The Book of Luke: The Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-11)
We are in Luke 6 at the beginning of the chapter.
Luke 6:1 “And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.”. What you have here is the Pharisees accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath day. Actually, this chapter has a theme of the Sabbath day. If you drop down to verse 6, we have another story on a different Sabbath day. Luke 6:6 “6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.”.
What we are going to do is look at both stories today and make application. Before we do that, I will give you a brief overview of the subject of the Sabbath day. Let me give you 3 teachings or thoughts on the biblical teaching of the Sabbath day. Then I will break down the story before us in Luke 6 and give a few points. In the conclusion, I will give you some thoughts on religions that wrongly teach about the Sabbath day.
Teaching #1 – What is the reason for the Sabbath?
Genesis 2:1 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”. During the creation, God created everything in 6 days. Then on the 7th day he rested. The word Sabbath means 7th or Saturday. Genesis 2:2 “2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”. By the way, this is also why we give the staff at our Church 1 day off of rest per week because God also had 1 day of rest.
We get the concept of the Sabbath from Genesis during the creation and this is institutionalized in Exodus 20. Exodus 20:8 “8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”. We see that in creation week, God rested on the 7th day. When the law was given to the nation of Israel, it was a command to rest the 7th day.
Teaching #2 – What is the representation of the Sabbath?
Go to Hebrews. To understand about the law, we can divide the law into 2 parts. There is the moral law. These are things such as don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t lie. Then there are ordinances which have nothing to do with committing sins. This includes the sacrifices and other ordinances which are a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sabbath day falls under the umbrella of ordinances or things that picture Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:1 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”. The context of the rest here is linked to the gospel. Salvation is linked to faith here and it is referencing people that heard the gospel in the Old Testament. Hebrews 4:3 “3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”.
What is the picture of the Sabbath day? The Sabbath pictured God working for 6 days and resting on the 7th day. In the New Testament we are told that this is a picture of salvation. How does this picture salvation? Because before you were saved, you were trusting in your works to be saved. However, when you believe on Christ you are able to cease from your own works and enter into the rest in Jesus Christ. We are not trying to work our way to heaven now but our salvation is based on trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Teaching #3 – Let us see the repealing of the Sabbath.
Do we as New Testament believers keep the Sabbath day? The answer is no. We do not. The Sabbath day was repealed. It is still something we can learn principles from but it is not something we are meant to keep today. There are lots of places in the New Testament that show us this but let me just show you one. Colossians 2:13-14 “13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”.
When you look up the word “ordinance” in the Bible, it always is in reference to ceremonial laws from the Old Testament. You will never see it associated with the moral law. It is linked with washings, sacrifices and things of that nature. In the New Testament, whenever you see the word “ordinance” pop up, it is linked with the Lord’s Supper. Why is the Lord’s Supper an ordinance? It is an ordinance because it is something that pictures the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Another ordinance is baptism. Baptism doesn’t save you but it is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Colossians 2, the Bible shows us the ordinances were nailed to the cross. Therefore they were in effect until the death of Jesus Christ. This is why the veil of the temple was rent. Colossians 2:15 “15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”. Since the ordinances have been removed, don’t let someone judge you in regards to those ordinances. They were repealed because Jesus fulfilled what was pictured. A shadow is a representation of the actual object. The meats, drinks and sabbath days and sacrifices were just a shadow of Jesus dying for us. What’s interesting is that you meet people today who keep the Sabbath day and all they do is judge people who don’t keep the Sabbath day. They are obsessed with a topic and doctrine that has been repealed.
In Luke 6, I want you to understand the context. This is before the death of Christ. All of the ordinances were still in effect. Jesus kept the law perfectly. These Pharisees are trying to find a way to condemn Jesus and they use the Sabbath day as their method to try to condemn him.
The first thing I want us to see is that the Pharisees were inconsistent. Luke 6:1 “And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?”. Don’t miss the context. The disciples plucked the ears of corn and immediately you have the Pharisees questioning them. Why were the Pharisees there? It’s like they are stalking them.
What the Pharisees are accusing Jesus and his disciples of is doing something that they shouldn’t do on the Sabbath. They aren’t saying that the action itself is wrong. Deuteronomy 23:24 “24 When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.”. So if you were traveling and found yourself walking through someone’s vineyard, you were allowed to eat until you were full. However, you couldn’t take any with you. Deuteronomy 23:25 “25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.”. A sickle is a tool used to reap. This is God’s welfare system. This is how God provided for the poor of the land. The Bible also says that when you are harvesting your field and reaping what you had sown, if you dropped it then you were to leave it.
Let’s think about that in comparison to our modern-day welfare system. This wasn’t a government program to steal from people and then bring to poor people. In God’s welfare system, you still had to work to get your food. God also had systems for the elderly and disabled and this is not a criticism of those that are not able to work. What Jesus did was not morally wrong. God’s system was better than man’s system.
The Pharisees are referring to what Jesus is doing as work. Jesus is going to make the argument that they aren’t working but just eating. Luke 6:3 “3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;”. The reason Jesus brings up David is that David is their hero. Luke 6:4 “4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?”. Jesus is referring to an Old Testament story that we will look at.
In this story, David is running from Saul and has a small group of people with him. He shows up to the Tabernacle asking for food. 1st Samuel 21:4 “4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.”. Common bread refers to normal bread that can be given to anyone. The hallowed bread is in reference to the shewbread that would picture the Lord Jesus Christ. This bread was changed out every day and this bread was allowed to be eaten but only by the Priests. 1st Samuel 21:5 “5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.”.
Jesus is referencing this story. Luke 6:4 “4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?”. Jesus is showing their hypocrisy because they have no problem with what David did. What is the lesson from this? The point Jesus is making is that human needs trump religious creeds. The bread was supposed to be a ritual or foreshadow. However, when David and his men are starving and that is more important. The Pharisees were willing to let people die due to their man-made laws that they added to the Sabbath. Jesus is telling them that they are hypocrites.
Mark 2:25 “25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:”. What does Jesus mean by that? When God instituted the Sabbath, it was a benefit to man. Having 1 day off a week to rest is good for us. The Sabbath benefits man but it wasn’t meant to be a burden against man. Human needs trump religious creeds. The Bible tells us in Hosea 6:6 “6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”.
Here is a secular example to help prove this point. Let’s say you saw a house with smoke coming out. What should you do? You should knock on that door to see if anyone is home. What if you saw someone lying on the floor in the living room near the door? What do you do? If you are physically able then hopefully you will break the door and grab the person and bring them out. Now breaking that window or door is actually illegal. You aren’t allowed to do that. When you are saving somebody’s life, it is ok. Jesus is saying that if someone is going to die, it is ok to let them eat. The Sabbath was created as a benefit to mankind.
Luke 6:5 “5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”. We will look at this verse a little bit later but let’s look at the 2nd story here regarding the Sabbath. Luke 6:6 “6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.”. In the first story, we saw that the Pharisees are inconsistent. Here we will see that the Pharisees are inconsiderate. Luke 6:7 “7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.”.
The Pharisees viewed it unacceptable to heal on the Sabbath day. Notice the reaction of Jesus. Luke 6:9 “9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?”. In this story Jesus is showing how the Pharisees are inconsiderate and don’t actually care about people.
In Matthew 12 we see the parallel passage but more detail is given. Matthew 12:11 “11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.”.
Luke 6:10 “10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”. Jesus is showing that they are not just inconsistent but inconsiderate. Luke 6:11 “11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”. In addition to the Sabbath, one thing highlighted is the deity of Christ. Jesus knew their thoughts according to verse 8.
By the way, not only were the Pharisees inconsistent and inconsiderate but also incorrect about the Sabbath. Luke 6:5 “5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”. This is a claim from Jesus of deity. God instituted the Sabbath in Genesis 2 and Jesus is claiming to be Lord of it or the boss of it.
The modern-day people that are obsessed with keeping the Sabbath are the 7th Day Adventists and other groups. They are the same as the Pharisees in the fact that they are inconsistent, inconsiderate and incorrect. They are inconsistent because the only Sabbath that they keep is the well-known 7th day. However, there were plenty of Sabbaths in the Bible or days of rest. Leviticus 23:3 talks about the 7th day Sabbath but then the chapter speaks of a lot of different Sabbaths. There is the day of the Sabbath but a lot of Sabbaths were on a date but not the same day every year. For example, Thanksgiving is always a Thursday but Christmas is on a specific date which means it falls on a different day depending on the year.
Leviticus 23:4-5 “4 These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover.”. Leviticus 23:6-7 “6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”. In Leviticus 23:15-23 is the Feast of weeks 50 days after feast of first fruits. Throughout this chapter there are Sabbaths on various dates. This shows the inconsistency of 7th day Adventists. The reality is that they only have a problem with people coming to Church on Sunday. We had this family that used to come for the Red-Hot Preaching Conference and they would come on Wednesday nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. However, they were against going to Church on Sunday. This shows inconsistency. In addition to that, are they keeping the sacrifices and everything else in the Old Testament?
They are also inconsiderate. They ignore the New Testament teaching of coming to Church on the 1st day of the week. Acts 20:7 “7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”. Here we have a Sunday night service. Why did New Testament believers meet on the first day of the week? Because Jesus rose again on the 1st day of the week. 1st Corinthians 16:2 “2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”.
Here is the thing, where is there a verse that says to go to Church on the Sabbath? They were told not to do servile work on the Sabbath. We see them in the New Testament preaching the gospel on Saturdays and then on Sundays they are in Church. We do the same thing here at Verity. Where is there a verse that says we aren’t supposed to go to Church on Sunday? What is the problem? They haven’t read. All of our problems come down to the fact that we don’t know what the Bible teaches.
Let’s pray.