The Lord of the Sabbath

By Danny Saavedra

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ He answered, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’”—Matthew 12:1–8 (NIV)

Ready to scratch your head?

In Utah, it’s unlawful to “possess an unleashed dog on even-numbered days.”

Oklahoma fines people for making an ugly face at someone else’s dog.

In Missouri, you’re not allowed to wrestle a bear.

Weird laws like this make you wonder, “Was wrestling bears just rampant in Missouri? How many people were making ugly faces at dogs, and what happened?”

Now, I think we can agree that laws are important, right? Laws help society maintain order, and they protect people. In Exodus, we see God provide the people of Israel, His people, and His nation with laws to govern themselves by. These laws were meant to help people draw closer to Him and also to create a harmonious, productive, and safe nation. However, religious leaders began adding to the Law of Moses somewhere along the way. Did these additions do anything to benefit Jewish culture? No. In fact, in many ways, they made it harder for people to come to God.

One clear example of this was the additions to the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8 NIV). To be clear, God Himself enjoyed and instituted the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11). It was a holy day set aside for rest and communion with Him, a day to remind the people that God is in control, that He provides, and that He can be trusted with everything. But Israel had disobeyed the Sabbath for 490 years and suffered the consequences. In response to ensure the Sabbath was kept, the scribes overcorrected by adding bylaws. According to this rabbinical tradition, there were almost 40 types of prohibited labor and almost 40 ways within those categories to violate the Sabbath.

So, in today’s passage, what the Pharisees were objecting to when they saw Jesus’ disciples gathering grain wasn’t that they were eating or gathering from someone’s field, which was not unlawful (Deuteronomy 23:24–25), but that they plucked the grain and rubbed the chaff from the wheat because according to their added tradition/bylaws, this was a violation of the Sabbath. Essentially, they were “guilty” of reaping and threshing—both “unlawful” on the Sabbath.

In God’s eyes, the disciples were keeping the Sabbath by resting and communing with Jesus. Ironically, the Pharisees broke the Sabbath by making it a burden.

But look at Jesus’ response to the Pharisees: He used their knowledge and superficial righteousness against them! He pointed them back to David and reminded them how he literally broke the law by taking the showbread from the tabernacle and giving it to his starving men. Jesus demonstrated the true heart of God that human need (mercy) supersedes ceremonial law (sacrifice).

This is absolutely necessary for us to understand: It’s not the Sabbath that is to be worshipped, but the Lord of the Sabbath. It’s not the law that draws us near to God or makes us innocent; it’s His Son! Only through Jesus can we have a right standing with God. He brings us near to God, cleanses us, and Is our true rest and restoration. He’s our provision and protection. And unlike the Pharisees, unlike religion, Jesus doesn’t put obstacles in our path to drawing near to God. May we never forget this, so we don’t ever feel burdened to do so to have the right standing with God, and we never put works-based religious obstacles in anyone’s path.

Pause: What do you see as the problem with people trying to maintain a right standing with God? Is it possible? See John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 6:2, and Romans 10:9 for how to be right with God.

Practice: Examine your heart and life to see if there are any ways you’re letting religiosity take away the blessings God wants for your life.

Pray: Father God, because of Your great love and because of the willingness of Jesus, I can be right with You. It’s because of Your grace I’ve been set free from sin and can enjoy a relationship with You. Thank You for being the Lord of the Sabbath. Thank You for being my rest, restoration, and provision. Lord, search my heart and show me anything that restricts me from enjoying this amazing grace so I can leave it at the cross. Amen.