The NIV 365 Day Devotional

The Sabbath: A Life-Giving Activity

This episode in Matthew continues to reveal what a kingdom of rest ruled by Jesus looks like (Mt 11:28). The Pharisees attempt to catch Jesus in their web of regulations by pointing out the unlawful actions of Jesus’ disciples. But Jesus flips the law on the experts with two counterpoints.

First, he reminds them that 1 Samuel 21:1–6 records how David took the bread of the Presence, meant for the Lord and to be eaten only by priests. Preserving life is always put before preserving the law, as Mark’s account of this same story brings out: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27). Second, Jesus masterfully points out that, technically, priests break the Sabbath every week by working in the temple (Mt 12:5); there are exceptions to the Sabbath rule about work that are self-evident.

The Sabbath was always meant to be a life-giving activity, but over time it was misconstrued and misapplied to mean inactive passivity. True Sabbath is not about not working; it is about actively pursuing God and trusting him to fill us with life (see notes on Sabbath on Exodus 20:8–11; Leviticus 23:26–32; Deuteronomy 12:8–14; Isaiah 58:13–14). In the very next episode in this series of confrontations with the Pharisees, Jesus heals on the Sabbath as he continues showing that the Sabbath is always about giving life rather than extinguishing it.

Taken from the NIV Upside-Down Kingdom Bible.