Mark 2:23-3:6 (NRSV)
Read Mark 2:23-3:6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 23One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. Verse 24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" Verse 25And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? Verse 26He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." Verse 27Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; Verse 28so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Chapter 3Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. Verse 2They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. Verse 3And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come forward." Verse 4Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. Verse 5He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Verse 6The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Devotion
God in Jesus through the Holy Spirit takes Sabbath Keeping very seriously. Consider how Jesus in his missionary travels of teaching and healing proclaimed the fullness of the realm of God. Jesus made sure his followers were strong enough to follow him. Some religious leaders of Jesus’ time understood the gift of God’s Sabbath in ways that make it hard to receive the nourishment of body, mind, and soul that such strength demands. Jesus, as “Lord of the Sabbath,” knew and acted better, allowing his followers to eat, and defending them when the religious leaders in today’s gospel got agitated.
Sabbath Keeping is about relationships with God and each other through which God through the Spirit continues to build strength and growth in those relationships. What do you need to dwell heartily in those same relationships?
Prayer
Lord of the Sabbath, show us where we can find the nourishment we need to “Keep Sabbath.” Amen.
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