Day 14 Lent 2023
Before we get into the scripture from Luke Chapter 6, let’s look at a couple of Old Testament passages pertinent today. If you’ve read ahead, you know Luke is getting ready to tell us a story about Jesus and the Sabbath. Let’s look at that scripture first.
8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
11“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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.
Exodus 20:8–11 (NASB95)
Let’s look at the Hebrew word behind “holy,” which God commanded us to keep that seventh day.
Hebrew Strong’s Number: 6942
Hebrew Word: קָדַשׁ
Transliteration: qādash
Phonetic Pronunciation: kaw-dash’
Root: a primitive root
Cross Reference: TWOT - 1990
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Holy, Sanctify (To)
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
sanctify 108
hallow 25
dedicate 10
holy 7
prepare 7
consecrate 5
appointed 1
bid 1
purified 1
miscellaneous translations 7
[Total Count: 172]
a primitive root; to be (causat. make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonial or moral):- appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy (-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), × wholly.
James Strong, “קָדַשׁ,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
That word includes “ceremonial or moral” and “clean.” The word clean is in the Jewish sense, meaning it has not been defiled by things against God. It is the moral aspect of this I’d like to focus on. Simply put, we are to be good people on our day of rest, not just to us but to everyone around us. What does it mean to be a “good person?” We have scripture for that too.
11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:11–14 (NASB95)
We also have the following, which returns to the Old Testament, bringing us full circle.
7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
9For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:7–10 (NASB95)
The Old Testament bit we are interested in is that last part about loving thy neighbor.
15‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
16‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord.
17‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
18‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:15–18 (NASB95)
The Sabbath is all about love. Love to yourself, to those in your family, and to those you encounter. We are to treat everyone as we would want to be treated on our day of rest. Thus, if I don’t want someone coming and putting something on me to do when I am resting, I shouldn’t do that to them when they rest. This is important in light of the scripture from Luke that we will read shortly.
Here is another passage that relates to this. It relates both because it is related to how we treat others and because it is in the Luke passage in Chapter six. Let’s look at that now.
24“When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.
25“When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.
Deuteronomy 23:24–25 (NASB95)
God proclaims sharing with our neighbor to be something we should do. However, it also proclaims that a neighbor partaking in the fruits from the fields nearby should not take more than a little bit. “…shall not put any in your basket.” And “…shall not wield a sickle….” These laws were meant to ensure that our neighbors do not infringe unduly on our hospitality and leave us the fruits of our labors. They get to have a little bit if they like but are not allowed to burden us. This encourages our neighbor to plant their own vineyard and corn because they cannot just eat ours. Likewise, we understand this is lawful behavior, so we should plant more than we need to ensure we have enough for our family while allowing neighbors the privilege.
Let’s read the Luke passage now.
1Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain.
Luke 6:1 (NASB95)
There’s that neighbor sharing his corn with Jesus and the disciples following Him. This is perfectly lawful behavior, so Luke makes sure we know they are using their hands to shuck the corn rather than putting it into a basket.
2But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Luke 6:2 (NASB95)
The way Luke recounts his Gospel makes it sound like the Pharisees are just following Jesus and his guys around, looking for things to find wrong with what they do. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s the sense I get from Luke’s words. Whether true or not, Jesus certainly knew it was happening.
3And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,
4how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”
5And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Luke 6:3–5 (NASB95)
The part Jesus refers to here about David eating bread from the temple, the Pharisees certainly knew. Not only did David and his men eat the bread, but it was given to them by the priest. If anyone would know that it was unlawful or lawful to do, it would be the priest. It is here we get a hint that Jesus is aware of the many restrictions the Pharisees put on the people such that the day that is supposed to be restful becomes more work than almost any other day of the week.
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
3therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
4“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
5“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
6“They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.
Matthew 23:1–7 (NASB95)
Note Jesus tells his listeners to do what the Pharisees command but to note that they do not keep the rules they put on others. This is not a contradiction between Luke and Matthew. This is Jesus telling the people to shame their leaders into changing their ways. In our case today, we are to adhere to the laws and rules made by our governments, but since we get to vote on who runs our government, we should make sure the people we vote for bear fruit in line with their words. In other words, character matters, and there is no better revealer of someone’s character than their actions. We will know them by their fruits and should be doers of the word rather than just speakers.
Jesus knows all of this, and the Pharisees questioning His behavior know it too. His statements to them cut them to the bone, but it does something else too. This is a passage where the educated Pharisees recognize Jesus, claiming to be God. He did it first when He claimed the power to forgive sin. He is doing it again when He claims the power to declare what is and is not right on the Sabbath.
I think Jesus was trying to make the point that what is restful for you and what is restful for me might look very different. We should recognize that and, as much as we are able, allow our neighbor to be restful when they choose. As long as we are working to keep God’s ways in our hearts, I don’t think He minds if we take our day of rest on Saturday, Sunday, or even Tuesday so long as we take a seventh day out of work to rest. As long as you work to keep your Sabbath and let me keep mine, we won’t put stumbling blocks before one another, and we’ll both be walking God’s path. God bless you, and Godspeed.