And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27-28

 

The Pharisees made the Sabbath the "busiest" day of the week.

By creating their own self-imposed rules and regulations of what constitutes rest, they became so preoccupied with policing and punishing people that they eventually lost perspective of what the Sabbath is all about. Instead of spending the day to keep God in mind, they were using it to carry out their self-righteous routine. This explains why they were more upset with Jesus' disciples for plucking grains than actually doing something to relieve their hunger.

In saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath", Jesus is making a critical point here, that is, the Sabbath is never meant to be a burden, but a blessing. To Him, the Sabbath wasn't a day for fault-finding, but a day designed to do good and show mercy. As such, Jesus often used the occasion of a Sabbath to heal the sick and restore their health.

As New Covenant believers, the Sabbath is more than resting our bodies on a specific day. When we identify Jesus as our Lord of true Sabbath rest, we can confidently rest in His finished work to restore every broken area in our lives back into wholeness.

We are not like the self-righteous Pharisees who think they deserve God's favour because of their so-called pious behaviour. The truth is, we were never entitled to anything in the first place except for the grace of God. This is what makes our worship, work, and service different. We don't do them as religious duties to earn merit from God. Rather, they are good works that supernaturally flows from an authentic relationship with God.

When we learn to enjoy our Father God and let Him embrace us in His perfect love, we are no longer concerned about whether our worship, work or service is good enough or even better than others. Rather, we rest in Christ so that His abundant life in us will cause us to produce fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. (John 15)