13. -The Servant of Jehovah, The Lord of the Sabbath (2:23-28 continued)
Second-First Sabbath
The parallel account in the Gospel of Luke of the Lord’s walk with His disciples through the cornfields contains a chronological note which does not occur in either Matthew or Mark. There we read, “Now it came to pass on the second-first sabbath that he was going through the cornfields” (Luke 6:1). The occasion is in this sentence specified by the use of a very unusual term, “the second-first sabbath.”
The word (for in the Greek it is but a single word) is so infrequent and so difficult of exact definition, that in many ancient MSS. it is unwarrantably omitted. For this insufficient reason the Revisers have also omitted the word, briefly indicating this omission by a note in the margin that “Many ancient authorities insert second-first.” “Now the witnesses which omit the word are few, though high, and the difficulty of understanding a word nowhere else occurrent, and in itself hard to explain without an exact knowledge of Jewish scripture and usage, accounts readily for the tampering hand of copyists prone to cut knots instead of untying them.... Nobody would or could create a needless difficulty by inserting this [word in sixteen uncial MSS.]; but we can easily account for a few omitting what was hard in their eyes, as it is to most readers still.”
What then is to be understood by this difficult epithet, “second-first”? There have been many explanations, mostly far-fetched, the discussion of which is beyond the purpose and scope of the present article. That interpretation is prima facie most to be commended which is founded on the scripture itself.
Now there is an express injunction in the law of Moses forbidding the Israelites at harvest-time to partake of the fresh corn until the ceremony of the wave-sheaf was passed. This occurs amongst the very particular and explicit regulations regarding the feasts of Jehovah (Lev. 23:9-14). The children of Israel were enjoined to bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of their harvest to the priest that he might wave it before Jehovah. This was to be done during the feast of unleavened bread, or of the passover, as it was also called, “on the morrow after the sabbath.” This sabbath occurring after the slaying of the paschal lamb was considered of especial sanctity, and was regarded by the Jews as a great or high day (John 19:31). It was emphatically the first sabbath, not necessarily in point of time, but in point of importance. The following day, the wave-sheaf was offered to Jehovah, and the succeeding sabbath would be the “second-first.”
On the great sabbath no godly Jew would have partaken of ears of corn, because of the legal prohibition which stated, “Ye shall eat neither bread nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings” (Lev. 23:14). On the second-first sabbath the wave-sheaf would have been offered, and the injunction just quoted would therefore not be applicable to the action of the disciples, they being ceremonially free to partake of the newly-ripened corn.
SABBATH MADE FOR MAN
The Evangelist proceeds to show that the Lord justified His followers on another ground—by the enunciation of a weighty truth concerning the sabbath which the Pharisees had nullified by their tradition. The distinction of this utterance from the Lord’s historical allusion to the Old Testament is marked in the narrative by the phrase, “And he said unto them.” For He proceeded to introduce to them a new phase of the subject, illuminating it by the truth of God, as it could emanate from Himself only. In their ignorant zeal, under a thin veneer of piety, they had made the sabbath a yoke of bondage grievous to be borne. The Lord pronounced authoritatively, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” The object of the institution of the septenary season of rest was not the punishment of man, but his blessing.
Was not this so at the beginning? When the works of creation were complete and the earth was in a glorious state of perfection and beauty fresh from the hands of its Maker, “on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:2, 3). In that rest our first parents were to participate, but sin entered into the world, and thorns and thistles, and wearisome labor and death. Still, as to original divine purpose, the sabbath was made for man who appeared on the sixth day. And if the people of Israel were to do no manner of work on the sabbath, a merciful and gracious Jehovah provided a double portion of manna on the sixth day. And when the sanctity of the seventh day was enforced by the attendant terrors of Sinai, this was due to the choice of the proud and self-confident people themselves, who placed themselves under the law and its restrictions (Ex. 19:8). The vexatious deprivations associated with the sabbath were therefore derived from man and not from God. In its original nature it was not mere prohibition, but positive blessing.
The Lord declared that the sabbath was made not for Israel only, but for man. It was true that the sabbath was a special sign that Israel was the nation of Jehovah; but it was also true that it existed before Israel’s day, though the responsibility for the observance of the sanctity of the seventh day was placed upon them. Thus Jehovah said to them through Ezekiel, “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them” (Ezek. 20:12). And the Levites in their worship said, “And [thou] madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments and statutes and a law, by the hand of Moses thy servant” (Neh. 9:14). At Sinai therefore Israel received what had existed as the sabbath of Jehovah from the beginning and what in its original scope embraced all mankind.
“Pharisees might turn the sabbath into an engine for torturing man, but in God’s mind the sabbath came in most mercifully. There were the days of labor which God Himself had known something of in figure, for there was a time when He had wrought and made the earth; and God Himself was pleased to rest on the sabbath, and to sanctify it. Then sin came in, and God could no longer own it, and His word is silent. We read of the sabbath no more until God takes up His people in delivering mercy, and gives them manna from heaven. Then the sabbath day becomes a marked thing, and rest follows, the type of Jesus sent down from above. It disappears from the beginning of the first book of scripture, and reappears in the second. God makes rest once more. He was giving to man in grace when He brought Israel out of Egypt. Of this the sabbath was the appropriate sign.” Law came in by-the-bye, imposing its observance with penalties for disobedience, but from the beginning it was not so.
THE LORD OF THE SABBATH
“The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” In these words, to the confusion of the unbelieving Pharisees, the Servant of Jehovah asserted His claim to an absolute authority over the sabbath. In virtue of His own rights He was competent to decide what might or what might not be done on the sabbath, for He was Lord of the sabbath.
This was an important revelation of the dignity of His person, and we find the saying recorded in each of the Synoptic Gospels in connection with the incident before us. But here it is especially instructive to observe that the Servant of Jehovah, so perfect in His dependence, so untiring in His energy, so exquisite in His sympathy, and so tender in His compassion, quietly and unostentatiously, using the simplest form of speech, claimed an unqualified authority which no man ever possessed previously. For, let it be remembered, this Lordship implied more than the Adamic supremacy over the lower creation. This was Lordship over a divine institution which Adam never had. The Son of man, who had power on earth to forgive sins, had power on earth to regulate the sabbath also, for, even as Peter said to Cornelius, “He is Lord of all.”
The ideal sabbath is yet to come. So the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, after showing that the rest of God did not come about in Old Testament times, declares, “There remaineth therefore a sabbath-rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). Of this sabbatism the Son of man is Lord, as He is the true Joshua to lead His own into that rest, and to maintain them in it. At that day both the heavens and the earth will participate in the sabbath of Jehovah, whose glory shall fill the whole earth throughout the millennial day. This period to which the prophets witness will be the true sabbath when the second Adam, the Son of man, will rule, and both the heavenly and the earthly departments of His kingdom will enjoy this rest.
SON OF MAN
The Lord advanced this claim of Lordship of the sabbath not as the Son of David, nor as the Seed of Abraham, nor as Immanuel, but as the Son of man. “The Son of man is Lord of the sabbath also.”
This title of Christ is remarkable for more reasons than one. In the New Testament it is found almost exclusively in the Gospels. The exceptions are two passages where the Lord is seen in vision and thus named as the future Judge of men (Rev. 1:13; 14:14) in accordance with other scriptures (Dan. 7:13; John 5:27); and a quotation from the Psalms which is used in Hebrews, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Heb. 2:6; Psa. 8:4). Stephen, when arraigned before the Jewish council, also uses it (Acts 7:56). In the Gospels it does not occur in the narrative itself, nor in any utterances made by others either to the Lord or about Him, but is strictly confined to His own sayings. And it is by far the most frequent term applied by the Lord to Himself. Thus in Mark’s Gospel “Son” is recorded once (13:32); “Lord” twice (5:19; 11:3); “Christ” once (9:41); “Master” (teacher) once (14:14); “Lord of the sabbath” once (2:28); “King of the Jews” once (15:2); “Sower” twice (4:3, 14); “Master (lord) of the house” once (13:35); “Bridegroom” three times (2:19, 20). But “Son of man” occurs fifteen times, which is more than all the others added together. A similar proportion is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, while in John “Son” used alone is more prevalent than “Son of man.”
We may now inquire what is the significance of this title assumed by the Lord. This can only be learned by a careful study of the passages in which the title occurs. And with the intention of providing assistance in such a study the various references in the Synoptic Gospels are collated under headings which indicate their general tenor and form a basis for further research by such readers as are so disposed.
The Lord refers to Himself as the Son of man when
1. Foretelling His betrayal, sufferings and death—Matt. 17:12, 22; 20:18, 28; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:33, 45; 14:21, 41; Luke 9:22, 44; 18:31; 22:22, 48; 24:7.
2. Foretelling His coming glory and kingdom —Matt. 10:23; 13:41; 16:27, 28; 28 xxiv. 27, 30, 37, 39, 44; xxv.
31; xxvi. 64; Mark 8:38; 13:26; 14:62; Luke 9:26; 12:40; 17:22, 24, 26, 30; 18:8; 21:27.
3. Foretelling His resurrection—Matt. 12:40; 17:9; Mark 9:9; Luke 11:30.
4. Foretelling His session on high—Luke 22:69.
5. Declaring Himself the homeless One—Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58.
6. Declaring Himself the Forgiver of sins—Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24.
7. Declaring Himself Lord of the sabbath—Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5.
8. Declaring Himself the Savior—[Matt. 11]—Luke 9:56; 19:10.
9. Declaring Himself the Sower—Matt. 13:37.
10. Referring to men’s opinion of Him—Matt. 11:19; 12:32; 16:13; Luke 7:34; 12:10.
11. Referring to the confession of His name—Luke 6:22; 12:8.
In the Gospel by John it is recorded that the Lord used the term when speaking of—
1. His death—3:14; 8:28; 12:34.
2. His glorification—i. 51; 12:23; 13:31.
3. His ascension—6:62.
4. His authority to judge—5:27.
5. His personal glory—3:13.
6. Himself as an object of faith—6:27, 53; [9:35].
A consideration of the whole of these references is at this time impracticable; but a cursory glance is sufficient to instruct us that this title is one taken by the Lord in view of the fact that the kingdom of God which He proclaimed was not accepted by the people of Israel. On the contrary, He Himself was met with personal hatred, and in view of the culmination of this hatred in His crucifixion under a coalition of Jews and Gentiles, He adopted the designation of Son of man—a title of wider limits than Son of David. Thus, when Peter, speaking for the other apostles, confessed Him as the Christ, the Lord “charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake the saying openly” (Mark 8:27-32). And as may be seen from the above classification, a great proportion of the passages in the Gospels containing this term allude to His approaching death. The greater part of the remainder refer to His resurrection, ascension, glorification, and to the future manifestation of His kingdom in judgment and glory, which. will be not only national but universal in its scope. But all the passages coincide to point out this title, though of wider significance than “Messiah,” as that assumed by the Lord in consequence of His rejection by the chosen nation to which He expressly came.
The use of this phrase in the Old Testament corroborates this interpretation of its significance. Passing over the general prophetic sense of the term in Job 25:6; Psa. 8:4; 80:17; Dan. 7:13; it is applied by Jehovah to two of His prophets, viz., Daniel and Ezekiel (Dan. 8:17; Ezek. 2:1, etc.). Now both of these men were raised up as witnesses during the period when the nation, on account of its apostasy from the worship of Jehovah, was under a foreign yoke. Sovereignty was transferred from Israel to the Gentiles, and it is remarkable that these two contemporary servants of God who prophesied outside the land of Israel during the captivity are the only ones who are so designated. So that the Lord, in describing Himself as the Son of man, adopted a title hitherto borne only by prophets in exile. It was even then a title of reproach, inasmuch as it indicated that the nation of Israel, like Esau, renounced the privileges of its birthright. But what was the departure in the day of Daniel and Ezekiel to the departure in the day of the Gospel? Was it not an incomparable privilege that the Messiah should offer Himself to the Jews, insignificant as they were nationally at that period, and enslaved moreover to the Romans? But the people deliberately refused Him, whereupon the Lord instructed His followers to proclaim Him no longer in that character (Matt. 16:13-28; Mark 8:30; Luke 9:21), but to know Him as the Son of man who was to pass through the depths of suffering to the heights of glory in the kingdom beyond. This was a difficulty to His disciples then even as it is still; only faith can adequately sustain him who seeks to walk in the pathway of the despised and suffering Son of man.
The Second Man, the Lord from heaven, was in a world different in nature from that in which the First man, Adam, was placed. He was in a world into which sin had entered, and in which it “reigned unto death.” And in this world, when it demonstrated its implacable hostility to all that is divine by refusing to receive Him or to recognize Him, He took the title of Son of man. This title implied that the Servant of Jehovah was in the world outside Eden, the same world into which Cain and Abel, Seth and Enosh were born, begotten in the likeness and image of fallen Adam. But Jesus was “without sin,” Son of man truly, but not son of a man. He was “born of a woman,” but the “Holy Thing” born was the Son of God.
“He was to be the Son of man—a title the Lord Jesus loves to give Himself—a title of great importance to us. It appears to me that the Son of man is, according to the word, the Heir of all that the counsels of God destined for man as his portion in glory, all that God would bestow on man according to those counsels (see Dan. 7:13, 14; Psa. 8:4-6; 80:17; Prov. 8:30, 31). But in order to be the Heir of all that God destined for man, He must be a man. The Son of man was truly of the race of man—precious and comforting truth! born of a woman, really and truly a man, and partaking of flesh and blood, made like unto His brethren.
“In this character He was to suffer, and be rejected, that He might inherit all things in a wholly new estate, raised and glorified. He was to die and rise again, the inheritance being defiled, and man being in rebellion—His co-heirs as guilty as the rest.”
[W. J. H.]