Matthew Chapter 12 – Sabbath Keeping
How has your Sabbath-keeping been?
On the Sabbath, the Pharisees were upset with the disciples plucking heads of grain and eating it, having defined this simple action of plucking grain as work1. But unlike the Pharisees, Jesus accepted what the disciples did. To Him, they were guiltless for fulfilling their basic needs, and He extended His mercy upon them (Mt 12:7).
In the retelling of this episode by Mark, Jesus additionally says to the Pharisees: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) Knowing our physical, emotional, and mental needs, God gives us the Sabbath so that we can rest and meet our needs.
We who serve more in church may feel that physical, mental or even social rest (especially for the introverts amongst us) might be hard to come by.
If you do feel this, you are not alone. There have been Sabbaths where I feel spiritually nourished at church, but tired or even exhausted in other ways.
Serving in church is not the most physically restful act. Spend two hours in any Religious Education class full of excitable young children and, no matter the spiritual satisfaction after, you might experience a wave of fatigue hit you when they leave and the quiet returns.
We can consider what pockets of time we can seek out on the Sabbath to nourish our needs. It can look like carving out an hour on Friday night or Saturday morning for a quiet nature walk. Maybe it is finding a quiet place during lunch or after service ends to recharge your social batteries, without neglecting to encourage one another when we can (Heb 10:25).
It can certainly look like going to Jesus and saying, “Lord, heal my tiredness and help me feel rested.”
After all, this same Jesus gladly healed many on the Sabbath: “great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” (Mt 12:15)
When it gets difficult to serve on the Sabbath, remember this too: priests are called to serve in the temple on the Sabbath (Mt 12:5). They worked hard with those sacrifices—imagine slaughtering the animals! As God’s royal priesthood, we too are called to serve.
But it’s not all duty-bound. When we do good on the Sabbath, we are walking in the footsteps of our dearest Jesus, who saved, healed, taught, preached, and transformed lives on the Sabbath. Jesus, who had strength to serve, can give us strength to serve like Him too.
We are human, and we do get tired. But God is full of mercy and compassionate love. Whenever you and I struggle to experience the richness of this Sabbath gift, let us ask Jesus to heal our hearts and our sight, so that we can richly experience His Sabbath grace.
