You show me a nation that has given up the sabbath and I will show you a nation that has got the seed of decay.

Dwight L. Moody

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: “how he went into the house of God [in the days] of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?” And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:23-28

There are two errors that people make with the Sabbath day. One is that they do not take a sabbath rest at all. Usually, when people do this, they end up breaking themselves or hitting the point where their work yields ever-diminishing returns. John Mark Comer notes in his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry:

“The last time a society tried to abandon the seven-day work week was during the revolution in France. They switched to a ten-day work week to up productivity. The rise of the proletariat! And? Disaster- the economy crashed, the suicide rate skyrocketed, and productivity?  It went down. It’s been proven by study after study: there is zero correlation between hurry and productivity. In fact, once you work a certain number of hours a week, your productivity plummets. Wanna know what the number is? Fifty hours. Ironic: That’s about a six-day workweek. One study found that there was zero difference in productivity between workers who logged seventy and those who logged fifty-five. Could God be speaking to us even through our own bodies (Comer, 154)? 

I think this is where a lot of us break ourselves on this commandment. We try and cram too much stuff into our week and it spills into the weekend. We say yes to all the wrong things and no to all the right things and then we end up burnt out!

The other error that people fall into with the sabbath is that they obsess over it! People in Jesus’ day had created so many rules about keeping the sabbath that they needed professionals to keep up with them. They had become “gotcha police” about tertiary matters. They accused Jesus and his disciples of breaking the Sabbath! 

So did Jesus break that Sabbath? NO! Jesus never broke the Old Testament law, which includes the Sabbath. He fulfilled it (including the Sabbath)! Note Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:

 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19, NKJV

The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the law in Mark, but Jesus did not break the law. What he was doing was in keeping with the Sabbath law but it went against the “traditions” and code that had been established by men around the Law. What the lawyers and religious leaders of the day had established as their tradition obscured the freedom found in the law and so Jesus reminded them that the Sabbath day was instituted after man was created. 

Jesus declared that he was the LORD of the Sabbath! Just as the Sabbath was originally instituted to give people rest from their work so they could turn to God, Jesus came to provide us rest from attempting to achieve salvation through our work and rest in Him. His sacrifice on the cross made the way for the law to be fulfilled and for righteousness and rest to come to all who trust in His finished work!

Stick around. We’ll be discussing the Sabbath day a little more this week since this seems to be a place of contention in our current culture. We’ll be asking, “What does the word “sabbath” mean? If the Sabbath was Saturday, why do we worship on Sundays? And more. 

Father, Your word is true and good. I am grateful that you have given us the opportunity for Sabbath rest. I pray that as people across the world gather for worship services you will bless us all as we seek after you. Help us to know you better through your word. Fill our pastors with a bold proclamation of the truth. Give us understanding. Correct anything in us that leads us away from you. Draw us near. We ask for your grace and goodness to be on full display today. In Jesus Name, Amen.