Mark 2:23-28, Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” [1 Samuel 21:1-6] 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” [The Pharisees did not take exception with Jesus but with his disciples. The disciples were charged with working on the Sabbath by pulling the ears of wheat and removing the husks. The Pharisees despised the people of the land who were far less educated in the law. They acted as hall monitors, the ones with exceptional theological insight! Jesus used David as an example of “breaking” the law, accusing him of a breach far more offensive. Then he made a more important point. They had forgotten the purpose of the Sabbath. It was God’s merciful provision for his creatures. Humanity was not created to observe sabbath-keeping but to enjoy it. The Pharisees’ problem was their spiritual blindness and hardness of heart. As the Son of Man, then, Jesus can interpret the Sabbath regulations as he sees fit, which was what the rabbis had been trying to do—a repeat of Adam and Eve’s mistake in eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They had put themselves in the place of God. Perhaps this gives us new insight into the frequency of healings Jesus performs on the Sabbath.]