Gospel Prism

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Luke 6:1-11

Introduction

It’s interesting that I’m preaching on the Sabbath on a day that we’re not meeting in a church building. In fact, there might be some who have assumed that they need not come and join us today simply because we’re not meeting in San Leandro. But to think in such a way would be a misunderstanding of the church and the Lord’s Day. And far too many people have a misplaced view of the Lord’s Day.

Some have fallen to one extreme, believing that the Lord’s Day is really no different than any other day. Some have falsely believed that they can ‘take off’ a day from Sunday Worship without it affecting their joy in the Lord. Others have fallen to the other extreme, where doing anything else other than being at church cannot be worship, such as grocery shopping, taking a stroll in the park, etc.

In our text today, Jesus addresses the Sabbath for the first time. To understand Jesus’ position on the Sabbath, you have to remember the context of Luke 6. Jesus was fighting a tremendous sway of legalism. The Pharisees had just condemned the feasting of Jesus’ disciples, instead of fasting like good, religious people. Remember that Jesus had healed the ostracized leper and the paralytic and had called the hated tax collector Levi to be His disciple. These acts were certainly not intended to get into the good graces of the established religious leadership. And here we see Jesus meeting the Pharisees head on in regard to their view of the Sabbath. From this encounter then, there are three lessons we can learn about the Sabbath.

Lesson #1: The Sabbath Is a Reminder that God is Gracious (vv. 1-2)

The first lesson we learn about the Sabbath is that the Sabbath is a reminder that God is gracious. Let’s look at verses 1-4: “On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” So what’s going on here? Not only do the Pharisees accuse the disciples of eating and drinking when others are fasting, they also condemn them for breaking the fourth commandment, which reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex 20:9, 10) So what work did these disciples do on the Sabbath? They plucked the heads of grain (reaped), rubbed them (threshed and winnowed) to take out the eatable portion. That seems harmless enough and doesn’t seem to be work that violated the commandment. But to the Pharisees this was a clear infringement of the law, not the Law of Exodus 20, but in actuality, a much stricter set of complementary laws written in the Mishnah.

The Mishnah was an interpretation of the Mosaic Law in effect in Jesus’ day. It contained 39 rules for the Sabbath in which the religious rulers of Jesus’ day interpreted the fourth commandment. These laws were established to protect people from even coming close to violating this commandment. But its effect was to create a system so taxing and burdensome, that virtually everyone was set up to break these laws. To give you an idea on some of these rules, let me share with you a couple. The first was regarding carrying burdens. The thinking behind this was that work often consisted of carrying something. And so they decided to define how large an item could be carried on the Sabbath by using the standard of a dried fig. Anything smaller than a dried fig would be okay to carry, but anything greater would be a violation of the law. If a half a fig was carried, that would be fine. But if a half a fig were carried two different times of the day, that would be a violation of the law. Alfred Edersheim lists this example:

Again, if it rained, and the water which fell from the sky were carried, there was no sin in it; but if the rain had run down from a wall it would involve sin. If a person were in one place, and his hand filled with fruit, he would have to drop the fruit, since if he withdrew his full hand from one locality into another, he would be carrying a burden on the Sabbath.” I know this sounds ludicrous, but an important question needs to be raised, “How did these rules come about in the first place?”

To answer this question is to get to the foundation of Jesus’ point. When God provided the commandments, they were always intended to be God’s grace bestowed upon His people. They represented the moral and ethical realities of a God who deeply cared for a people who would love Him and worship Him. The commandments were a reminder to His people that He was their God, that He created them, and that He desires their greatest joy in worship of Him. The commandments which are laws were intended to reflect God’s grace. And yet, human beings, sinful as we are, strive for self-control and self-righteousness. As soon as God’s grace enters the scene, we want laws, legalistic structures in place, so that we maintain control over the situation.

John Brunt, in an insightful article on rule-making, notes that rule making is problematic because you have to continue to add more rules. Rules will always have exceptions and so every rule and law’s exceptions will also need rules to govern those exceptions. And then even those exceptions have exceptions which will require more rules. In other words, to maintain control over our lives, we need to make sure that we’re fully covered, that there is full disclosure. Why? So that we’re protected, so that our lives are in order, so that we look good externally to others, so that we’re in control of our lives. This might be what has to happen in the business world and the political world, but let me tell you this is not limited to business and law and politics. Sadly, this has become the world of marital conversations, strife between elderly parents who feel they are entitled to everything from their adult children, parents who want well-behaved kids while ignoring the anger and frustration those kids feel in their hearts. So parents of teenagers, without knowing how to deal with the anger of their kids, will simply enact more rules, “You can’t go out wearing this type of clothing,” “You can’t play with those kids.”

Another problem with those of us who are good at rules is that rules inspire criticism and judgmentalism. The reality is that rules are not made to be broken, but instead, rules will always be broken by imperfect, sinful people. And when they are broken, those who currently are keeping the rules, will criticize those who are not. There have been times I have walked into my kids’ rooms and said, “This room is a pig pen. Clean it up.” And then I’ll walk back into my room, push aside all of the layers of books and papers, and bills on my desk, and stare at my computer monitor. Living by such rules, placing such rules on the lives of others, can lead to joylessness, frustration, anger, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy if grace is not in the picture.

The Pharisees were so committed to the rules that they forgot why God even gave the fourth commandment in the first place. Remember what the commandment said: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” God wanted rest for them. He was being gracious in telling them that they needed a time to find refuge in Him, to enjoy Him. All work and no rest makes the Christian forget God and anxious with our world’s circumstances. And so what does this rest look like then? That’s lesson #2.

Lesson #2: The Sabbath Is a Reflection of the Rest that Christ Provides (v. 3-5)

The second lesson we learn about the Sabbath is that the Sabbath is a reflection of the rest that Jesus provides. Let’s read verses 3-5: “3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus answers the Pharisees accusation with a reminder of David’s act in 1 Samuel 21:1-6). David and his men were being pursued by Saul. On the run, they were famished and came to the high priest Ahimelech for some food. But the only food that was left was the Bread of the Presence which was devoted for worship. David takes the bread and leaves.

When Jesus brings up this story, he is reminding the Pharisees that God’s law was never intended to bring about hardship to His people. The OT is filled with passages that remind us that God is a God of mercy (Hos 6:6) and compassion (Ex 22:27; Ps 78:38). And so if God viewed David’s taking of the holy bread and Ahimelech’s giving of the holy bread as acts of mercy that God endorses, then surely this act of the disciples merely eating a few heads of grain could not be in violation of the principle of the 4th commandment.

But just in case the Pharisees still refused to accept his theological logic, Jesus proclaims that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Now what does He mean by this? I think it means exactly the way Jesus states it. He is the Sabbath. The Sabbath remember, was intended to be a place of rest, and refuge, and restoration from the work and concerns of life. And so Jesus would be the fulfillment of this promise of God. He would be the rest that every person so desperately needs. Hebrews 4:8-10 makes this same point: “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Since Joshua through his battles was unable to give the people of God rest, it would take someone for greater to do so, and this if course would be Jesus. In fact, Jesus makes this invitation to all:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matthew 11:28-30)

Again, remember what the Pharisees wanted. They wanted control over their worship of God. They wanted to worship Him in the way they believed was right. They found their worth and value not in God but in their response to God. And anything or anyone that impinged on their control was a threat to their way of life and their way of rightness. Such a life is a life of anxiety, worry, criticism, envy, jealousy. But isn’t this our lives as well? We have an order to our lives that give us control. Anything that disrupts that control makes us feel worried, scared, angry, frustrated, nervous. Isn’t this why we can become so angry and worried if our schedule is disrupted? How many husbands become angry with their wives for making them late? It looks bad on us husbands when our wives make us late. And so we need to make sure that everyone knows it wasn’t our fault. Or are you fretting about today’s economy? Are you worried about a potential loss of a job? Perhaps you’re nervous that you won’t be able to make your mortgage payments. When we have no control over our lives, we can not only become worried, but we can become envious and jealous of others. We might be wondering, “Why can’t I have a husband who cares for me like her?” or “Why can’t my wife serve me like she does for him?” “Why do I get passed over for a promotion? I am better than her.” A lack of control over our lives, believing that things should turn out the way we believe it should, leads to such jealousies. Worry, anxiety, envy, judgmentalism all are check engine lights of our hearts which indicate that we trust in something else to be our refuge and hope in our lives. Something other than Christ is competing for our souls. But such a perspective ignores that Christ is the promise of rest for our weary souls. When we confess that our self-efforts and self-righteousness has competed for our satisfaction and joy, and when we confess that worry, anxiety, envy, judgmentalism, anger, frustration have come about because of the idolatry of our hearts, when we confess that we have not trusted in God and His promises, it’s then that we truly know and believe what was given to us at the cross, His perfect righteousness and peace and rest.

Jesus is the only means to such peace as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:13-14:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace.

His death on the cross, his bearing our sins as our substitute, has brought peace between God and us. Forgiveness, not laws and rules, reign. Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, there is peace eternally between God and His adopted children. And there is no sin that Satan could ever use against us to break this peace. Edward Welch insightfully notes:

If you are finding peace [rest] elusive, either you still don’t believe you are forgiven or you really don’t care that you are. (Edward Welch, Running Scared, 286)

And you are not believing that Christ’s work on the cross truly frees you not only from sin, but from its power. Now you are free to love others with all your heart, because He has loved you in this way. You need not be afraid because Christ has conquered sin and death. You need not worry over loss of reputation and possessions because what Jesus has obtained for you is far better than such things. When you believe that Jesus is the Sabbath rest, you will have rest for your soul.

Lesson #3: The Sabbath Is a Rebuke Against the Self-Righteous Heart (vv. 6-11)

The last lesson we can learn about the Sabbath from this encounter is that the Sabbath is a rebuke against the self-righteous heart. Let’s look at verses 6-11: “On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” The Pharisees were so certain that what they believed about Jesus was God-honoring that they refused to even consider the possibility that they were wrong. And so they were obviously here to catch Jesus in what they believed to be an unlawful act, to find reason to accuse Him. Their self-righteousness was so strong that they were blind to their own sin. They were zealous for the keeping of the letter of the law but failed to see that their lack of kindness and mercy undermined the keeping of that Law. The Law was there to reflect God’s goodness and mercy and grace. In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus summarizes the Law by saying it’s about loving God with everything and loving your neighbor as yourself. Surely, the Pharisees did not love Jesus as themselves.

So Jesus very intentionally draws all the attention to this man, as he commands him to stand amongst everyone gathered. And then in verse 9, Jesus asks a question that the Pharisees knew the answer to, even the Mishnah believed that it was lawful to do acts of mercy on the Sabbath. Finally, when Jesus heals the man, he does so without lifting a finger. He simply says, “Stretch out your hand.” So even if the Pharisees wanted to hold him guilty of violating the Law, all they could say is that Jesus said 4 words. And this infuriates them even more.

Conclusion: The Sabbath Is a Requisite for Living in Light of the Gospel

The Sabbath was intended, as Jesus shows here, to be a day where we are reminded of God’s continued rest. It’s a day that God gives to us, telling us to remember Him. It’s a day of grace, not a day that we earned. We don’t stock up work days during the year so that we can cash them in December to collect the Sabbath days that God gives to us to worship Him. Before people even began to do any work at all, God decided that His people needed this day or else self-righteousness, self-control, self-assurance, self-pity, and self-centeredness would consume them. The Pharisees wanted control over how God was to be worshipped and how much they needed to help him out in that worship. And today, far too many Christians are tempted by this same lie.

My dearest friends, you need the Lord’s Day, this Sabbath Day of rest to continue to see the power of the cross. The Sabbath is a requisite for living in light of the Gospel. God’s intention for you on this Sabbath was to remember Him. If you fail to consider this day as vital to your love for God and your understanding of the Gospel of grace, you will be consumed by yourself. Think of every day of the week that you live. So many here have shared with me, with others, that is hard to fix your eyes on the Gospel when you’re dealing with a surly manager, or defiant children, or an unappreciative spouse, or financial hardships, or debilitating diseases. Sunday is God’s grace for you my friends. It’s that one day that God has set aside for you to enjoy Him, to remember that He is Lord of your Sabbath, your rest, and that you actually will find that rest in Him. But how many people feel they can merely take a day off from such rest? I know there are many reasons, perhaps legitimate reasons to take such time off from him. We’ve worked late into the night on Saturday and so Sunday would be much better spent in bed. Perhaps when you are traveling for vacation, leaving on Sunday would be cheaper or make your schedule better. Maybe you have family visiting and your siblings are non-Christians. They want to spend time going to Napa and they want you to be their tourguide. Surely God wouldn’t mind. This text teaches us not just about whether God minds, but also about how detrimental it is to your soul when you miss your Sabbath, the corporate reminder that God is your God, who loves you as revealed through the work of the cross. You will find that a Sunday away from worship with God’s people will lead to more self-righteousness. I guarantee you that that week, you will be filled with “I wants.” You will become the king of your world. You will want more control over your life. And you will feel more anxiety, more concern, more pride, more self-righteousness. We are not saved because we worship with God’s people on Sunday. But we are reminded of God’s grace and His great salvation when we worship with God’s people on Sunday. And this allows us to live in light of the Gospel. The Pharisees chose to ignore the truest understanding of the Sabbath, that is, God loved His people so much that He gives us eternal rest with Him through Christ and His redemptive work. May we instead go to Him, weary and worn as we are each Sunday, and find the promised rest that we will receive, reminded each Sunday with dear friends who are longing for the same rest!