Luke 6 Sabbath, meaning and the traditions
Sabbath Traditions[1]
Jesus was walking through the grainfields with His disciples on a Sabbath. They became hungry and began to take some of the nearby grain and break it up and eat. Some Pharisees saw this and said, “This is not allowable behavior on the Sabbath, according to the Law.” Jesus said in reply, “Do you remember in the Writings of God how David and those with him became hungry four and they went into God’s house while Ahimelech was the high priest and ate of the bread that had been set apart to be holy. According to the Law, it was not right for him to do this; this bread was only to be eaten by the priests. Again, in the Word of God, the priests go into the temple in violation of the Sabbath and are not guilty. But I want you to know that I am bringing you something greater than the temple.” And Jesus added, “God did not create man for the Sabbath, but He created the Sabbath to be a good thing for humankind. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”[2]
The Pharisees[3], for the most part, were already unhappy with Jesus and some were following Him around looking for reasons to accuse Him. They based much of their teaching upon the first five books of the Bible, known as the books of Moses, and they developed many “traditions” which they thought would help people specifically obey the Ten Commandments and other laws found in these books. Some of those traditions centered around what a person could and could not do on the Sabbath[4].
One of the things a
person could not do on the Sabbath according to the Pharisees was to walk too
far and eat food that had not been prepared before the day began. Jesus is
making an interpretive change to the traditions of the Pharisees and suggesting
that it must be appropriate to do “good” on the Sabbath, especially, to save a
life. He told them that the Sabbath was made so that man would take the time to
rest once every seven days in honor of God. However, a person could rest and do
good at the same time.
Jesus then says, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” He is implying that He knows more about the things God would want humankind to do on every day and especially on the Sabbath. This clearly undermined the teachings of the Pharisees and caused people to question what other parts of their teachings were out of order.
T39 - Luke 6:5; Jesus, the Son of Man, is Lord of the Sabbath, and He said that the Sabbath was made for man, so that humankind might benefit from for a weekly time of rest and worship of God. Man was not made to honor the Sabbath. Therefore, humankind should not be imprisoned by the rules of the Pharisees about the Sabbath.
R22 - Luke 6:5;
Jesus is the Son of Man, the Messiah, and the LORD of the Sabbath. He, being
equal to God, has the right to interpret the “rules” of the Sabbath, and help
people understand what God intended for the day of rest.
He went into the synagogue and was teaching and saw a man whose
right hand was disformed. Some of the Pharisees and teachers were hoping Jesus
would do or say something that would allow them to accuse Him. He said, “Let’s
first understand value, a man has more value than a sheep.” They wondered what
He was planning to do. Jesus, aware of their thoughts, said to the man, “Come
up here in front for a moment.” The man came. He said to the people seeking to
accuse Him, “What does the Law say about doing good on the Sabbath? Should we
do good or harm? Can we save a life, or can we kill?” He looked at them for
some time, giving them every chance to respond. He was saddened at their
callous hearts. He then commanded the man to stretch out his hand and he did;
it became normal. The Pharisees were growing in their frustration against Jesus
and were seeking along with the Herodians[5],
ways to get rid of Him.[6]
T40 - Luke 6:9; It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, to heal others.
T41 – Matthew
12:11; Without diminishing the value of animals, Jesus states that humankind
has more value than the animals.
C9 - Luke 6:9; Feel
free to do good deeds on the Sabbath
M7 - Luke 6:7-10; Jesus restores a man’s withered hand by commanding the man to stretch out his hand.
One day Jesus went up the mountain to pray and ended up praying all through the night. The next morning, He called twelve of His disciples to Him and set them aside as apostles, giving them authority to heal diseases, sicknesses, and to exorcize demons. These are their names: Simon, the one called Peter, Andrew, Peter’s brother, James, John, Zebedee’s sons, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder.” Also, there was Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, the tax man, Thomas, James, Alphaeus’ son, the Zealot named Simon, 16 Judas, James’ son, also called Thaddaeus, and Judas Iscariot, who ended up betraying Jesus.[7]
The gospel writers often talk of Jesus taking time to get away from the crowd, including the disciples, to spend some time in prayer. This was His opportunity to spend time with His Father and enjoy His presence and possibly, “talk things over.” This would be a great example for us to follow.
SUGGESTED APPLICATIONS:
·
Take some time to pray, preferably each day. Say
15 to 20 minutes.
·
Possibly take some time each week or each month
for an extended time in prayer. Say 1 hour or more.
·
Think about setting aside a day once a year and
go to a quiet place that we enjoy and spend the whole day with Jesus, reading
the Bible, praying, singing, writing, and thinking about our past and our
future.
T42 – Luke 6:12; It is beneficial for even the best of us to go away and be recharged often. Especially when we feel the pressure coming our way or we have a big decision to make.
He descended from the mountain and a crowd gathered around Him. There were people from Galilee, Tyre, Sidon, Jerusalem, Judea, from beyond the Jordan River. They came to hear Him for themselves and receive healing for their diseases. Some, who were possessed by evil spirits also found deliverance. As the demons left the people, they recognized Jesus, fell at His feet, and said in a loud voice, “We know You are the Son of God!” He warned them not to talk about who He was. Many tried to get close enough to touch Him, as it was evident that power was flowing through Him and bringing healing.[8]
Once again there is mention that power flowed out of Jesus as if this was not always the case. It seems that He could at any time do whatever miracles He needed to do, but there were other times when the power was flowing so freely that even touching Him or His garment was enough for healing to take place.
M8 – Luke 6:17-19;
Jesus heals many of diseases and casts out demons by His touch.
Pastor Edd
[1] (Luke 6:1-19; Matthew 4:24-25, 10:1-4, 12:1-16; Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-19)
[2] (Luke 6:1-5; Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)
[3]
Pharisees, one of four schools of thought among the religious leaders of
Judaism. There were about 6,000 members of this group in Jesus’ day.
[4]
Sabbath, was the seventh day of the week, and symbolic of the seventh day of
creation where God rested from His work and encouraged humankind to rest weekly
and honor Him.
[5]
Herodians were a group of Pharisees who wanted to see the kingdom of Herod
reunited with a descendant of Herod on the throne. They stood in opposition,
usually, to the Pharisees who desired to see a restoration of the kingdom of
David.
[6] (Luke 6:6-11; Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6)
[7] (Luke 6:12-16; Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19)
[8] (Luke 6:17-19; Matthew 4:24-25; Mark 3:7-12)
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