12 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. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 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. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 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? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 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. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Matthew 12:1-14
When you don’t know the purpose of something, you are likely to misuse it. Jews take the Sabbath very seriously. There are elevators in Israel which stop at every floor so that you do not need to press a button, which might be considered to be work. It is a day of rest and all work is strictly forbidden. In this story, Jesus challenges what we think Sabbath is all about.
Have you ever thought about the purpose of your phone? Why was it created? Why did you first buy it? It was designed for communication, to develop connections with people and to make jobs easier so that you would have more time for what you enjoy. However, all too often it does the opposite. It becomes a substitute for connections and a drain on our time. When we forget the purpose of something, our relationship with it changes. Good things can become unhealthy things.
We see the same thing in our relationships, we see it in our sexuality, and our worship, and work, and the list could go on. If you do not know the purpose, not only will you misuse it, you will likely mistake your relationship with it. Good things can become unhealthy things.
So, what do you think that the purpose of the Sabbath is?
In the Bible, the Sabbath was a full day of rest, community and worship. It is the first gift that God gives to Creation, a day each week of connection and restoration. Jesus wanted us to know that the Sabbath was meant for life. The purpose of the Sabbath is to be more human. It is not an optional day, God commands us to take a day a week to prioritise connection with Him and with each other - this is where life flows from.
This is why we gather each week to worship and celebrate. We have people over for lunch and bless each other. We take time to rest and play. We lay aside productivity and make community and family our centre for the day.
It is easy to forget the purpose of the Sabbath and in doing so, we start to misuse and abuse it. Today, that probably won’t look like the legalism that we see in Jesus’ time. It is more likely to look like extreme consumerism and individualism. We secularism the sabbath and remove God from it, spending more time in shops and farms than church. Or perhaps we only think about our own needs, worshipping for what we can get out of it. To follow Jesus means, we commit to his rhythms of weekly worship and connection. However, as we do, we remember that love, community, food, friendships, healing, connections are all as much a part of God’s Sabbath law as taking time off work and participating in worship are.
Reflect
- What are some examples of things that become bad when we forget their purpose?
- What does your relationship with the Sabbath look like?
- How could you use your Sabbath to bring healing and connection for others?
Respond
Pause and Pray. Take some time to talk through with God what he has been challenging you about today in this passage. If he is leading you to change your behaviour, write it down so that you do not forget. Take time to pray for others as well.
