By Douglas K. Wilson, Ph.D.
Dean of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
REIGNS
Luke 6:1–11
Jesus reigns. He is Lord of time, including our work and our weekend, our labors and our laziness, our vocations and our vacations. As such, He demonstrates His oneness with the Father, who modeled six days of work and a day of ceasing His labors (Gen. 2:1–3).
After six days of creating, God stopped. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. He established the Sabbath for men and women, their children, their household workers and their out-of-town guests. Even their domesticated work animals benefited from the Sabbath rest (Ex. 20:8–11).
Work on the Sabbath? (1–2)
Jesus and His disciples walked through a grain field, took some of the grain, removed the husks by rolling the grain between their hands, blew away the husks and ate the grain. One might be concerned the Master and His followers were stealing, but this is not the case. Mosaic law allows for sojourners to take grain to eat (Deut. 23:25), just as it allows for those who own no land to glean behind harvesters of landowners (Lev. 19:9–10; Deut. 24:19–22).
The Torah certainly limits the activities which can be done on the seventh day. Traveling was limited to approximately 1,000 yards (Ex. 16:29 and Num. 35:5). Manna was not to be collected on the Sabbath nor were they to cook food (Ex. 16:23–30). A man who collected firewood on the Sabbath was executed for his crime (Num. 15:32–36). Breaking Sabbath was potentially a capital offense.
Pharisees measured actions by the letter of the law rather than by the spirit of the law. They developed an entire system of 39 categories of oral Sabbath laws that prohibited certain activities. In this instance, the lawyers may have accused Jesus of reaping, threshing, winnowing and carrying grain on the Sabbath.
Lord of the Sabbath (3–5)
Jesus was sometimes brutal in His responses, especially to self-righteous people. This time was no exception. The Master asked them: “Haven’t you read … ?” While this may seem like a simple question, it was actually a serious rebuke. When reading through the Gospel accounts, a careful Bible student will find multiple instances in which Jesus silenced the scribes and lawyers with this question, followed by quotations from or allusions to Scripture.
In this instance, Jesus directed their attention to David, ancestor of the Messiah. David and his companions ate bread that had been consecrated for priests alone (1 Sam. 21:1–6). While this seems to be unlawful, the priest Ahimelech actually offered them the day-old bread which was to be replaced with fresh Bread of the Presence. The grain that Jesus and His disciples ate that day would ultimately be replaced by the Bread of Life — Jesus Himself!
“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” In this short statement, Jesus is affirming that He has authority over the Sabbath day. Only God has that authority, and only God has the authority to forgive sin. Jesus’ statement here is just as powerful as “your sins are forgiven” from our last lesson (Luke 5:20). The Son of Man is Lord of creation.
Do Good on the Sabbath? (6–11)
Jesus attended a Sabbath service where a man with a deformed hand was present. Pharisees in attendance were more concerned about watching for Jesus to break Sabbath than focusing on the God of Israel — who created them, who gave them Torah and who was to be the object of their worship. Jesus asked them: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm?” Then He healed the man. The Pharisees were furious Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
God’s intention for the seventh day was Sabbath rest. Christians worship on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week. May we be careful to do good on Saturday, Sunday and every day.
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