"Thieves!!!"
More apt would be
“Law-breakers!!!” That’s what the
legalistic Pharisees were calling the disciples, as well as putting Jesus in
the line of fire as teacher for their behavior.
For what? Picking grain as
they walked along the road? That was it?
If we're going to the moral
part of the law, they weren't stealing. Leviticus 19:9,10 and Deuteronomy 23:25 state as much. "Farmers were to leave the edges of their fields
unharvested so that some of their crops could be picked by travelers and by the
poor." [i]
So what was the issue --
beyond the mere act of picking grain?
Key phrase and real point
of contention -- "on the Sabbath" -- which elevated the accusation.
According to the Oral
Torah, "39 categories of m'lakhah (work) are prohibited on Shabbat,
while the Tabernacle was being built. One of those was reaping, another
threshing. ...Rubbing the heads of grain together in their hands would be
defined as threshing. This is the content of the accusation the P'rushim (the
Pharisees) were making against them and by implication against Yeshua
(Jesus)." [ii]
39 categories of work on the Sabbath
was forbidden, including the preparation of a meal which crazy enough was what
Jesus and his disciples did.
Silly law? Why would there
be a law like this in the first place?
To prevent farmers from becoming greedy,
overworking their laborers and ignoring God on the Sabbath. Seems prudent, to a
point -- past the "black and white" letter of the law -- to which
Jesus would address.
DID YOU KNOW?
The story of David in 1
Samuel 21:1-6 doesn't exactly match what was written by Mark. In 1 Samuel, Ahimelech
was the priest who gave the bread to David. "Abiathar [in Mark
2:26] was Ahimelech's son, who later was the High-Priest during David's reign.
Since Ahimelech died shortly after this incident, it's likely Mark simply added
this designation to identify the well-known companion of David who later became
the High-Priest, along with Zadok." [iii]
So what was going on? According to Exodus 25:30,
consecrated (sacred) bread was to be set before God in the Tabernacle -- the
Holy Place. "Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me
at all time." (Exodus 25:30, NIV) More explanation is provided in Leviticus 24:5-9.
Every Sabbath, 12 baked
loaves (representing the 12 tribes of Israel) were placed on the table in the
Holy Place. When this act was done, the priests would in turn take and eat the
old loaves. [iv]
Jesus uses this example of
David and the High-Priest to make his point -- and sums it up in verse 27,
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." The Sabbath
exists to make humankind’s life better. In essence, "the showbread [the
consecrated bread] was never more sacred as when it was used to feed a starving
man. [v]
In verse 28, Jesus
concludes with "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Whoa.
No he didn't! Did he?
If we go with this
statement "as is," then Jesus could reject what the Pharisees were
saying about the Sabbath. Why "as is"? For some, that's what Jesus
said. He had the authority as the Messiah to revoke the rules of Sabbath rest.
From the perspective of Jewish scholars though, it's important to consider what
they believe regarding the text.
"It may be that
Yeshua's comment, that the Son of Man is
Lord of Shabbat, does not refer to himself but to everyone, since
Hebrew ben-adam (literally, son of man) can mean simply man, person, with no Messianic overtone.
People control Shabbat and not the other way around." [vi]
Either way, not to
diminish the Messianic interpretation, the day of rest -- the Sabbath -- was to
be looked upon as a blessing and not a burden. Regardless, those in opposition
to Jesus could not be pleased or happy. He had called them out.
NEXT…
Going to the extreme;
channeling anger constructively; the plot thickens
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