THE LORD OF ALL THINGS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."

He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place.

Matthew 12:1-15a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sometimes we get caught up more in the rules of the world and lose sight of the rules of the Lord…the only true authority in life that matters. Even in the Christian arena, we tend to be more concerned about man made doctrine and beliefs than we are the doctrine given to us within the word of the Lord.

Examples of both can be found in today’s passage. For as Jesus is traveling “through the grainfields” with His disciples “on the Sabbath”, the disciples become hungry and picked “some heads of grain”, eating them. Keep in mind they are with Jesus.

So did Jesus scold His disciples for what they were doing?

No but the good old Pharisees…those “ardent” defenders of “the Law” did. Or at least, as was their motif, defended “the Law” when it suited them…and violated it as well…when it suited them. Indeed, the Pharisees represented all the bad that results from a self-righteous attitude…and we still repeat their mistakes today.

Well, scripture tells us that “when the Pharisees saw” Jesus’ followers feasting on the grain, they brought it to Jesus’ attention saying, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."

This obviously angered Jesus who responded by saying:

"Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?”

In other words, before Jesus and His disciples came along, Jewish history and tradition saw those who were revered as holy violate what was set as standards for the Sabbath as well. And most of the strict standards were actually established by the Pharisees through their interpretation and application of the Law.

So there was an impasse. The Pharisees thought that Jesus’ disciples were in the wrong. Jesus obviously felt differently so He settled the issue by doing what He does best…by exerting His authority.

Back to the scriptures as Jesus said to the disciples, “I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

In other words, there is nothing on earth…nothing that man may build…nothing that man might revere and worship…that was or will ever be greater than the Lord…the Lord of the Sabbath…the Lord Jesus.

But Jesus wasn’t about to just let mere words proclaim His authority.

For we read that He next went into the Pharisees’ synagogue where He encountered a “man with a shriveled hand”. The Pharisees, seeking any reason to continue to discredit Jesus and His followers, asked Jesus the following question:

"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

Why did they ask?

Because the Pharisees forbade anyone healing on the Sabbath unless a person was dying and the man’s deformed had was not life threatening.

So Jesus, as we see Him do so often, gives them their answer through an illustration. He replied, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Jesus posed a question to the Pharisees that He already knew the answer to. He knew that if a certain circumstance presented itself, like a sheep falling in a pit, the Pharisees would break their own rule to save the sheep. And so why wouldn’t saving a man who was worth more than a sheep be just as right?

This is what Jesus was getting at. And further, if the Sabbath was indeed a holy day, then why wouldn’t someone always want to do something good on it?

And with that, Jesus asked for the man to stretch out his shriveled hand…and when he did, we read that “it was completely restored, just as sound as the other”.

Now you would think that even the legalistic Pharisees would rejoice in the man’s healing but that was not the case. Instead, scripture tells us that they “went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus”. And Jesus…aware of their intentions, “withdrew from that place”.

So what are we to do with this passage today?

We are to remember that no matter how much man might try and establish rules and regulations, those rules and regulations aren’t binding unless validated by the Lord of the rules…the sole true authority…Jesus.

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath…He is the Lord of the rules.

He is the Lord over all our days…the Lord of time.

He is the Lord over all provision…the Lord of the harvest.

He is the Lord over all worship…the only Lord deserving of our praise.

He is the Lord over all authorities...the Lord of lords.

He is the Lord over all miracles and healing…the Lord of glory

He is the Lord over all spiritual teaching done in His name…the Lord of the way and the truth.

And He is the Lord over all creation…the Lord of the earth…the Lord of the living and the dead.

Yes…Friends, Jesus is the Lord of all things.

Do you acknowledge Him as such? Is He Lord of your life and everything in it?

In Christ,

Mark

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