In verse 28 we have a strong display of who the Lord is: “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” This indicates the Slave-Savior’s deity in His humanity. He, the Son of Man, was the very God who ordained the Sabbath, and He had the right to change what He had ordained concerning the Sabbath. As the Lord of the Sabbath, He had the right to change the regulations concerning the Sabbath.
The Lord Jesus indicated to the condemning Pharisees that He was the real David, the King of the coming kingdom of God, and also the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, He could do whatever He liked on the Sabbath, and whatever He did was justified by who He is. He was above all rituals and regulations. Because He was present, no one should pay any attention to rituals and regulations.
I would call your attention to the word “even” in 2:28. Here the Lord says that the Son of Man is the Lord even of the Sabbath. His use of the word “even” here implies that He is not merely the Lord of one thing, but the Lord of everything, including the Sabbath.
The Lord’s word implies and indicates that He is the almighty God, the very One who ordained the Sabbath in Genesis 2. As the One who had the authority to ordain the Sabbath, He also has the right to change it. Therefore, the Lord could have said to the Pharisees, “Why do you trouble Me? I am the Lord who ordained the Sabbath, and I have the full position and right to change it. Whether I ordain the Sabbath or change it, I do it for the sake of man. The Sabbath came into being for man’s sake; man did not come into being for the sake of the Sabbath. You Pharisees would even let people die by the way you keep the Sabbath. But on the Sabbath I care for feeding My followers. In Genesis 2 I ordained the Sabbath because I wanted man to have rest. Therefore, the Sabbath came into being for the sake of man. But now that I am here, I want to cancel the Sabbath in order to feed My followers. As the Lord of the Sabbath, I certainly have the right to do this.”
How wonderful was the Lord’s handling of the situation in 2:23-28! He certainly is the best attorney, a heavenly attorney. Whatever He says is right. In arguing with Him, the Pharisees did not have a case, for He is the almighty Lord.
In 3:1-6 we see that the Lord carried out His gospel service by caring for the relief of the suffering one instead of caring for the ritual of religion. Here we have the last incident of the five recorded in 2:1—3:6, the case of the healing of a man with a withered hand. This healing also took place on the Sabbath (3:2).
Mark 2:23—3:6 records the Lord’s move on two Sabbaths (Luke 6:1, 6). What He did on the first Sabbath indicates that He was acting as the Head of the Body. As the Head, He is the real David and the Lord of the Sabbath. What He did on the second Sabbath signifies that He cared for His members. On this Sabbath He healed a man’s withered hand. The hand is a member of the body. The Lord would do anything for the healing of His members. Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing the members of His Body who are in need, even healing the members who are dead. Regulations do not matter, but the healing of the members of His Body means everything to Him.
In these two portions we have two cases of the breaking of the Sabbath. The first instance of breaking the Sabbath took place in the grainfields; the second took place in a synagogue (3:1). The first breaking of the Sabbath was related to satisfaction, and the second was related to liberation. We may be satisfied, but we may not yet be liberated. We may not be free. We need not only satisfaction but also liberation. Have you been liberated? Have you been emancipated? Are you fully free? You may be quite satisfied because you have learned to feed on the Lord Jesus. However, you may not have the assurance to say that you have been liberated. Actually, we need liberation even more than satisfaction.
According to the sequence in the Gospel of Mark, liberation follows satisfaction. If we have not been satisfied, we shall not sense the need for liberation. Our immediate need is to have our hunger satisfied. First, the Lord satisfies our hunger, and then, as the divine Surgeon, He operates on us. Once we are satisfied, He brings us into the “operating room” where He heals us and we are liberated. In 3:1-6 the operating room was the synagogue. It was in the synagogue that the man with a withered hand experienced the restoring of his hand (v. 5).
In verse 4 the Lord said to those in the synagogue, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” This word implies that the Slave-Savior was the Emancipator, who set the suffering one free from the bondage of religious ritual.