Verses 27-28 are key in this group of verses. Verse 28 especially as Jesus there declares Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath. And verse 27 is a helpful reminder, God gave man the Sabbath as a gift of rest … though man had certainly turned it into much religious work. See Jesus as The Lord of the Sabbath through the 3 settings we have: A Question About Fasting. (18-22) A Question About Gathering. (23-28) A Question About Healing. (3:1-6) A Question About Fasting, v.18-22. Jesus is asked, why don’t your disciples fast like those of John and the Pharisees? (18) Though we will assume this is a question aimed at entrapment, it is a rational question — “you, Jesus, are a Rabbi with disciples, fasting is a common practice, why does your group do this differently?” His answer is monumental in the timeline of biblical history. Can you fast while in the days long process of a wedding party? (19) No! Anyone trying to fast during that time would stick out. They would be influenced to eat and be festive. In fasting or not celebrating they would be insulting the bridegroom. This is not the time to fast, though there are times. (20) Though not explicit, Jesus is making Himself the bridegroom in His analogy. He follows this with two examples which develop His point more directly: Patching clothes. (21) If you use new cloth to patch an older garment it will tear when the new shrinks after a wash. If you try this, the outcome is worse than the original tear! Wineskins. (22) If you try to re-use old wineskins they will burst with new wine. New wineskins haven’t stretched, dried, and hardened into form. They can handle the changes of the new wine as it settles. Are you following Jesus’ answer? The new has come, not to fix the old, nor join with the old, but to replace the old with new. “The new that Jesus brings is incompatible with the old.” (Gundry) ****A Question About Gathering, v.23-28. In this next section, Jesus is questioned because His disciples grabbed themselves something to eat on the Sabbath. (23-24) His answer is simple, He used a biblical example from David’s life to explain that they were taking the sabbath laws too far. (25-26) There is much to unpack in this story: (Mark is moving quickly!) Jesus isn’t accused, just His disciples, though the blame is given to Him as their leader. Was their action really a sabbath violation? Under levitical law, anyone (particularly the poor or the traveler) was granted provision from someone’s harvest so long as they used no tool to gather. Thus, it was not considered “work”. And allowable, even on Sabbath. They violated rabbinic tradition, not God’s law. Why not stick to that defense and instead include the reference to David? Jesus recalls the time when “David took it upon himself to violate the law by eating the [shewbread]…the most holy portion of the offering that was to be eaten only by the priests in a holy place.” (Garland) The Scripture doesn’t condemn his actions in 1 Samuel, nor does Jesus in the gospels. I believe there are two reasons: First, just what Jesus is pointing out here, the laws were made for man…not man for these laws. “The priority of human need always outweighs the need for humans to conform to ritual formalities.” (Garland) The Pharisees would argue that if the disciples did not have any food prepared for the Sabbath, they should eat later. Jesus shows that it does not transgress God’s will for hungry people to have something to eat on the Sabbath. This infringes on the Pharisees’ narrow interpretation of what is permitted — the very point Jesus is making to them. God created the idea of the Sabbath for the well-being of humans, not the other way around. God intended the Sabbath to be a “gracious gift, a release from the necessity of seven-day toil, so that anyone who interprets the Law as to make the Sabbath a burden, or to inhibit the free course of God’s mercy, merely reveals his own ignorance of God and His purposes.” (Caird & Hurst) Second, David, Jesus’ proof-case, was to become the king of Israel, the ancestor of the Messiah, and a type of the Christ. His personal authority proved his actions legitimate. “If the strict regulations regarding the [shewbread] could be set aside for David, who was fleeing for his life, how much more can…regulations be set aside for Jesus (and his companions), whom Mark presents as David’s Lord (Mark 1:2–3; 12:35–37) and who is in a situation of far greater urgency in proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God.” (Garland) This is where and why Jesus makes His two BIG points: Primarily, that He is Lord of the Sabbath. (28) “Since the Sabbath was instituted at creation and not only under Moses, the Lord of the Sabbath is also Lord of creation.” (Sproul) “Jesus claimed He was greater than the Sabbath, and thus was God.” (MacArthur) He has progressed from just the “bridegroom” to now fully claiming to be the Christ. Secondarily, the Sabbath was a gift of rest from God now turned into a burden of labor by the legalists. (27) A Question About Healing, 3:1-6. Back in the Synagogue, the Pharisees watch Jesus to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. (1-2) They don’t question His power to heal—they want to see if He will heal on the Sabbath and violate their interpretation of the law. A Sabbath violation, just like blasphemy, was worthy of death. Jesus does heal the man. (3, 5) He also questions the Pharisees’ views of Sabbath. (4) These questions are loaded, but effective. What should one do, good or evil on the Sabbath? To do good (heal) would be “work” and a violation. To not heal would be evil and a violation! The same logic put to the extreme, though not in this specific instance, what if the man was dying? (Save him or let him die?) Of course, they cannot answer such questioning, but the point is made. With this, the Pharisees begin to plot Jesus’ death. (6) Do you see the irony of this? Jesus shouldn’t heal until later so He doesn’t violate Sabbath. But they are okay to hold a meeting and plan a murder. All of this brings us back to what Mark fills us in on about Jesus in v.5. He looked on those in the synagogue with anger. (5) He was grieved at the condition of their hearts. They clearly lacked understanding of Who He was and what God was doing in these moments. Jesus shows them once again as He heals the man. Christ hasn't come to commemorate the Sabbath but to save life. Conclusion: There are 3 religions questions posed in this text: Why aren’t Jesus’ disciples fasting? Should the disciples gather food on Sabbath, or just wait? Should Jesus heal on Sabbath, or wait? From these 3 questions — posed by the enemy — we learn 2 things: What Jesus is NOT doing — He is not having Sabbath lord over Him. What Jesus is doing — Reaching out to sinners. Chapters 2 & 3 are a great reminder of this in the church’s commission. We must bring Jesus to people, not simply people to Jesus. John Wesley on this thought would say, “The whole world is my parish.” It can be easy to miss that larger point within the weeds of these Sabbath questions. Never forget where those came from… Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath! The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God has gifted us with rest through Jesus Christ…Be careful not to turn the christian life, the great commission, the church…Into a labor filled burden. It is not the observance of days, traditions, or seasons that should distinguish the church — it is doing good in love. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”