Mark 2:23-28

Master of Rest

Devotional 12 of 50 · Mark chapter 2

00:00--:--

Audio coming soon

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” So

Mark 2:23-28 · BSB

²³One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. ²⁴So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.” ²⁷Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus

How often do we hear the phrase “I’m so busy” or “life is just crazy right now”? We can find ourselves glorifying our busy schedule. God made work. And God made rest. Both are good and both are needed. In creating the world, God worked for six days and rested on the seventh showing that God is the Lord, or master, of work and rest.

In this scene, the disciples are not being judged by the law of Moses, but by the rabbinical standards of the religious leaders, the Pharisees. They added to the law and distorted the original design for Sabbath to be a day of rest. Not only did they add to the law, but they held up these traditions to the same level as scripture. In turn, they would condemn people of sinning if anyone broke their additions to God’s law.

Jesus responds to their criticism of His disciples and drops a bombshell when He declares that He also is the Lord of the Sabbath. The “also” he’s referring to might point back to His ability to grant forgiveness, or even broader, His standing as Lord over all creation.

The word Lord can lose its meaning and just feel like a religious title. But it means “master.” Jesus is the ruling master over the Sabbath. If they called him a blasphemer for offering forgiveness, they must have been fuming when they heard Him say He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

And as Lord of the Sabbath, he has the right to interpret and apply the Sabbath. He backs up His stance with scripture, not only defending His disciples’ actions, but also revealing the true essence of the Sabbath as a gift to serve and bless people, not a ball and chain to weigh us down.

His Desires

Jesus, being the Lord of the Sabbath, loves rest. The Sabbath was designed to bring freedom, joy in peace and delight. Jesus is about all these things. And in turn, He’s not about heavy burdens and being overworked.

Jesus does not seem to be a fan of how the Pharisees are interpreting the law and adding to it. We should be careful not to add laws and regulations to the teachings of Jesus. We can find ourselves designing our own rules that we are able to keep, in our own strength, instead of trying to obey the rules that the Lord gives us by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Follow Through

Submit our interpretation of scripture to Jesus as the author.
Rest in Jesus, as the Lord of the Sabbath and practice rhythms of rest.
Be careful not to turn our application of scripture into laws for others.

Testimonies

This is where people will share how they actually obeyed this passage — and read what happened to everyone else who obeyed the same words.

Coming soon

Devotional 12 of 50

NextAnger & SorrowMark 3:1-6

← The Bridegroom

Comments

Coming soon. This is where readers will share how they obeyed this passage.