points back to His shadow that was found in David. David was God’s anointed, and he was a shadow of the Messiah that was to come…the Messiah who is Christ, Son of God and Son of Man.

Notice what the passage doesn’t say. It doesn’t say, “the Sabbath has no more bearing on men”…it doesn’t say, “the Sabbath is no longer to be observed.” Rather, we are told that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. In the Gospel of Mark there’s a phrase added to this interaction…

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: (Mar 2:27 KJV)

Here Jesus tells us plainly that the Sabbath was made for man. God made it for us and we need to honor it and sanctify it for His purposes because He made it for us.

So now that we know that Jesus is not trying to abolish the Sabbath, why does He bring up this incident with David?

I find it interesting that this passage is in reference to the disciples being hungry and eating. Some might suggest that it may have been better for them to fast and so not even appear to break the Sabbath…but consider that the last passage we went over explicitly told us that the disciples won’t fast while the bridegroom is with them. How strange would it be for them to begin a fast immediately after such a statement by Christ.

David and his men, because of need, ate the bread of the presence that was reserved for the priests. How much more ought Christ, the bread from heaven, and his men eat because of their need. If David’s commission was important enough to warrant what he did, how much more important is the commission of Christ to warrant what His disciples did?

The Sabbath is not set up against taking reasonable measures to sustain one’s life. It is for man’s benefit not his hurt. That doesn’t mean that we should neglect the serious call to sanctify the day, keeping it holy and devoting ourselves to worship, need, and mercy. May you keep this upcoming Lord’s Day free from worldly passions and interests.