Second Sunday after Pentecost (Three Year Lectionary—Series B) (Proper 4B)

Deuteronomy 5:12–15
Psalm 81:1-10
2 Corinthians 4:5–12
Mark 2:23–28 (3:1–6)

Christ Jesus Is the Sabbath Rest that Remains for the People of God Forevermore

The Lord brought the sons of Israel out of Egypt “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” in order to give them rest (Deut. 5:15). When He commanded them to “observe the Sabbath day,” therefore, it meant not doing “any work” but resting in His works (Deut. 5:12, 14). So has the same Lord, Jesus Christ, come in the flesh to fulfill the Law and to become our Sabbath Rest. As David “entered the house of God,” and not only “ate the bread of the Presence” but “also gave it to those who were with him” (Mark 2:26), the Lord Jesus entered the Holy of Holies as our great High Priest, in order to feed us with His flesh as the true bread of the Presence of God. As “lord even of the Sabbath,” He works “to do good,” to heal and “to save life” (Mark 2:28; 3:2, 4). He brings us out of sin and death and gives us rest in His own crucified and risen body. Though it is given “in jars of clay,” the life of Jesus is thereby manifested in our bodies (2 Cor. 4:7–11).