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Commentary on Mark 2 verses 18–28
Christ had been put to justify himself in conversing with publicans and sinners: here he is put to justify his disciples; and in what they do according to his will he will justify them, and bear them out.
I. He justifies them in their not fasting, which was turned to their reproach by the Pharisees. Why do the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast? They used to fast, the Pharisees fasted twice in the week (Luk 18:12), and probably the disciples of John did so too; and, it should seem, this very day, when Christ and his disciples were feasting in Levi's house, was their fast-day, for the word is nēsteuousi - they do fast, or are fasting, which aggravated the offence. Thus apt are strict professors to make their own practice a standard, and to censure and condemn all that do not fully come up to it. They invidiously suggest that if Christ went among sinners to do them good, as he had pleaded, yet the disciples went to indulge their appetites, for they never knew what it was to fast, or to deny themselves. Note, Ill-will always suspects the worst.
Two things Christ pleads in excuse of his disciples not fasting.
1.That these were easy days with them, and fasting was not so seasonable now as it would be hereafter, Mar 2:19, Mar 2:20. There is a time for all things. Those that enter into the married state, must expect care and trouble in the flesh, and yet, during the nuptial solemnity, they are merry, and think it becomes them to be so; it was very absurd for Samson's bride to weep before him, during the days that the feast lasted, Jdg 14:17. Christ and his disciples were but newly married, the bridegroom was yet with them, the nuptials were yet in the celebrating (Matthew's particularly); when the bridegroom should be removed from them to the far country, about his business, then would be a proper time to sit as a widow, in solitude and fasting.
2.That these were early days with them, and they were not so able for the severe exercises of religion as hereafter they would be. The Pharisees had long accustomed themselves to such austerities; and John Baptist himself came neither eating nor drinking. His disciples from the first inured themselves to hardships, and thus found it easier to bear strict and frequent fasting, but it was not so with Christ's disciples; their Master came eating and drinking, and had not bred them up to the difficult services of religion as yet, for it was all in good time. To put them upon such frequent fasting at first, would be a discouragement to them, and perhaps drive them off from following Christ; it would be of as ill consequence as putting new wine into old casks, or sewing new cloth to that which is worn thin and threadbare, Mar 2:21, Mar 2:22. Note, God graciously considers the frame of young Christians, that are weak and tender, and so must we; nor must we expect more than the work of the day in its day, and that day according to the strength, because it is not in our hands to give strength according to the day. Many contract an antipathy to some kind of food, otherwise good, by being surfeited with it when they are young; so, many entertain prejudices against the exercises of devotion by being burthened with them, and made to serve with an offering, at their setting out. Weak Christians must take heed of over-tasking themselves, and of making the yoke of Christ otherwise than as it is, easy, and sweet, and pleasant.
II. He justifies them in plucking the ears of corn on the sabbath day, which, I will warrant you, a disciples of the Pharisees would not dare to have done; for it was contrary to an express tradition of their elders. In this instance, as in that before, they reflect upon the discipline of Christ's school, as if it were not so strict as that of theirs: so common it is for those who deny the power of godliness, to be jealous for the form, and censorious of those who affect not their form.
Observe, 1. What a poor breakfast Christ's disciples had on a sabbath-day morning, when they were going to church (Mar 2:23); they plucked the ears of corn, and that was the best they had. They were so intent upon spiritual dainties, that they forgot even their necessary food; and the word of Christ was to them instead of that; and their zeal for it even ate them up. The Jews made it a piece of religion, to eat dainty food on sabbath days, but the disciples were content with any thing.
2.How even this was grudged them by the Pharisees, upon supposition that it was not lawful to pluck the ears of corn on the sabbath day, that that was as much a servile work as reaping (Mar 2:24); Why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? Note, If Christ's disciples do that which is unlawful, Christ will be reflected upon, and upbraided with it, as he was here, and dishonour will redound to his name. It is observable, that when the Pharisees thought Christ did amiss, they told the disciples (Mar 2:16); and now when they thought the disciples did amiss, they spoke to Christ, as make-bates, that did what they could to sow discord between Christ and his disciples, and make a breach in the family.
3.How Christ defended them in what they did.
(1.)By example. They had a good precedent for it in David's eating the show-bread, when he was hungry, and there was no other bread to be had (Mar 2:25, Mar 2:26); Have ye never read? Note, Many of our mistakes would be rectified, and our unjust censures of others corrected, if we would but recollect what we have read in the scripture; appeals to that are most convincing. "You have read that David, the man after God's own heart, when he was hungry, made no difficulty of eating the show-bread, which by the law none might eat of but the priests and their families." Note, Ritual observances must give way to moral obligations; and that may be done in a case of necessity, which otherwise may not be done. This, it is said, David did in the days of Abiathar the High-Priest; or just before the days of Abiathar, who immediately succeeded Abimelech his father in the pontificate, and, it is probable, was at that time his father's deputy, or assistant, in the office; and he it was that escaped the massacre, and brought the ephod to David.
(2.)By argument. To reconcile them to the disciples' plucking the ears of corn, let them consider,
[1.]Whom the sabbath was made for (Mar 2:27); it was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. This we had not in Matthew. The sabbath is a sacred and divine institution; but we must receive and embrace it as a privilege and a benefit, not as a task and a drudgery. First, God never designed it to be an imposition upon us, and therefore we must not make it so to ourselves. Man was not made for the sabbath, for he was made a day before the sabbath was instituted. Man was made for God, and for his honour and service, and he just rather die than deny him; but he was not made for the sabbath, so as to be tied up by the law of it, from that which is necessary to the support of his life. Secondly, God did design it to be an advantage to us, and so we must make it, and improve it. He made if for man. 1. He had some regard to our bodies in the institution, that they might rest, and not be tired out with the constant business of this world (Deu 5:14); that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest. Now he that intended the sabbath-rest for the repose of our bodies, certainly never intended it should restrain us, in a case of necessity, from fetching in the necessary supports of the body; it must be construed so as not to contradict itself - for edification, and not for destruction. 2. He had much more regard to our souls. The sabbath was made a day of rest, only in order to its being a day of holy work, a day of communion with God, a day of praise and thanksgiving; and the rest from worldly business is therefore necessary, that we may closely apply ourselves to this work, and spend the whole time in it, in public and in private; but then time is allowed us for that which is necessary to the fitting of our bodies for the service of our souls in God's service, and the enabling of them to keep pace with them in that work. See here, (1.) What a good Master we serve, all whose institutions are for our own benefit, and if we be so wise as to observe them, we are wise for ourselves; it is not he, but we, that are gainers by our service. (2.) What we should aim at in our sabbath work, even the good of our own souls. If the sabbath was made for man, we should then ask ourselves at night, "What am I the better for this sabbath day?" (3.) What care we ought to take not to make those exercises of religion burthens to ourselves or others, which God ordained to be blessings; neither adding to the command by unreasonable strictness, nor indulging those corruptions which are adverse to the command, for thereby we make those devout exercises a penance to ourselves, which otherwise would be a pleasure.
[2.]Whom the sabbath was made by (Mar 2:28); "The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath; and therefore he will not see the kind intentions of the institution of it frustrated by your impositions." Note, The sabbath days are days of the Son of man; he is the Lord of the day, and to his honour it must be observed; by him God made the worlds, and so it was by him that the sabbath was first instituted; by him God gave the law at mount Sinai, and so the fourth commandment was his law; and that little alteration that was shortly to be made, by the shifting of it one day forward to the first day of the week, was to be in remembrance of his resurrection, and therefore the Christian sabbath was to be called the Lord's day (Rev 1:10), the Lord Christ's day; and the Son of man, Christ, as Mediator, is always to be looked upon as Lord of the sabbath. This argument he largely insists upon in his own justification, when he was charged with having broken the sabbath, Joh 5:16.
(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) The disciples of Christ, freed from the figure, and united to the truth, do not keep the figurative feast of the sabbath, wherefore it is said, And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) But our Lord brings forward David, to whom it once happened to eat though it was forbidden by the law, when he touched the Priest's food, that by his example, he might do away with their accusation of the disciples. For there follows, Have ye never read, &c.
(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He calls himself properly, Lord of the sabbath, and Son of man, since being the Son of God, he deigned to be called Son of man, for the sake of men. Now the law has no authority over the Lawgiver and Lord, for more is allowed the king, than is appointed by the law. The law is given to the weak indeed, but not to the perfect and to those who work above what the law enjoins.
(ubi sup.) Neither was it fitting to sew on a, new piece; that is, a portion of doctrine which teaches a general fast from all the joy of temporal delights; for if this be done, the teaching is rent, and agrees not with the old part. But by a new garment is intended good works, which are done externally, and by the new wine, is expressed the fervour of faith, hope, and charity, by which we are reformed in our minds.
(in Marc. 1, 13) We read also in the following part, that they who came and went away were many, and that they had not time enough to take their food, wherefore, according to man's nature, they were hungry.
(ubi sup.) There is, however, no discrepancy, for both were there, when David came to ask for bread, and received it: that is to say, Abimelech, the High Priest, and Abiathar his son; but Abimelech having been slain by Saul, Abiathar fled to David, and became the companion of all his exile afterwards. When he came to the throne, he himself also received the rank of High Priest, and the son became of much greater excellence than the father, and therefore was worthy to be mentioned as the High Priest, even during his fathers life-time. It goes on: And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. For greater is the care to be taken of the health and life of a man, than the keeping of the sabbath. Therefore the sabbath was ordered to be observed in such a way, that, if there were a necessity, he should not be guilty, who broke the sabbath-day; therefore it was not forbidden to circumcise on the sabbath, because that was a necessary work. And the Maccabees, when necessity pressed on them, fought on the sabbath-day. Wherefore, His disciples being hungry, what was not allowed in the law became lawful through their necessity of hunger; as now, if a sick man break a fast, he is not held guilty in any way. It goes on: Therefore the Son of man is Lord, &c. As if he said, David the king is to be excused for feeding on the food of the Priests, how much more the Son of man, the true King and Priest, and Lord of the sabbath, is free from fault, for pulling ears of corn on the sabbath-day.
(ubi sup.) But in a mystical sense the disciples pass through the corn fields, when the holy doctors look with the care of a pious solicitude upon those whom they have initiated in the faith, and who, it is implied, are hungering for the best of all things, the salvation of men. But to pluck the ears of corn means to snatch men away from the eager desire of earthly things. And to rub with the hands is by examples of virtue to put from the purity of their minds the concupiscence of the flesh, as men do husks. To eat the grains is when a man, cleansed from the filth of vice by the mouths of preachers, is incorporated amongst the members of the Church. Again, fitly are the disciples related to have done this, walking before the face of the Lord, for it is necessary that the discourse of the doctor should come first, although the grace of visitation from on high, following it, must enlighten the heart of the hearer. And well, on the sabbath-day, for the doctors themselves in preaching labour for the hope of future rest, and teach their hearers to toil over their tasks for the sake of eternal repose.
(ubi sup) Again, they walk through the corn fields with the Lord, who rejoice in meditating upon His sacred words. They hunger, when they desire to find in them the bread of life; and they hunger on sabbath days, as soon as their minds are in a soothing rest, and they rejoice in freedom from troubled thoughts; they pluck the ears of corn, and by rubbing, cleanse them, till they come to what is fit to eat, when by meditation they take to themselves the witness of the Scriptures, to which they arrive by reading, and discuss them continually, until they find in them the marrow of love; this refreshment of the mind is truly unpleasing to fools, but is approved by the Lord.
For David, when flying from the face of Saul, went to the Chief Priest, and ate the show-bread, and took away the sword of Goliath, which things had been offered to the Lord. (1 Sam. 21.) But a question has been raised how the Evangelist called Abiathar at this time High Priest, when the Book of Kings calls him Abimelech.
Or else, because when they hare rest from their passions, then are they made doctors to lead others to virtue, plucking away from them earthly things.
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SUMMARY
In Mark 2:27, Jesus delivers a foundational declaration regarding the Sabbath, asserting that this divine institution was established for the benefit and well-being of humanity, rather than humanity being created to serve its regulations. This profound statement challenges the rigid, legalistic interpretations prevalent among the religious leaders of His day, revealing God's compassionate heart behind His commands and emphasizing the Sabbath's original purpose as a gift of rest and renewal.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This pivotal statement by Jesus immediately follows a direct confrontation with the Pharisees. As Jesus and His disciples walked through grainfields on the Sabbath, the disciples began to pluck heads of grain, an act the Pharisees condemned as unlawful work on the holy day (Mark 2:23). Jesus first defends His disciples by referencing King David's actions in a time of need, where he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for priests (1 Samuel 21:1-6). This historical precedent demonstrates that human need and divine mercy can supersede ritualistic adherence. Jesus then articulates the overarching principle in Mark 2:27, setting the stage for His subsequent declaration of Himself as "Lord even of the sabbath day" in Mark 2:28, thereby asserting His ultimate authority over the Law itself.
Historical & Cultural Context: The Sabbath (Hebrew: Shabbat) was a cornerstone of Jewish life and identity, divinely instituted at creation as a day of rest (Genesis 2:2-3) and later codified as the Fourth Commandment in the Decalogue (Exodus 20:8-11). By Jesus' era, particularly among groups like the Pharisees, numerous oral traditions and interpretations had developed around the Sabbath law. These traditions, intended to "build a fence around the Torah" to prevent accidental transgression, had, in practice, become burdensome and often obscured the original, benevolent intent of the Sabbath. Activities like plucking grain were categorized as "reaping" or "threshing," falling under the 39 categories of prohibited work (melachot), leading to a legalistic environment where human needs and compassion were often secondary to strict adherence to man-made rules.
Key Themes: The primary theme is The Purpose of the Sabbath, clarifying that it was given as a gracious gift for humanity's rest and spiritual renewal, not as an oppressive set of regulations. This highlights God's desire for human flourishing and well-being. Closely related is the theme of Humanity Over Ritual, where Jesus prioritizes genuine human need and compassionate action above rigid, legalistic adherence to religious rules. This principle underscores that God's laws are designed to bless and serve people, not to become ends in themselves, devoid of mercy. Furthermore, the passage implicitly asserts Jesus' Authority as the ultimate interpreter and fulfiller of the Law, laying the groundwork for His climactic declaration as "Lord of the Sabbath" in Mark 2:28. Finally, the entire encounter serves as a powerful illustration of Grace vs. Legalism, contrasting the liberating spirit of God's law with the stifling burden of human traditions.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jesus employs several potent literary devices in this concise statement. The most prominent is Antithesis, where two contrasting ideas are placed in opposition to highlight a truth: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." This stark contrast effectively reverses the prevailing legalistic understanding of the Sabbath, emphasizing the correct order of priorities. The statement also functions as an Aphorism or Proverbial Statement, a concise, memorable expression of a general truth. Its pithy nature makes it easily quotable and profound, serving as a foundational principle for understanding the spirit of the law. Furthermore, there is an element of Reversal of Expectations, as Jesus challenges the deeply ingrained religious paradigm of His listeners, forcing them to reconsider their understanding of divine commands and their application.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Mark 2:27 is a profound theological statement that reveals God's benevolent character and the true nature of His laws. It underscores that divine commands are not arbitrary burdens but are given for humanity's good, promoting flourishing, rest, and a right relationship with God. This verse challenges the human tendency towards legalism, which elevates the letter of the law and human traditions above the spirit of compassion and mercy. It aligns with the broader biblical narrative where God's covenant and commandments are presented as pathways to life and blessing, not as oppressive restrictions. The tension between the spirit and the letter of the law, between grace and works, is a recurring theme throughout scripture, and Jesus' declaration here serves as a critical interpretive key, prioritizing human well-being and God's compassionate intent.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Mark 2:27 provides timeless wisdom for how we approach religious practices, traditions, and even our understanding of God's commands in contemporary life. It compels us to critically examine whether our spiritual disciplines and church traditions genuinely serve God's purposes of love, mercy, and human flourishing, or if they have inadvertently become rigid, burdensome rituals that obscure the heart of God. This verse reminds us that God's desire is always for our good, and His instructions are designed to lead us into deeper life and freedom, not into legalistic bondage. It also powerfully affirms the divine design for rest and renewal, urging us to embrace rhythms of cessation from labor and intentional spiritual refreshment, recognizing that these are not optional add-ons but essential components for our holistic well-being and ability to thrive.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What was the primary conflict surrounding the Sabbath in Jesus' time?
Answer: The primary conflict stemmed from the vast difference between Jesus' interpretation of the Sabbath and that of the Pharisees. While the Sabbath was divinely instituted as a day of rest and worship, the Pharisees had developed numerous intricate oral traditions and interpretations (the "fence around the Torah") that, in practice, made the Sabbath a day filled with burdensome prohibitions. Jesus, by contrast, emphasized the Sabbath's original purpose as a gift for human benefit and demonstrated compassion and healing on the Sabbath, often clashing with the Pharisees' rigid legalism. This conflict highlighted the tension between the spirit of the law and the letter of human tradition.
Does this verse abolish the Sabbath commandment?
Answer: No, Mark 2:27 does not abolish the Sabbath commandment. Instead, it redefines and clarifies its true purpose. Jesus is not negating the principle of a day of rest or worship, but rather liberating it from the oppressive and often uncompassionate human interpretations that had obscured its original intent. He is asserting that the Sabbath was given as a blessing and a provision for humanity, not as a means to burden or restrict people. This statement sets the stage for understanding that the Sabbath, like all of God's laws, is ultimately for our good and points to a greater reality found in Christ.
How does this verse relate to Christian observance of a "day of rest"?
Answer: For Christians, Mark 2:27 underscores the enduring principle that a day of rest and worship is a divine gift for human flourishing. While many Christians observe Sunday (the Lord's Day) in commemoration of Christ's resurrection and the new creation, rather than Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), the underlying truth remains: God designed humanity with a need for regular cessation from labor and intentional time for spiritual renewal and communion with Him. This verse encourages Christians to embrace rhythms of rest and worship as beneficial practices that serve their well-being and deepen their relationship with God, rather than viewing them as rigid, legalistic requirements. It promotes freedom and grace in observing such a day, prioritizing its life-giving purpose.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The profound truth declared in Mark 2:27 finds its ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Sabbath, designed as a gift of rest and renewal for humanity, ultimately pointed to a greater rest that only Christ could provide. He is our true Sabbath rest, inviting all who are weary and burdened to come to Him and find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30). As the "Lord even of the sabbath day" (Mark 2:28), Jesus demonstrates His divine authority over the very institution, revealing its true purpose and liberating it from the legalistic burdens imposed by human tradition. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ perfectly fulfilled the law, including the Sabbath commandment, not by abolishing it, but by embodying its ultimate meaning. He is the substance to which the Sabbath, as a shadow, pointed (Colossians 2:16-17). In Him, we experience the true spiritual rest from the striving of works and the burden of sin, entering into God's rest through faith (Hebrews 4:9-10). Thus, the Sabbath, made for man, finds its perfect and liberating purpose in the man, Jesus Christ, who offers us eternal rest and freedom.