Jesus and the disciples were walking on the Sabbath, the day that the Jewish law commanded them to rest. His disciples picked some grain along the way and ate it. The Pharisees saw them and accused them of breaking the law. They were accused of harvesting on a rest day. Here is Jesus’ response.

“And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” - Mark 2:27-28, ESV.

Jesus and the disciples were not really harvesting. They grabbed a snack on their way. The Pharisees, as they usually did, put extra emphasis on the law and burdened people with it. To them, the law wasn't about God’s wishes at all, but about what power they could wield over others. So Jesus called them on it. The Sabbath law was to help man rest, not burden man with more religious duty.

Furthermore, who were these men to tell Jesus, God in the flesh, how people should keep the law that He wrote? If Jesus came to fulfill the law and allowed His disciples to eat a handful of grain, wouldn't He be sure to do what is right and required concerning the law? Were the Pharisees the authority over the law, or was Jesus?

As a whole, Old Testament laws were intended to point out how far we are from God and our inability to do anything about it. We should be careful not to use those laws to exercise burdensome authority over others, but rather see them as proof of our sinful nature and our need for a Savior. As Christians, we obey them to stay close, not so we can use them as weapons.

Here’s the takeaway: we should use the law to grow the Kingdom of Jesus, not beat the lost out of it. - Pastor Mike

BTW, did you hear about the man who sued the funeral home over a coffin? He won. It was an open-and-shut case.