Matthew 12:1-14, Mark 2:23-3:6, Luke 6:1-11
Today, more verses (37) than our average 20-25, especially following on last week’s all in the teens. Three accounts of Jesus and the Sabbath on three days in 2019…
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? (Matthew 12:11) Matthew is the only writer who has Jesus asking that question in the context of this healing of the man with a withered hand. I was surprised to read here about a sheep falling into a pit. I have more often remembered a similar verse from Luke in the context of Jesus and a different healing on the Sabbath, And He said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” (14:5) John is the gospel where Jesus is the Good Shepherd; I was surprised to find this “sheep” item in Matthew.
And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28) Again, one distinct item that appears in Mark but not in the other gospels. In fact, I could not find Jesus making this statement anywhere else. We talked a lot about “sabbath rest” last year when we were reading Hebrews. I find great joy in Jesus reminding us that He has given us this one day a week for rest – The Sabbath was made for man – and that we should take that rest. There are so many people today who are forced to work on Sunday, like medical people and first responders. However, our society has changed so drastically over the past many years that Sunday is like any other day. Sunday is probably a bigger shopping day at Kroger than any other day of the week except maybe Saturday. And other places are open too: restaurants and bars, museums and zoos, etc. Thank God for places like Chick-Fil-A, even though I’d love to get one of their sandwiches after church on Sunday…!!
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