Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)
God commanded the Sabbath for our good. As Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Yes, Jesus also challenged the legalism that had been built up from human tradition around what could or could not be done on the Sabbath, because those Sabbath regulations had become a kind of slave master themselves. Yet he still saw the Sabbath as good for us.
Do we make sure we get the weekly day off work that God commands for our good? Or do we allow work to enslave us?
Mark 2:23-3:6 – What is the Sabbath for?
Russell Brand
Russell Brand is someone who in the past has not been worried about coming across as a radical, but who last autumn was also mired in controversy when he was accused of rape and abuse. More recently still, in perhaps a surprising twist, he has announced that he has become a Christian and been baptised.
We need to be careful about focussing on celebrities becoming Christians. Christianity is no more true or good because it is endorsed by a particular celebrity. There can also be a danger for celebrities who are new Christians and find that they have an authority to speak about Jesus because of their celebrity but lack the Christian maturity they need to do that in a Christian way.
Nonetheless, for someone like Russell Brand to become a Christian is an encouragement that people like him can and are turning to faith in Christ. It is useful to consider what has attracted him to Jesus.
In a recent video he said this:
“Is becoming a Christian a political act? Yes!
Is it about joining an institution that is by its nature conservative?
When I say conservative, I mean leave things the way they are. No!
I have become a Christian because I have surrendered to a figure that was a great radical and a great rebel. That believed that God’s kingdom would come to Earth, that indeed it did come to earth in his figure.”
It was the idea of Jesus as the ultimate rebel king, bringing in not just a better world, but God’s kingdom on earth that seemed to appeal.
But is it right to see Jesus as a great rebel? As someone who wanted to change the status-quo?
In our passage, Jesus is certainly seen as a controversial figure. At the end of the passage, the people in power want him dead!
The main arguments are around the issue of Sabbath – and we will think about how we should see the Sabbath today – but from the start of chapter 2 to the plot to kill Jesus in 3:6 Jesus has recorded five incidents in which Jesus is in conflict with the religious leaders of the day. He is challenging the status quo and claiming he has the authority to do so. Jesus is acting as a rebel king leading a true revolution.
Jesus the Rebel King:
He claimed a radical authority
Let’s look first at his claim for a radical authority.
- Authority to Forgive Sins (2:1-12)
The story at the start of chapter 2, is the famous one, where Jesus heals the lame man who is friends have lowered from a hole in the roof to Jesus’ feet because the house is too crowded. That alone makes the story memorable, but the really radical thing that happened was that in front of some teachers of the Jewish Law he told the man that his sins were forgiven.
This was unheard of. Only God can forgive sins. In the eyes of these lawyers, to claim to forgive sins was to take the place of God. It was blasphemy.
Jesus response is to say in verse 10: “I want you to know that The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” (2:10) and he proves his point by healing the lame man.
Jesus has claimed the authority of God to forgive sins and backed the claim up with an amazing miracle. He has also called himself by a new title: ‘The Son of Man.’
- The Bridegroom (2:18-22)
In the third incident, Jesus goes a step further. He is asked why his disciples do not fast, like the disciples of all the other religious leaders, including John the Baptist. Jesus does not respond by saying that fasting is wrong or unnecessary, rather he responds by saying, that in their case fasting is inappropriate, because he is the ‘bridegroom’ and the guests of the bridegroom do not fast while he is with them, because they are celebrating his coming wedding. It would be a very strange stag do if no-one ate or drank.
This is a very strange thing for Jesus today. Calling himself a bridegroom, suggests a wedding, which in itself is a joyful celebration of a new beginning, a new relationship. Jesus seems at least to be claiming that he is bringing about a radical new beginning that is centred on him as a person.
But, it could be that Jesus is going even further. For in the Old Testament, it is God himself who is described as the bridegroom of God’s people. Once again, Jesus’ claims about himself, if untrue are verging on blasphemy.
- Lord of the Sabbath (2:23-28)
In the fourth incident of conflict, when Jesus is criticised for allowing his disciples to pick corn on the Sabbath, his response it to refer back to an Old Testament story where David leads his men to break the law and eat the bread that only the Priests were allowed to eat. This was clearly breaking the law, but in the circumstances, David is not condemned for it, rather it is accepted as appropriate in the situation.
By using this argument, Jesus seems to be putting himself in the place of David, the king of Israel, to whom God promised that one of his sons would always be on the throne. But Jesus goes even further in verse 28, by claiming that he as the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
This is the second time he has used the title, ‘Son of Man.’ It is one he will use frequently in Mark and usually in the context of his conflict with the authorities, who are out to kill him.
The title refers to a great vision recorded in Daniel 7. There the different kingdoms of the earth are pictured as terrifying beasts, which is meant to show the corruption and oppression of human power systems. God, however, replaces these beastly kingdoms with a new kingdom, which has one like a ‘Son of Man’ in charge. The title is probably meant to show that the new kingdom God brings in shows us the true humanity, that the beastly kingdoms fail to bring in.
In using the term, Son of Man, Jesus claims to be the figure bringing in God’s new kingdom. He also claims to be bringing in a rule that enables true humanity as opposed to the corruption created by the man-made systems of the world.
In contrast, those who seek to kill the Son of Man show themselves to be representatives of the beast-like kingdoms of the world. Radically, that turns out to include the Pharisees who are meant to be upholding the Law of God. So, what had they got wrong?
The challenge to the Pharisees
Let’s look at two of the key confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees illustrated in Mark 2 and 3.
- Eating with Sinners
example, they thought that to encourage righteous living, the wicked and unrighteous should be shunned and avoided. Jesus, however, did the opposite. In 2:14 he called a tax-collector, Levi to become one of his followers, someone who had sold his soul to the non-Jewish occupying forces, by agreeing to collect taxes for them in order to get rich himself.
Then rather than avoiding the wicked and sinners, he spent time with them and had a party with them at Levi’s house. To the Pharisees this was outrageous: “Why does he eat with sinners and tax collectors?” They asked. Jesus’ response was not just to claim that such behaviour was OK, but fundamental to what he was about:
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (2:17)
We may have qualms about someone like Russell Brand, with his reputation for wrongdoing, becoming a Christian. But surely Jesus celebrates people like him coming to faith. It is the Pharisees who would see it as unacceptable.
- Healing on the Sabbath
The second issue on which Jesus and the Pharisees clashed on was the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath was a key identity marker for Jews. It set them apart from the rest of the world and they were keen to make sure they observed it properly, to make sure they did not work on the holy day.
But what counted as work? And were there exceptions? Such questions caused a lot of discussion and debate and led to the Pharisees and teachers of the law drawing up a very long and complicated rulebook about what was and what wasn’t allowed on the Sabbath. The point was they said, to ensure the Sabbath was kept.
But they had built a man-made rulebook on top of a divine command. They had distorted the good law aimed at making us more human and created a beast of legalism that demanded the obeyance of all before it or risk public condemnation.
In contrast, Jesus, the Son of Man, says,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (2:27)
He as the Son of Man has come to destroy the beast, to restore the Law to its true purpose. The Sabbath was to bring liberation from work, joy and blessing to people, not curse them with a legalistic straight jacket
So, a showdown is set in 3:1-6. As Jesus comes into the synagogue that Sabbath, with a man who has a withered hand, would he as the Son of Man defy the beast and risk their wrath by healing the man or would he challenge their excessive legalism and bring restoration and healing – true humanity.
The tension is high, and the emotions are strong. Jesus says:
“Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to good or to do evil,
to save life or to kill?” (3:4)
No-one answers. They are not concerned with the truth, goodness or salvation. All they care about is obedience to their ways.
Mark tells us that Jesus was angry at their hardness of hearts, their unwillingness to change or let go of the status quo. Anger is an appropriate response to the oppression of the beast. It is a necessary emotion in any revolution.
So, Jesus defies the beast. He heals the man. How does the beast respond? It licks its lips and goes away plotting to destroy Jesus. Even here at the start of the gospel, the shadow of the cross looms large. The beast will have his day, but the Son of Man will ultimately triumph.
Jesus Lord of the Sabbath: How should we embrace the Sabbath?
So, if we as Christians are followers of this rebel king. How should we live and behave in our world? The man-made power structures of today are different to those that Jesus was dealing with. Each beast corrupts true humanity in different ways, but we are called to follow Christ, the Son of Man, even when it means rebelling against the ways of our world.
That will include like Jesus, being willing to mix with and call those that others might avoid or reject, in the hope that they too might come to know the joy of following Jesus. But it will also include a right attitude towards the Sabbath.
Two points to make.
A Positive view of Sabbath
Firstly, Jesus did not reject the idea of Sabbath, he says the Sabbath is made for man. It is something that does us good. It is a gift for us to enjoy. The question should not be “What am I not allowed to do on the Sabbath?”, but “How can I ensure I receive the liberation from work, restoration and joy that God designed the Sabbath to bring?”
A Rebel attitude in our society
Secondly, though in our society, to receive the blessing of the Sabbath, we do not need to be rebels against legalism, but the strong pressure to work 7 days a week. A pressure that comes from desiring more money or wanting to please our bosses.
For many people in our society to take the command of the Sabbath seriously does not require rebelling against legalism, but against the constant pressures to work more and more. Let’s pray for God’s strength to do just that. Let’s pray that we can truly be followers of Jesus’ the rebel king.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 