This passage teaches that the Sabbath was God's gift to man (verse 27). Man came first and then the Sabbath. The Hebrew word for Sabbath is 'Sabat', meaning 'to cease'. It is God's great cease day, a day given to us when we can rest from our work and routine activities and take time to worship God. It's a day which we all need. Notice the following:

• The example of the Lord. After the six days of creation, He rested on the seventh. Genesis 1:1 – 2:3.
• The command of the Lord. Exodus 20:8-11.
• The purpose of the Lord. He gave us the Sabbath for our good. We owe it to Him and we owe it to ourselves to take a day off each week.

1. Notice what the disciples did! – verse 23.

As they were walking through the cornfields, the disciples picked some of the ears of corn. In Matthew 12:1 we are told that they did this because they were hungry, which is perfectly natural. There is nothing wrong with being hungry and satisfying that hunger on the Sabbath.

2. Notice what the Pharisees said! – verse 24.

They addressed Jesus and accused the disciples of doing something 'unlawful' on the Sabbath. This was simply not true for two reasons:-

• The law allowed you to pick the corn with your hands in your neighbour's field (Deuteronomy 23:25). But what sparked their shocked disapproval was the fact that it was the Sabbath!
• The law given by Moses prohibited work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10). It was wrong to light a fire (Exodus 35:3), to gather fuel (Numbers 15:32f), to carry a load (Jeremiah 17:21,22), or to transact business (Nehemiah 10:31, 13:15,19). But Jewish tradition had added to all of this. There were thirty-nine acts which were strictly forbidden on the Sabbath, and in their reasoning the disciples were blatantly disregarding these in the full view of Jesus! The tragedy is that the Pharisees had placed on the people intolerable burdens. Look up Matthew 23:1-7, and notice verse 4! The command of the Lord to give rest was now beyond all recognition.

But we need to notice in Mark's gospel that the Pharisees had another agenda! Opposition from their camp was mounting rapidly towards the Lord Jesus. He didn't 'fit' into their scheme of things. They criticised Him for eating with sinners and tax collectors (2:16), for allowing His disciples to pick the corn on the Sabbath (2:24), and the last straw was the healing of the man with the withered hand also on the Sabbath (3:1-6). The culmination of all this was the beginning of a plot to kill Jesus (3:6). And they would give themselves no rest until they had succeeded in His crucifixion on Calvary. Little did they realise that His death was the plan and purpose of God to purchase our salvation.

3. Notice what David did! – verses 25,26.

When we read Matthew's record of this event, we notice that Jesus gave three arguments to defend what His disciples did:-

• what David did – Matthew 12:3,4
• what the priests did – Matthew 12:5,6
• what the prophet Hosea said – Matthew 12:7,8.

For brevity, Mark concentrates on David who was a great hero and king. There was a day when David and his companions were hungry, they went into the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread. But the law prohibited this; the showbread was only to be eaten by the priests (Leviticus 24:5-9). If a hungry king and his men were permitted to eat this holy bread, then wasn't it right for the Lord of the Sabbath to allow His disciples to eat the corn from the fields? David, whom they regarded so highly, broke the law, whilst the disciples merely violated a man-made tradition. How careful we have to be that we are not guilty of adding to God's gracious commands and become slaves to the traditions of men. Compare with chapter 7:4,5.

4. Notice what Jesus said – verse 27.

"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." God's gift of a special day was designed to be a blessing to man, not a burden. It's a delight and it is honourable, and by keeping it we will find joy in the Lord – Isaiah 58:13,14. The Christian Sunday came after the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week. The Apostles and the church chose a day for public worship and the preaching of the Word. We owe it to the Lord, and to ourselves, to keep one day 'special' for Him. It's a privilege to worship Him with His people, to hear the Bible preached, to meditate and reflect on His Word, to read Christian books and periodicals, and to be spiritually renewed and refreshed. Physically it's a necessity for us to rest one day a week, to cease from our everyday work and activities, and to spend time with our families. This is a day to be enjoyed, to make us healthy, helpful and holy.

5. Notice who Jesus is! – verse 28.

He is the Lord of all this, not the Pharisees! Here was the one who, with His Father, had instituted the Sabbath for man's benefit. Here was the Lord who came to fulfil that Law perfectly and completely (Matthew 5:17). He would be the very last to allow His disciples to become guilty of breaking the Sabbath, and the very first to round on those who added their rules to God's law. We must always keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus, because He alone is the author and pefecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The Lord of all!