New Testament Studies
The Gospel of St. Mark
By Robert C. Crowder
Lesson Fourteen
Mark 2:23-28 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
On the surface this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees looks like Jesus and His disciples have finally done it. They have broken the Law. But we must understand what is happening here in order to draw the proper conclusion.
At this point Jesus’ early ministry and his following is rapidly growing. Everywhere Jesus turns there are those seeking after him. These followers in turn tell their friends and neighbors that they have found Jesus. His sermons and healing of the diseased and afflicted only add to his spreading fame. As Jesus continues to minister by healing the sick and casting out devils, everyone has a need or knows of someone who is in need. In two thousand years nothing has changed. People still seek Jesus. Amen!
There are all sorts of people in the crowds. We are beginning to see that there are more and more “scuffles” with the Jewish religious and political groups. In the first two chapters of Mark we have been introduced to the scribes and the Pharisees. Mark even let us in on a few of the “exchanges” between these groups and Jesus. His early ministry received the attention of the religious crowd, and that isn’t always good. In this case these two groups so far have watched for any infraction of the Law of Moses by word or action that Jesus and His followers might perform.
As with most of his writing, Mark places his writings in chronological order and these verses are no different. Let’s set the stage.
Previously, Jesus had an interchange with the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees concerning fasting. They were fasting as they had been instructed but yet Jesus followers did not. They wanted to point that out to Jesus and ask, “Why don’t they do as we do?” Jesus instructs them that the time was not now. There would be time later for fasting after the bridegroom left. This story falls right after this discussion. Isn’t it interesting, one passage talks about fasting and the next talks about eating!
Jesus and his disciples were walking together through a cornfield on the Sabbath. The Bible doesn’t tell us where they are going, just that they were walking through a cornfield. We learn that as they were walking the disciples began to pluck corn off the stocks and eat them by rubbing the ears together to get the kernels to pop out.
“…the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?”
What Law were Jesus and His followers breaking? What is the crux of the Pharisees argument? Remember the Pharisees were on the lookout for ways that Jesus was breaking the Law. The Law of Moses is the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Notice that the Pharisees did not rebuke Jesus and his disciples for stealing the corn. Since the disciples forsook all they had nothing. Four of the five were fishermen and Levi was a publican. So we can only assume that the field of grain did not belong to them. So why wasn’t the Pharisees pointing that out? The reason is simple. According to the Law, they weren’t stealing! We find this precept set down in Deuteronomy 23:25, “When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.” So the Law was clear to both the farmer and those visiting the area. The farmer was supposed to leave the “corners” of his field standing so that those less fortunate and travelers might be taken care of.
The Pharisees understood this part very clearly. So what is the beef? What is the real point? What could they possibly have found to complain about?
Glad you asked. The underlying point here is that they were “working” on the Sabbath. Working you ask? Yes. The very act of the disciples pulling the corn off the stalk in order to eat it is considered harvesting and that is servile work, which is forbidden on the Sabbath. Exodus 20:10 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:”
I want to make two observations here. One, this passage shows us that the disciples had very little in the way of earthly possessions. They did not carry food with them and so were hungry and ate raw corn (or wheat or barley depending on the rendering of the word “sporimos”). Many believe the latter being the case as of the time and season of harvest being around the first of April, which the previous text seems to imply. Regardless of what the grain was, the disciples were hungry and the Law allowed them to eat from the fields.
Second, we see how zealous and hypocritical the Pharisees were in this instance. It is clear that their whole goal is to find fault and point out Jesus failure while implying that their understanding of the scriptures was superior and accurate by pointing out that the Law of Moses forbade what the disciples were doing. These Pharisees had experienced watching their disciples corrected by Jesus in the instruction of fasting and these same Pharisees were still smarting from the lesson. Remember also that the Pharisees are very dependent on the ceremonies and observances in spite of the morality of the issue.
“And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?”
All right now we see how Jesus answers the harsh criticism of His disciples actions. It is always interesting to me to see Jesus direct questions and slander away from him by simply asking the accuser a question in response. The Pharisees scolded Jesus and the disciples because they didn’t understand the Law and Jesus asked them a question that reveals their ignorance of the scriptures they propose to know so well. They proclaimed to know the minuteness of detail about the Law but the history of their own people through the scriptures they did not know. In this case this was a direct lesson concerning David. This revealed their ignorance of the very same scriptures that they were using to condemn Jesus. Jesus took them back in time when David and his men were being pursued and were famished.
“How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?”
King Saul was pursuing David and his men. As they ran from Saul they came upon the tabernacle at Nob near Jerusalem. David asked bread of the priests because they were hungry. The only bread that was available was the ceremonial shewbread.
There were twelve loaves of shewbread, baked on the Sabbath and put into two piles on the Table of Shewbread that was placed in the Holies part of the tabernacle. The old loaves were removed when the new ones were placed on the Table of Shewbread. These “old” loaves of Shewbread were to be eaten by the priests and no one else (Leviticus 24: 5-9). The shewbread David and his followers took and ate were these old loaves (1 Samuel 21:6). Since the showbread was baked on the Sabbath, the law itself ordered work on that day.
Through His words, Jesus revealed their pride in a reflection of their inadequacy.
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
If the Pharisees didn’t like what Jesus had to say up to this point, they were definitely going to be put in a pressure cooker with these words of Jesus. Jesus simply reminded them what the purpose of the Sabbath was. During the creation week God rested on the seventh day, giving the example to man that six days was enough to work and rest was needed for one day each week. Exodus 31:17 says “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” He simply brought them back to the creation story in Genesis to remind them of this point. Then he pointed them to the Law and finally who He really was by telling them that the “Son of man is the Lord also of the sabbath.” By this statement, Jesus was setting their theology in line. The Sabbath is for man and that he was the Son of man and also the Lord.
This lesson was not taught in the Temple, or synagogue. And all this happened in a cornfield. Jesus never missed an opportunity to teach. Neither should we.
So what is the message here? That it is OK to break the Laws as long as we are hungry or need to work or need relaxation? On the contrary, we are to obey Jesus. Remember the words of 1 Samuel 15:22;
“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
ã 2002 bobsbiblestudies