Introduction
Before he became king, David ate the bread with his men that only the priests were allowed to touch. By the rules of the day, it was a violation. Yet God allowed it, and Jesus later spoke of that act in a positive light. The preacher at Chitose Evangelical Christian Church in Japan opens his October 4, 2026 message with these words: "A rule, however old, however faithfully observed, does not come before a person's life."
God gave his commandments, beginning with the Ten Commandments, for the peace and happiness of humanity. Yet the Pharisees, who knew the story of David better than anyone, were indignant when Jesus' disciples picked heads of grain on the Sabbath. Jesus had answered that he is Lord of the Sabbath. They did not let it go. The question comes back in Mark 3:1-12.
This account sets two attitudes side by side, on the same day and in the same place: the mercy of Jesus, who gives a man his life back, and the hardened hearts of those who want to use that man to bring Jesus down.
Message Outline
1. The Sabbath Was Made for Man
- The fourth of the Ten Commandments strictly forbade work on the Sabbath. The people of Israel held to it from generation to generation.
- To the Pharisees, picking heads of grain amounted to harvesting, and rubbing them in the hand to separate the grain from the chaff amounted to threshing. Two kinds of work, so two violations of the Sabbath.
- "From our point of view, we would be tempted to say that nitpicking like this does not matter at all," the preacher admits. But for the Pharisees, this was a point on which they would not give an inch.
- Jesus answered plainly: he is Lord of the Sabbath, and "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." The Pharisees understood that their criticism did not hold, yet they were not convinced.
2. A Man Placed There to Trap Jesus
- On another Sabbath, Jesus enters the synagogue to worship with his disciples and the local people. A man with a withered hand is already there.
- The word translated "withered" means to wither or dry up. The Gospel of Luke specifies that it was his right hand. The preacher suggests this may have been the hand the man used the most: he could no longer work and had lost his livelihood.
- We do not know whether he was sick or injured, since when, or how badly. We do know that he stood in a spot where everyone who came in saw him right away.
- The preacher thinks it is possible that the Pharisees had set up the scene in advance in order to accuse Jesus. Everyone was watching: would he heal this man as usual, or do nothing because it was the Sabbath?
3. Why Do We Gather Every Week?
- If these men went to the synagogue to accuse Jesus, what should we think of the way they kept the Sabbath?
- The Sabbath was not established only to stop working and sit there doing nothing. It was given so that we would set down our tools, rest, and worship the Creator God who made us.
- "It seems to me that the desire to worship was sorely lacking in them," says the preacher. By their attitude, the spirit of the Sabbath was spoiled.
- He turns the question back to his congregation: why do we gather every Sunday? We come to worship together the God who created us. "I always want to keep that in mind."
- What interested the people there that day was neither the worship of the Lord nor the man suffering with his right hand, but only the chance to accuse Jesus.
4. A Calculated Silence, a Restored Hand
- Jesus knew what they were thinking. He speaks first to the man and tells him to stand up in the middle. He puts him where everyone can see him.
- Then he looks at the assembly and asks the question: "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?"
- Put that way, nearly everyone picks the right answer. No one would say that killing is right on the Sabbath, because this is not a matter of tradition or written commandment, but of human conscience.
- Yet no one answers. The Pharisees had made strict Sabbath observance their banner, almost a slogan. Answering "do good" amounted to approving the healing. Their pride and reputation were at risk of collapsing.
- So they choose to stay silent. "It is a very cunning way to react," says the preacher, "because they use their right to silence only when the question puts them in a difficult position."
- Jesus looks around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and says to the man: "Stretch out your hand."
- The man obeys, and his hand is restored to what it was when he was healthy.
- The text does not say so, but the preacher imagines an immense joy: "Maybe he jumped for joy."
- Jesus gave this man, who had lost his livelihood, a hope to live for. He lit a light in his life.
5. Water and Oil United Against Jesus
- Their plan failed. The Pharisees go out disappointed, irritated, and angry. Mark notes that they immediately go to the Herodians to consult on how to destroy Jesus.
- The Herodians were a very secular group with political goals. Between them and the Pharisees, the preacher explains, it was like water and oil: however much you mix them, they always separate.
- The Pharisees, strict in religious matters, deeply despised the Herodians, who were lax in religion. That they would act together was unthinkable. Yet that day they draw close and hold a council.
- The reason: they had the same enemy, Jesus. "To reach his goal, a human being will stop at nothing. Here we see how deep sin goes."
6. Sin Uses Others, Mercy Gives Life
- On the same day, in the same place, two works cross paths: the life brought by Jesus and the death in the Pharisees' plan.
- To the Pharisees, this man was only a means to an end. His healing did not interest them at all. All that mattered was whether Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath.
- "Human sin seeks to use other people. God's mercy, on the other hand, seeks to give people life."
- Saved by God's mercy, we want to remember that grace and, in turn, show mercy to others.
7. The Crowds Rush to the Merciful Lord
- Jesus then withdraws toward the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, no doubt to rest. But everywhere he goes, people who have heard about him are already waiting.
- They come from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon: from the west, the east, and the north.
- Many carry heavy burdens in life or serious illnesses. The sick think that by touching Jesus they might be healed, and they press around him. Jesus asks for a boat to be ready so that the crowd will not crush him.
- The unclean spirits fall down before him and cry out: "You are the Son of God." Jesus sternly orders them not to make him known.
- Jesus receives these crowds with care and shows them the same mercy he showed the man healed in the synagogue. "Our Savior is rich in mercy. He shows us the way that leads to life."
- The preacher concludes with James 5:11, which speaks of the perseverance of Job and the end the Lord brought about for him, because the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
- He stresses the last phrase: the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
- His wish for his church: to live today and all week long tasting the mercy of the Lord, a mercy that, as he says in his prayer, never runs dry.
Key Takeaways
- A rule, even an old and respected one, does not come before a person's life: the Sabbath was made for man.
- The Lord's Day is for worshiping the Creator God together, not for watching others in order to catch them in a fault.
- Staying silent to protect your pride and reputation is the sign of a hardened heart, one that Jesus looks at with sorrow.
- Sin uses others to get what it wants. God's mercy seeks to give life.
- The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Those he has saved are called to show that mercy in turn.
Personal Application
- When you come to worship on Sunday, what fills your heart: worshiping God, or something else?
- Is there a rule, a habit, or a reputation you hold on to so tightly that you forget the person who is suffering right in front of you?
- Do you ever keep silent not out of wisdom, but because the truth would put you in an awkward position?
- In your relationships, do you look to use others, or to help them live?
- How can you show someone this week the mercy God has shown you?
Verses Cited
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were the Pharisees watching Jesus in the synagogue?
Mark says it was in order to find a charge against him. If he healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, they could publicly accuse him of performing an act of care, and therefore of working. The preacher notes that the man was standing in a spot visible to everyone, as if the scene had been prepared in advance.
Why did the Pharisees stay silent in the face of Jesus' question?
No one would answer that killing is right on the Sabbath: it is a matter of conscience. But answering "do good" amounted to approving the healing Jesus was about to perform. Their pride and their reputation as strict Sabbath keepers were at stake, so they stayed silent. The preacher sees this as a very cunning attitude: staying silent only when the question puts you in a difficult spot.
Who were the Herodians, and why did they ally with the Pharisees?
The Herodians were a very secular group with political goals. Next to the Pharisees, who were strict in religious matters, they were like water and oil, which never mix. Yet they consulted together because they had the same enemy: Jesus. The preacher sees in this the depth of human sin, which stops at nothing to reach its goals.