Angry Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath

Sometimes Christians think of the Pharisees and their concern about proper Sabbath observance as picky, petty, and legalistic¹. And perhaps some were. But the Sabbath was deeply significant and very important. Because Sabbath was so important, it is not surprising that Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed over proper observance.

The Gospel of Mark gives us these two stories of conflict on the Sabbath.

“One sabbath he [Jesus] was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his had was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” Mark 2:23-3:6 NRSV

As modern Christians we may have difficulty recognizing just how important Sabbath observance was in Jesus’ time. Sabbath observance was an important way Jews demonstrated their faithfulness to God. The idea of Sabbath is present in the creation story when God rests on the seventh day (Gen 2:1-3). Sabbath rest is built into creation itself. Sabbath is part of the Decalogue (aka Ten Commandments).

The people are told to “remember” (Exodus 20:8) and to “observe” (Deut 5:12) the Sabbath. Sabbath observance was a sign of Israel’s special relationship with God. Rest from work for all- people, animals, servants and strangers- was to be a remembrance of God’s deliverance from slavery (and the lack of rest) in Egypt.

Sabbath is to be kept holy, meaning set apart. Sabbath was to be a joyous time and Sabbath regulations were to preserve the joy of Sabbath not to be joyless constraints. Sabbath was a reminder that God is in charge of time, and work, and life.

So what is going on in these two stories? Why does Jesus say he is Lord of the Sabbath and why is he angry?

Two things are happening in these stories. One is the question of Jesus authority, which is bound up in the question of who, exactly, is Jesus? All the gospels address this question. Jesus’ actions and words establish his authority as the Messiah. In Mark’s gospel Jesus is identified as the Beloved Son and the Holy One of God in the first chapter. Just as Jesus has the authority to heal, cast out demons, and forgive sins, he has authority over the Sabbath.

The other point has to do with the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.” Sabbath is a weekly reminder and experience of the reign of God. This is why it is a joyous time and everyone, human and animal, participates.

Sabbath rest was not simply lounging about and being idle. Historically “rest” meant that the king was at home and the kingdom was not at war. To be at rest meant the nation was at peace. People could relax, there was food and security. Sabbath is meant to be a taste of life in the reign of God. Sabbath is a gift to humans not a demand of particular behaviors. God is the giver of this gift.

Because Jesus is lord of the Sabbath, Jesus intention is that on the Sabbath, just as in the reign of God, people are fed, and people are healthy, and people live in peace.

When Jesus asks, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” This is not a trick question. They all know the answer. It was long established that there were certain situations that took precedence over Sabbath observance, saving a life chief among them. The Pharisees who are present know the answer and they refuse to give it. “But they were silent”. This willful denial of what everyone knows makes Jesus angry and grieved.

What does angry Jesus do? He stays faithful and focused on the reign of God. He remains faithful and focused on God’s hopes and desires for the world. He continues bringing the kin dom of God near to all.

Because Sabbath is made for humankind and not humankind made for the Sabbath, honoring God by observing the Sabbath means that sometimes we put people’s needs ahead of Sabbath observance. Somewhat paradoxically, we honor God best when we honor people first and God second². In refusing to accept the healing of the person with the withered hand, those religious elites may have thought they were honoring and preserving the Sabbath. But in reality, by denying the needs of the person, they were denying the point of the Sabbath. If we dishonor, or ignore the needs of another human, we dishonor God’s desires for the world. We push away the kin dom of God.

The Christian idea of Sabbath is not necessarily fixed to a particular day. Sometimes we refer to Sunday as the Sabbath. But people who work or volunteer on Sunday often take another day as their Sabbath. But I wonder if the Spirit calls us to think about Sabbath, not as one day, but as a way of being, a practice. Do we, can we move through our days honoring God by honoring all whom God created and loves?

1. Christians, as always, need to read the texts of confrontation between Jesus and the religious establishment carefully. Sometimes we generalize a conflict between one group as “all Jews”. Or we use the term “pharisee” exclusively as a pejorative term. Anti semitism sneaks in (and sometimes boldly strolls in) our interpretations if we are not thinking carefully. ↩︎
2. I first encountered this idea in Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself by Donniel Hartman ↩︎