Scripture Reference: Mark 2:1-3:6

Why Is He Breaking the Rules? – Continued

Please read Mark 2:23-3:6 for the background to this section.

From Last Lesson: The Sabbath was a gift from God. It was important, yes, keeping it special is one of the Ten Commandments. It was the world’s first law on workers’ rights and it has protected untold millions of people from exploitation down through three and a half thousand years.

We work best in that seven-day rhythm. In Western society today, and especially in Britain in the last twenty years, that protection is being removed in the name of freedom. It is actually rank stupidity. We all need one day a week that is set apart and completely different from the others; for most of us that ought to be Sunday, but if it can’t be Sunday it should be another day. If we are Christians, we should reject the notion that every day is the same, that is simply not how God created us. His gift of the Sabbath proves it.

This is what Jesus means by His answer in verse 27. However, for the Pharisees, the Sabbath is not a gift; it’s a blank space just waiting for more rules to define it, rules that go well beyond any need or common sense. They have forgotten that it’s a sign of God’s grace, His kindness. The same stubbornness, the same hardness, prevents them from seeing Jesus for who He really is. Jesus’ conclusion comes in His next statement. Yes, He is “Lord.” He has authority, even over applying one of the Ten Commandments. That implies that He is far more than the Pharisees bargained for, and much more than they want to hear; so they set up a trap. All through these five stories there is a gradual ramping up of the opposition, starting from quiet questioning, running through open accusation and, eventually, as we shall soon see, culminating in a murder plot.

In this last story (Mark 3:1-6) we find Jesus in the synagogue on another Sabbath day. Probably this is in Capernaum, though we can’t be absolutely sure. In the congregation, before the service starts, sits a man who has lost the use of one hand through some kind of wasting disease. To all who see him or know him it is obvious that it is totally useless now, and it probably prevents him from earning his living effectively. But it seems that he is here for a reason. Have his enemies planted the man, knowing that Jesus will be here today? If so, they have chosen Him carefully. He will make a good test case. Their rules are clear: you can work on the Sabbath in an emergency, if there is an immediate risk to life. Healing definitely counts as work in their eyes, but there is no emergency here. Why, this man can easily come back tomorrow to be healed! Once again, they are spying, manipulating and making an injured man the bait for their trap.

Jesus’ response however will be forthright. For the man, perhaps, this is embarrassing, but Jesus is taking His opponents on directly, and it is necessary that everyone should be able to see what is going on. Moreover, if the man wants to be healed, it’s important that he should be willing to stand up and show his faith in Jesus publicly. The tension mounts as the man makes his way out to the middle of the crowded room. Everyone’s eyes are fixed on the scene being played out. Jesus knows exactly what is at stake here; he knows what they are waiting for and what is likely to follow.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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