13
THE K I N G ' S B U S I NE S S
January, 1938
His “ anger” was stirred as He looked upon these hypocrites and saw their utter callous ness to human suffering (v. 5). Neverthe less, His pity and compassion were drawn out because of their unbelief and hardness of heart. He spoke to the man with the withered hand bidding him stretch it forth, and when the man did so, it was fully re stored. In this incident there is an illus tration of the way in which salvation comes to a soul. One has simply to hear the Word, believe the Word, act upon the W ord— and the work is accomplished. The mystery cannot be explained, but the result is real and permanent. III. T he H atred of the P harisees (3:6) In the action of the Pharisees, we see legalism carried to its ultimate conclusion. Neither the Lord nor the man with the withered hand had done any work on that Sabbath Day. The man merely had stretched forth his hand— a gesture which any one of those present probably had been performing without thought. Their accusa tion did not arise from anything our Lord did, but it arose because of what He was. They were aware that His coming con demned them and their doings, and they desired to be rid of Him. They could glibly accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath law by doing good, while they themselves plotted murder. They would observe outward rites and ceremonies and at the same time harbor thoughts and desires which the law utter ly forbade. Because these thoughts and de sires were unseen to men, the Pharisees con gratulated themselves that they could hold them with impunity, forgetting that their own Scriptures taught that God looks upon the heart and judges accordingly. The Pharisees were the so-called religious party among the Jews, while the Herodians were the party that stood with the govern ment then ruling over them. These two groups hated each other, but the hatred of Jesus was common to both and trans cended other animosities. Thus they were brought together to scheme and plan for the death of the sinless Son o f man— a crime finally accomplished at the cross on Calvary. The actual crime of the cross is the world’s crime, pardoned only to those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour. Points and Problems 1. Two great principles are taught in this lesson. The first in importance is theo logical, having to do with G od: The Son of Man, since He is also God, has absolute authority within the realm of divine law ; He is Lord of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:28). The second principle is humanitarian, having to do with man: The law of God was given to help men, not to injure them; the Sab bath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is folly to try to divorce these two principles. Whatever is from God is good for men. And there can be no true humanitarianism apart from God. When we make man himself the measure and end of all things, as modern Humanism does, and exclude God, at once we slide into the pit of /»humanity. See Russia. 2. W e should not see in this lesson, as some have done, evidence that Christ re-
and father are Christians, they themselves do not need Christ. Let us always remem ber that each person, old or young, needs Christ to cure his spiritual ills, and to for give his sins.
would be foolish indeed to think that just because his mother had once taken the rem edy, he himself did not need it. Some boys and girls and grownups are this way about Christ. They think that if their mother
FEBRUARY 13, 1938 CONSERVING THE SABBATH FOR MAN M ark 2:23 to 3:6
given (vs. 25, 26). The Sabbath, He pointed out, was a means and not an end in itself. David, because of necessity, could do what he did on the Sabbath Day, and be blameless (1 Sam. 21:1-7). All the cere monies given by God were made for man, that is, for man’s good. The Pharisees had exalted the Sabbath to the place of the Sab bath’s Lord. Jesus’ disciples, seeming to dishonor the Sabbath, had in reality hon ored it, because they used it for its pur pose, that is, the good of man. But the Pharisees, seeming to honor it, had in real ity dishonored it. Our Lord then gave further answer to the Pharisees’ accusation (vs. 27, 28). In the beginning o f man’s history, man was preeminent among all of God’s creation. All that God made, including the Sabbath, had been placed under the control of man (cf. Psa. 8). Hence the Sabbath was real ly under man’s authority, not man under its authority. The conclusion is that Jesus, being the Son of man, the One in and by whom man’s lost dominion was restored, was Lord of the Sabbath. While believers do not observe the Sab bath Day as such, they do observe the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day, “ the first day of the week” (Matt. 28:1; Mk. 16:9; Lk. 24:1; John 20:19; cf. 1 Cor. 16:2), is not the Sabbath moved over from Saturday to Sunday. It is, rather, the day on which the people of God now gather to worship Him, remembering His resurrection. “ Christ is the end of the law” (Rom. 10:4), and the “ law of liberty” in Christ supersedes every other requirement. II. T he S infulness of the P harisees (3:1-5) Coming into the synagogue on the Sab bath Day, our Lord found a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees watched to see whether He would (in their opinion) break the Sabbath law (vs. 1, 2 ). Here was a case of real need, and here was One who could meet that need. Here also were those who questioned. Knowing what was in the minds of these critics, the Lord Jesus told the man to stand forth in their, midst, and then He asked them, “ It is lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm?” (vs, 3, 4, R. V .).
Mark 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the com fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of com. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was ahungered, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Mark 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. - 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straight way took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. Golden Text: “And he said unto them, The sabbath was mkde for man” (Mk. 2:27). Devotional Reading: Psalm 122. Outline and Exposition I. T h e A c cu sa tio n b y P harisees (2:23-28) T HE Law said that no work should be done upon the Sabbath, and the Pharisees held that plucking corn and rubbing it in the hands was a species of threshing, and that whoever engaged in this practice was breaking the Law (vs. 23, 24). However, they themselves were debasing the Sabbath in three ways: first, by pleading its sacredness as an excuse for not doing good; second, by pleading its obligations as a reason for trampling upon human need; third, by pleading its pre eminence as a reason for not performing the duties demanded by mercy. T o them, the mere performance of ceremonial rites was keeping the Sabbath. Because of their interpretation of the Sabbath law, they would let a neighbor die rather than lift a hand to rescue him on the Sabbath Day, and would let the hungry starve rather than offer him food on that day. Selfishness lay at the bottom of their Sabbath-keeping. In answer to their reasoning, our Lord showed that in His dealing about the matter, the Lord of the Sabbath was restoring it (1) to its rightful position, a gift from God to be used; (2) to its useful purpose, for God’s honor and man’s good; and (3) to its original purity, a remembrance of God’s creatorship and ownership of all. The answer of the Lord was plainly
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