Luke 6:1-5 :

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first, that he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain, and ate, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”

Jesus, answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he, and those who were with him; how he entered into God’s house, and took and ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

It’s important to keep in mind who made the Law because the one who makes the law knows exactly what it intends to accomplish. The Sabbath laws were made many years after the creation of the earth. Some try to argue this point but the Bible is very clear. It wasn’t until Moses that the legal requirements were given to Jews to stop working on the Sabbath.

Obviously, if God can decide to start a requirement that people keep special Sabbath rules at one point in history, He can also decide to clarify them. Jesus can explain the rules because He wrote them. The words of God are special because they are His words, not because they are in an old book.

Legalistic righteousness tends to stress man’s duty over Christ’s lordship of the Sabbath. Jesus made it clear that the Sabbath rule doesn’t apply to Gentiles and it is optional even to Jews today. I don’t fully understand this, but I believe it has to do with the fact that Jesus is our Sabbath and we rest in Him from now to eternity. Resting outside of that would be to undo what Jesus has already done. The choice to rest physically is between you and the Lord and I intend to support you in that choice. Whatever you do you should do unto the Lord.

The point I would like to make is that it is Jesus who makes the rules, the rules don’t make Him and as far as what the appropriate interpretation is, only He can say. Until then, we should continue to keep his commandments just as He says.