On Line Bible Study - For the week January 5 - 11, 2009

Lesson 369

Mark 2: 23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."
27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Three things to be aware of in this passage:

1. The presence of controversy.
2. The Sabbath as the source of the controversy.
3. A Messianic (or christological) proverb.
   

Controversy - If you look at the beginning of Mark's gospel you find Jesus' reputation spreading because of all the good work he was doing (1:28, 45). People's amazement at what Jesus was doing translated into more and more talk about him, to the point where he could not go anywhere without being recognized (2:2). But if someone is this popular, there must be a flaw somewhere. Isn't that how we think? As we move into the second chapter of the gospel, the "amazement" gives way to controversy - "five controversies", to be exact. We have already explored the first three. Teachers of the law are the first ones to begin to be suspicious about Jesus when he both heals and forgives a paralyzed man (2:6). Then some Pharisees get into the act when they see Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners (2:16). When Jesus' disciples are seen not to fast Jesus is called up on it (2:18).

The text under consideration this week is the "fourth controversy" - this one, and the next one (Mark 3:1-6) both involve the Sabbath.

So - Mark tracks Jesus as he moves from popular healer to the protagonist who causes tension.

Sabbath - Keeping the Sabbath is one of Israel's most intense laws. There are three dimensions to the Sabbath:

1. God rested; its a blessed day. The day must be reverenced for this blessing of "rest". (Genesis 2:2.)
2. The liberation from Egypt is to be remembered weekly on the Sabbath. (Deuteronomy 5:14-15.)
3. Sabbath is a sign of God's covenant with Israel. (Exodus 31:12-17.)
   

The repercussions for breaking the Sabbath Rest were severe - death. (Exodus 31:14; Numbers 15:32-36. In the text from Numbers a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath. He was stoned to death.) Donahue and Harrington note in their commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Sacra Pagina): "Even amid the great pluralism that characterized Judaism in the first century, Sabbath observance was widely maintained. The ordinary people in Palestine as well as rigorist reform movements like the Dead Sea sect observed it strictly, and its observance by Jews in the Greco-Roman Diaspora evoked both admiration and scorn."

Christological Proverb - Note how this brief story concludes - The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Given the intensity of law and rule that grew into a complex and intricate latice work around the Sabbath, this phrase attributed to Jesus did nothing to alleviate the concerns expressed by the Pharisees! If they were at all placated by the reference to David using the consecrated bread in the temple of the Lord to feed his men, this last comment must have reignited their ire! (There are numerous problems with Jesus' statements regarding David and his men. Reading I Samuel 21:1-10 we find that David was not with his men, but alone. The "house of God" had not yet been built. And David approached Ahimelek the priest,, not Abiathar. Abiathar was Ahimelek's son. If the Pharisees were familiar with the text Jesus is supposed to have quoted, they might have been very confused!)

Mark presents Jesus as one having authority - over sin, evil spirits, disease - and yes, even over the Sabbath. Jesus is not a breaker of Sabbath Law - he will restore the essence of the blessing of Sabbath. We will explore the notion of Jesus returning things to their original intent a bit more when we get to Mark 10. In the mean time, the question isn't so much how much or how little work you did on Sunday (or Saturday, or any other day . . .) For Mark, the question is more basic: Today, any day, every day, who is your Lord?

Next week we will explore the "Fifth Controversy".