Sabbath Rest

Matthew 12:1-8 (ESV)
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. [2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." [3] He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? [5] Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? [6] I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. [7] And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. [8] For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
“Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?”
People are strange. They make up all sorts of rules with little to no foundation in scripture. I remember when I was in the military Seventh Day Adventists upset that they had to work on a Saturday, believing they were sinning according to the Old Testament.
See Christians should never have this sort of attitude. We take what rest we can and are grateful for it. But when we are serving others, some things are just a bit more important than adhering to Sabbath rules. And it was always this way. God set apart the Sabbath as a general rule to be followed, but he knew there would be some who would have to work on the Sabbath so that others could in fact rest.
Today people just make up stuff concerning the Sabbath. Since when is children playing considered work? So we cook a meal. Perhaps we go out to eat. Perhaps we should be thankful for the waitress who thought it more important to serve you and provide for her family, than she did about her own holiness. That said we hope she finds some time to come to church, and find true rest. Rest that is not about the body, but the soul, rest that is found only in the forgiveness of Sins, rest that comes from mercy and not sacrifice.
Jesus is greater than the temple he says. He is with us, he provides the mercy we need, for our own sacrifices have failed. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, not just on Saturday, or Sunday, but everyday we live, because in him every day is a day of Grace, a day of forgiveness.