Luke 6:1-11 "Sabbath is Love"
The church is not very popular in popular culture these days. Christians are considered to be heartless, judgemental know-it-alls who just walk around slapping their hateful labels on anyone they disagree with. They think we’re closed-minded. Legalistic. If the world was a junior high school, people think Christians are the hall monitors. The ones that try to suck up to the principal and the teachers but even they secretly can’t stand them.
I’m not cool with any of this. I know it’s true but I hate it.
We’re not supposed to be like bad traffic cops, just following people around hoping they’ll do something wrong—cross over the line or forget to use a turn signal, so we can “light them up” pull them over and give them a ticket.
But we deserve the reputation. We’re more known for what we’re against than what we’re for. People are far more aware of the things we hate than the things we love. That doesn’t seem right, does it? We’re supposed to be known by our love for one another, not our disgust of people who sin differently than we do.
Today we’re continuing in the Gospel of Luke, chapter six. Jesus is going to run into the hall monitors and bad cops of His day. I want us to all think about times when we’ve acted more like these Pharisees than the followers of Jesus we’ve been called to be.
Chapter six, verse one:
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Luke 6:1-2
It’s Saturday. The Sabbath. Jesus probably spent the morning teaching somewhere nearby at a synagogue, now He’s heading out to somewhere with all His disciples following Him. He’s not on a road, they’re walking through someone’s field. They’re probably not going too far, or else the Pharisees would have accused them of that, too.
It says “some” of the Pharisees, not all of them. Remember, we were told that a bunch of Pharisees and teachers of the law had come from all over the country to find something they could accuse Jesus of doing wrong and write Him up on charges. Luke says “some” of the Pharisees, probably because not all the Pharisees were bad guys—certainly because this is a smaller group. These are the most persistent ones—they’re stalking Jesus like amateur private eyes. Jesus even gets off the road and starts walking through a field, tries to lose the tail—they stay right on His heels.
The law allowed people to pick a little grain and eat it when they walked through a field, so they weren’t trespassing or stealing. Since the grain was ripe enough to eat, it was probably about this time of year—close to April—about a year before the crucifixion.
Apparently, Jesus wasn’t joining them in their delicious feast of raw grain. But they accused Him anyway—whatever His followers did, it was as if Jesus was doing it too. Let that sink in. It’s still true. We represent Jesus to the world. What they see us do, that’s what they assume about Him, too.
They asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Jesus doesn’t argue with them about whether it was against the law or not. We would have. He doesn’t defend Himself, He defends His friends. The truth is, there wasn’t anything wrong with what they were doing. Exodus 20 says to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy—to not work on the Sabbath. So, unless you consider picking up grain with your hands and putting it in your mouth doing “work,” then they weren’t doing anything wrong. They were allowed to walk a short distance and to eat on the Sabbath. There’s no violation here.
Which is important. Breaking the Sabbath was a big deal. It could carry the death penalty—that’s why they were obsessed with finding some technicality where Jesus was breaking it. They wanted Him dead. Verse 3:
Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Luke 6:3-5
Jesus is like, “Okay, so you clearly have all your man-made rules and additions memorized—but have you actually read your freaking Bible?” He points out their main problem: too much reading of rabbinical law, not enough of God’s law. Then He brings up a story about David from 1st Samuel when He was on a military campaign with a small band of soldiers and they were hungry. They went to the Tabernacle and the priest let them eat some consecrated bread that was supposed to only be for priests. It was called “Bread of the Presence.” Twelve loaves of fresh bread were put in the Holy Place in the presence of God as an act of worship every Sabbath. This was probably the previous Sabbath’s bread. But, there’s no getting around it, David and his men were not supposed to eat it.
Jesus assumes that the Pharisees agree with Him that David did the right thing in taking the bread, eating it, and sharing it with his friends. Even though the law technically forbids it.
The Pharisees made the same mistake we do—they’re only familiar with a few favorite verses and aren’t able to combine all of Scripture together in their understanding of what it means.
In order for Jesus’ answer to make any sense, we have to understand something the Pharisees knew: The events of David’s life point to the days of the Messiah—the Son of David.
You need to write this at the top of every page in your Bible—it’s the secret to understanding it—you ready? On the top of every page in the Old Testament and every page in the New Testament write “This page is about Jesus.”
He tells them the story about David and the consecrated bread and if they would have believed He was the Son of David, The Messiah, the issue would have been resolved for them.
But the Pharisees looked at the world through the law. Black and white rules and regulations. As if God is a cold-hearted, merciless monster who’s just looking for a reason to crush us. When people asked Jesus what the most important Commandment is—asked if we want to be on God’s good side, which of the Commandments really matter? Remember what Jesus’ answer was? He said, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Which aren’t so much the top two rules, they’re more like a way to understand all the rest of them. They’re the point of God’s laws.
Do you really want to understand God’s Commandments? God’s Law Explains How To Love Here’s the key: every one of them is a way to either love God or love someone in your life. None of them are just harsh and cruel legal requirements to make life suck. They’re all a blessing. They’re the way life works. Life hacks. There’s the spirit of the law and the letter of the law—Love is the overriding spirit of the law. All of it.
Man, we don’t seem to understand this. We think God’s Commandments are this imposing burden just put there to beat us down and suck all the joy out of life. Couldn’t be further from the truth.
In Mark 2:27 Jesus said,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath was commanded so God’s people would rest. So they wouldn’t burn out. So they wouldn’t forget to worship, trust in Him, rely on His goodness. It’s the only way life works.
The same is true for every other Commandment, too. They’re all supposed to help us understand how to love God and the people in our lives—which will keep us from ruining our relationships, burning out, and sabotaging our lives. In this sense, the same thing is true: the law was made for man, not man for the law.
But these Pharisees were just sure Jesus was breaking the Sabbath rules.
So Jesus shuts their whole argument down, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” He’s the Son of Man, the Son of God, fully human, fully divine, He’s the Messiah, He’s the Lord—He’s the God who came up with the idea of the Sabbath. You think you’re going to explain the finer details of it to Him? You think there’s something about it He doesn’t understand? He is the Lord of the Sabbath. The Law-Maker. He’s not saying that because He’s God, the Sabbath doesn’t apply to Him. He’s not saying He can break the rules if He wants to. He’s the Messiah, the Christ, He’s not going to break any of God’s laws. He agrees with the Pharisees about that. He wasn’t breaking the Sabbath and neither were His followers. He’s Lord of the Sabbath.
That would have made their heads explode. Verse 6:
On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Luke 6:6-7
Same song, different verse. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue on another Sabbath—the religious haters show up and want to catch Him doing something wrong—only reason for being there. There’s a guy who has a shriveled-up hand, just sitting there minding his own business listening to the greatest teacher who’s ever lived. Let the scene sink in a little. These Pharisees and teachers are some of the luckiest people who have ever lived—they’re being taught by God Himself! But no, they’re just obsessed with secretly hoping Jesus does something really evil—like heal a man with a deformed right hand on the Sabbath. Those are some blind, black hearts. They didn’t doubt that Jesus could heal. They just wanted to catch Him doing it on the Sabbath. Verse 8:
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Luke 6:8-9
There’s an element of drama to how Jesus does things. He is the author of time, space, reality, and every story that has ever happened—we shouldn’t be surprised that He makes a powerful presentation out of the moment.
They would have all been sitting cross-legged on the floor. Jesus would have also been sitting, but on a little platform where they could see Him while He was teaching. He had read the Scripture, we aren’t told what it was, He was teaching—it was a lot like what we’re doing here this morning. As He’s talking and looking at the people in the room, He knows what they’re thinking.
I’m probably glad I don’t know what you’re all thinking. Ha.
No one said anything. He just knew. The guy with the gimpy hand didn’t ask to be healed. He didn’t complain about his hand. He was just sitting there in church. Jesus calls him out: “Hey, you with the shriveled hand, stand up.”
Anybody want me to call them out like that? “You… come stand in front of everyone.”
He interrupts His own teaching. The guy with the bad hand is standing up wondering what the heck—Then Jesus looks at the black-hearted Pharisees and Scribes, one by one, right in the eyes. They hadn’t said anything either. Asks them, “Since it’s the Sabbath, does the law say I should do good or do evil? Should I save life or destroy it?” He let the question linger in the air for a moment. Made sure they felt the weight of it—no one answered. Verse 10:
He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:10-11
He didn’t touch the man. Didn’t say any magic phrase like “I rebuke your crippled hand! Be healed! Receive this in the powerful name of … ME!” He didn’t prance around like a faith healer. The man didn’t fall down under the power of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus just said, “Show me your hand.”
The guy might have been as surprised as everyone else. “Say what?” “Well, lookie there!”
His hand was completely restored. And the men who were trying to trap Jesus lost their minds. Furious. Mad. Like pure madness.
Can you imagine being so intent on destroying someone who was actually helping people that giving a man the use of his hand would upset you?
Jesus proved that He was the Son of Man, the Lord of the Sabbath by healing the man.
This was a life-changing moment. The man would have had to have been using his left hand for everything. If you know anything about the ancient world—that was gross. Let’s just say toilet paper and running water hadn’t been invented yet.
These religious leaders were so obsessed with taking down Jesus, so blind to the actual purpose of God’s Commandments for His people—they had such a warped view of who God is—they thought it was actually better to try and destroy Jesus on the Sabbath than for Jesus to heal someone.
They didn’t answer Jesus’ question, either before the miracle or after, but Luke answers it for us. They believed it was better to destroy life than to save it.
They started talking about what they might do to Jesus—and they certainly don’t want to do anything good.
Okay, let’s talk about the Sabbath for a minute. In Exodus, Moses gives the Ten Commandments, one of them is “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” He says, in creation, God worked for six days and on the seventh He rested, so His people are to also rest on the seventh day, keep the day holy to the Lord. Separate that day from the others.
In Deuteronomy, Moses refreshes the people’s memory about the Ten Commandments. When He talks about the Sabbath Day, this time instead of Creation, he ties it into the exodus and God rescuing His people from slavery.
The Sabbath, like everything in the Bible, points to Jesus. The re-creation of the world through the cross and the resurrection. And the rescuing and salvation of His people through His death—which Jesus called His “exodus” in Luke 9:31—
He died and laid in the tomb all day Saturday, the Sabbath, until His resurrection on Sunday.
Sabbath was about re-creation (recreation) and salvation—freedom from bondage. It’s all about Jesus.
The early church understood this, so they moved their observance of the Sabbath from the seventh day, Saturday—to the eighth day, Sunday. A day that would mysteriously stand between the old and the new. A day of “now, not yet.” The first day of the week and the last day of the week. The first and the last. Hmm. A new day. A day when the people of God would gather together in Christ and be taken in worship to the throne room of God in the Name of Jesus and power of the Spirit. Do you know that’s where you are right now? Because we are gathered in worship, we’re both here and there? Heaven and earth. Inside of time and outside of time. With the people in this room and also with every believer who has ever lived and will ever live, along with all the angels and archangels and company of heaven?
This is a place of Sabbath rest and restoration.
This is the place where every week:
You hear the Commandments of God and are challenged to Love Him with everything you have and everything you are—to worship Him by loving all the people in your life the way He has shown you.
Every week you also hear the sweet words of grace, the Gospel, that God loved you first. He wants what’s best for you. He doesn’t hold your failures against you.
Think about the last few lessons in the Gospel of Luke: New wine in new wineskins, the disciples eating grain on the Sabbath…
In a few minutes we will celebrate Communion:
Where you will be fed the True Bread of the True Presence of the Body of Christ.
Where you will drink the True New Wine of His Blood.
Where your sins are forgiven. Your life is made new.
Okay, let me end this thing.
I started by talking about how the church has a bad reputation.
We Misunderstand What To Do With God’s Law The main reason for that is our misunderstanding of God’s Commandments. God’s Law. Our misunderstanding of His law—and our pathetic lack of applying it to ourselves.
We misunderstand it when we look at it the way the Pharisees looked at it. Like God’s law is this dreaded list of rules that suck all the joy out of life. Like keeping the law somehow earns us brownie points. Like we can use it as a club to accuse people and beat them down with it. Apply it to everyone except ourselves.
Can we all just admit that God is still working on each one of us? All our secret sins. All our not-so-secret sins? God’s not done with us. We’re all a work in progress. Maybe the sin that looks so obvious to you in someone else, is way down on the list of the things God’s working on in that person. We don’t need to follow them around and accuse them.
How about if we put all our effort into showing people grace instead. You received grace, share that grace with others. Love them. The Law Is All About Love
And if you want to understand HOW you should love someone, if you want to understand how you should love God…
Look at His law. His Commandments. They’re the very definition of Love.
Today we looked at two times the enemies of Jesus tried to trap Him on the Sabbath. They were using God’s law to try and destroy the Son of God. Pretty wrong-headed.
The Sabbath is a perfect example of how God’s law shows us how to both love Him and the people in our life. God says to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. We come together on Sunday morning to worship God—to thank Him and honor Him. To show Him our love and affection in response to His love and affection for us. We also love our family by bringing them to church and doing our best—heart, soul, mind, and strength—emotions, spiritual experiences, intellectual stimulation, singing and praying and physically being here—to build our life on a firm foundation. We love our friends by showing up and encouraging them in their faith, encourage them to be here by being here ourselves. We love our extended community by talking about our hope and our faith and inviting them to join us.
The Sabbath is a perfect example of how all these things come together. God’s law. God’s grace. Love God and love people. Worship God, love people. Not because God’s going to “get you” if you don’t do it—but because it’s a perfect picture of what love looks like. Then we take what we receive here and apply it to everything else. AMEN.