Conflicting Rules

Mark 2:23-28 reads: And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on Shabbat, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on Shabbat?” And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; how he entered the house of Elohim in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” Yeshua said to them, “Shabbat was made for man, and not man for Shabbat. “So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.” Some scholars have suggested that Yeshua had three "conversions." This does not mean that He was saved three times; instead, it refers to changes that occurred in the direction of His ministry. The first conversion influences Yeshua's teaching concerning Shabbat. The conversion arguably took place when Yeshua left the fundamentally conservative village of Nazareth and moved His base of operations to Capernaum. Capernaum was much more moderate in its theological views and favored the more lenient House of Hillel. Rabbi Hillel stressed love for our fellow men and was not as strict as the House of Shammai. The House of Shammai stressed observance of rules without regard to their impact on others. The difference in the two approaches can be seen in how they addressed the issue of whether one should tell an ugly bride that she is beautiful. Shammai said it was wrong to lie, and Hillel said that all brides are beautiful on their wedding day. Generally, Yeshua followed the teachings of the House of Hillel.

Hillel was a great lover of peace who urged his followers to "be of the disciples of Aaron [who was famed as a peacemaker according to rabbinic lore]; loving thy fellow creatures and drawing them near to Torah." "Judge not thy neighbor till thou art in his place, " he pleaded. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me, yet if I am only for myself, then what am I?" he taught. He also preached the social tenet, "Do not separate thyself from the community." As we can see, Hillel was very concerned about how people treated each other. With his teachings forming a basis for Yeshua's theology, His answer to the Pharisees makes complete sense. The disciples were very hungry so they violated a Sabbath rule to preserve their lives. Only a strict legalist would elevate a law over the needs of a person. Yeshua refuses to do that because of His love for His disciples.

A Greek thinker must make all rules consistent with each other. However, a Hebraic approach realizes that rules can conflict. In other words, one rule can disagree with and be superior to another. In this case, the need to preserve life through eating trumped the law of keeping the Sabbath.