The Lord Of The Sabbath Shows Us His Love
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is the Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28)
When the Pharisees tried to tell Jesus that his disciples were breaking one of the 619 manmade laws that were supposed to protect the sabbath day, Jesus pointed them to another instance where God’s law had technically been broken, and yet the offender was not punished for breaking God’s law. When David was on the run from Saul, and he was hungry, he entered into the tabernacle and asked Abimelech, the priest, if he had any bread. The only bread that was in the tabernacle at that time was the bread of the Presence. This was sacred bread offered up to God on an altar. It was only to be eaten by the priests. And yet, in an effort to help his neighbor in need, Abimelech gave the bread to David. David was not punished for breaking God’s sacred law because he was in need and Abimelech showed him love.
The Pharisees had made the Sabbath about obeying God’s law for righteousness. God gave the Sabbath as a way to show love to those who were under you. It was a day to give rest to all who worked. But the Pharisees missed that. So Jesus reminded them of the reason for the Sabbath.
Sometimes we need a reminder of why God gives us his law. We hear God’s law and we think that by obeying it, we can solve all of our problems. We think that we can regulate the moral compass of our country and our world by insisting on obedience to God’s law. But we miss the purpose of God’s law: to show us our need for a savior and his love for us in sending one. God’s law is good in that it guides us to love our neighbor out of love for the God who saved us. We were not made to be slaves to the law, but the law was made for us to spread love. God’s law was given for our good, but only in connection with the gospel. Amen.
The song for today is “The Law of God is Good and Wise” by Concordia Publishing House