Our scripture this morning is Mark 2:27-28 (NLT).
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
The concept of Sabbath was established by God Himself when He rested after His creating work (Genesis 2:1-3). He intended it as a time for us to rest in Him, to pause from our labor and enjoy our relationship with Him and each other. We are to honor our Creator by taking time to focus our attention on Him.
The Pharisees had put together a variety of Sabbath laws in an attempt to define what constituted “work” for the purpose of keeping Sabbath. As is often the case with us, the rules became more important than what they were intended to promote. The Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the law because they picked grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:24).
As in many of these encounters I’m sure Jesus shook His head sadly. People have missed the point. He tells them “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” God only gave us one commandment about Sabbath and that was to “keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). We are called to reconnect with our Father regularly through Sabbath, giving thanks for all we have and being refreshed for the tasks of the coming week.
Loving Lord, we are sorry when we are petty, putting human laws above human needs. Help us to remember Your Sabbath always, and share the joy we find in You with the world. Amen.
