SUMMARY
Two controversies over the SabbathSabbath is a weekly day of rest, the seventh day, observed on Saturday in Judaism and on Sunday in Christianity. In the book of Genesis, God rested on the seventh day; in the Gospel accounts Jesus and his disciples are criticized by some for not... More illustrate the expanse of Jesus’ authority and drive a wedge between him and the Pharisees and HerodiansThe Herodians were a public political party favorable to Herod the Great, who ruled in Palestine when Jesus was born. Later, in opposition to Jesus, they were allied with Herod Antipas, who ruled at the time of Jesus' death. More.
ANALYSIS
The Sabbath occupies an important place in the religious life of the Jewish people because according to Genesis 1 it is built into the fabric of creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More. Rest on the Sabbath was seen as necessary for all of the world to function, and so traditions grew up to safeguard people from having to work on that day. While Jesus’ first healing in a synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. Jesus often taught in synagogues where he sometimes ran afoul of Jewish leaders. In the book of Acts, Paul and others attend synagogues and teach in them. More on the Sabbath did not directly lead to controversy (1:21-28), the Sabbath quickly became a point of contention between him and other Jewish groups.
Just as with the controversy over fasting, the first Sabbath controversy involves the behavior of Jesus’ disciples. They make their way through a field of grain, plucking the ears as they go. It is somewhat unclear how exactly they have violated the Sabbath. Some have pointed to a prohibition against harvesting on the Sabbath, others to a prohibition against travel. Regardless of the precise violation, their behavior offends the Pharisees, who appeal to their teacher, JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More. Rather than scold his disciples as the Pharisees hope, Jesus takes the opportunity to engage in a novel bit of biblical interpretation. He defends them by pointing to David’s eating of priestly bread with the implication that he is like DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More and finds himself in a time of need, thus excusing his followers’ behavior. If that explanation did not convince them, he goes on to make an even bolder claim: He is Lord of the Sabbath and thus he can decide whether something is lawful on the Sabbath or not.
This grand expansion of Jesus’ authority provokes the Pharisees and changes their views of his actions. Whereas amazement was the reaction the first time that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, this time the Pharisees are hoping that they can use a healing as an opportunity to accuse Jesus of being a breaker of Jewish law. He responds with anger and publicly shames them through the impressiveness of his healing deed. As a result, the Pharisees go out to plot with the followers of Herod in order to destroy Jesus. Thus, less than a quarter of the way through Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ life is already at risk.
