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 continues to use Sabbath Keeping to heal what is withered in us. Jesus boldly confronts an attitude that might have kept his healing from happening. Jesus puts the issue in stark terms: “Is the Sabbath for doing good or doing harm? For saving life or killing?” Sabbath Keeping is for life—abundant, loving, Spirit-filled. Sabbath Keeping is to soften hearts and restore relationships.
Some of the religious and political leaders of Jesus’ day were threatened by the kind of restorative life Jesus offered, but they could not destroy him, in spite of their worst plans. The Season of Pentecost that will shape our collective Sabbath Keeping in the months ahead can be a celebration of what the Holy Spirit has done and will continue to do even in the face of the challenges the world might send.
Prayer
Pentecost Spirit, blow through what is withered in us, using us to restore each other and your world as you empower and teach us to more fully keep your Sabbath. Amen.
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