Lord of the Sabbath

2007-04-26

Jesus turned a lot of heads during His ministry. One thing that Jesus did repeatedly was to show Himself as the fulfillment of the Law and all of the former prophets. In Deuteronomy 18, we see an anticipation of a Prophet that would eventually come that would be like Moses. By the thirty-fourth chapter, we see that “there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” When Jesus appeared, people looked upon Jesus with great suspicion because He healed on the Sabbath and His disciples gleaned from the grain fields on the holy day.

The Sabbath was one of the most important parts of keeping of the Law because it was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:13). All covenants between God and His people have signs associated with them, and this one covenant was the one where the people had to keep their side of the bargain. The sad part of it all was that people completely ignored Jesus’ miraculous signs, and immediately rejected Him as Messiah because of His “work” on the Sabbath.

In Mark 2:27f, Jesus says, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” Jesus stated that God initiated the Sabbath, and that He was the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus stated His absolute divine power in setting parameters for the Sabbath, yet people argued with Him about the very thing He created.

This Jesus that we call our Savior is still the Lord of the Sabbath, or more accurately, He is the Lord of all things: He created all things and He owns all things. His grace, mercy, and love cover all sin, dishonor, and impurity. For good reason Hosea 6:6 is quoted in the New Testament: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Keeping any commandment does not raise our status before God: we are shameful sinners that could not help ourselves, and that is why no one ever could live under any Law. He needed to physically come down and rescue us. And He did.

What freedom we have, that we do not have to try to make ourselves righteous, honorable, and pure! We must fasten ourselves to Him in whom there is the power of eternal life. All alternatives to Him lead to futility.