1 Now it came to pass on a sabbath, that he was going through the
grainfields; and his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands. 2 But certain of the Pharisees said,
Why do ye that which it is not lawful to do on the sabbath day? 3
And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read even this, what
David did, when he was hungry, he, and they that were with him; 4
how he entered into the house of God, and took and ate the
showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is
not lawful to eat save for the priests alone? 5 And he said unto
them, The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.
6 And it came to pass on another sabbath, that he entered into the
synagogue and taught: and there was a man there, and his right
hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched
him, whether he would heal on the sabbath; that they might find
how to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts; and he said to
the man that had his hand withered, Rise up, and stand forth in
the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9 And Jesus said unto
them, I ask you, Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do
harm? to save a life, or to destroy it? 10 And he looked round
about on them all, and said unto him, Stretch forth thy hand. And
he did so: and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with
madness; and communed one with another what they might do to
Jesus.
Jesus had aroused the anger of the Pharisees by his claim to forgive sins.
He had further enraged them by his treatment of sinners. But he brought
their hatred to a climax of fury by his attitude toward Sabbath
observance. Henceforth they sought to destroy him.
The question of the Sabbath has never lost its interest. The followers of
Christ need to stand firmly by the principles set forth by their Lord.
These principles are few but fundamental: The Sabbath is a day designed
for worship and for rest and is to be broken only by works of necessity
and of mercy.
The first of these exceptions to the required rest of the Sabbath Day was
illustrated by the case of the disciples who were accused by the Pharisees
of breaking the Sabbath because as they walked through the fields they
picked the ripened ears and thus, according to the interpretation of their
enemies, were guilty of working on the Sabbath Day. Our Lord did not deny
that the Sabbath law had been broken. He merely referred his enemies to
the case of David and his followers who, forced by hunger, broke the
Mosaic Law in entering the tabernacle and eating the “showbread.” Jesus
argued that, when necessary to relieve their hunger, his followers were
also justified in disregarding the law of rest.
An illustration of the second exception to the law of absolute cessation
from labor was given “on another sabbath” when in the synagogue Jesus
healed a man whose right hand was “withered.” The Pharisees regarded this
action of Jesus as another breach of the law of rest. Jesus defended his
action on the ground that it was dictated by mercy and that work which
secured relief from suffering was allowable on the Sabbath Day. He replied
to his enemies by a searching question, assuming the principle that
refraining from help is the same as inflicting harm. He, asked them
whether they regarded the Sabbath Day as of such character as to make it
right on that day to do that which on other days was wrong: “I ask you, Is
it lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to
destroy it?”
While Jesus taught that the law of rest might thus be broken to meet the
necessities of man and to show mercy to those in need or in distress, he
by no means abrogated the Sabbath. He declared, however, that “the Son of
man is lord of the sabbath,” by which he meant that as the representative
of men he had a right to interpret the Law for the highest good of man. He
was justified in relieving the Sabbath from the narrow and burdensome
observances which had been bound upon it by the Pharisees and to restore
it to mankind as a glad day of rest and of refreshment and of fellowship
with God.