A Study In Luke - Day 8

Day 8 - Luke 6:1-5
 
6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

I love this story because when I heard it when I was younger, I quickly realized that we often make an idol of the Sabbath. At least that is what it felt like growing up in Adventism in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Whether it was how deep you could go in the water or whether or not you could turn on your oven after the sun went down, there always seemed to be another thing we weren’t supposed to be doing on the Sabbath. The first time I heard this text, I was blown away. The way Jesus answers the Pharisees is pretty simple. He cites precedent and reminds them of what David did with his companions when they were hungry.
 
He essentially says to them: “they were hungry. . .” and that is enough reason to let them take some wheat. He didn’t need any grand theological justification, just his companions' need for sustenance. It was so simple, so elegant, and so obvious.

Sometimes, it is so hard to justify what we do that it almost becomes ridiculous. Here, Jesus is succinct and to the point. And then he reminds them that he is the Lord over even the Sabbath.  

By saying that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, we see that Jesus is exerting his authority over one of the things that they held sacred and dear. The Sabbath was a mark of their obedience to God and the clear understanding that they were a chosen people. I don’t know if this sounds familiar to you or not, but we have treated the Sabbath in much the same way. We have held it up as a “sign” that we are favored above others and that we may have figured out something that no one else really has.
 
Now, to be clear, I’m a fan! I think there is clear biblical evidence for the need for a Sabbath for us and the graciousness of God to give us such a time for renewal and refreshing. But I don’t think we should make an idol out of it.

If the Sabbath and our keeping or giving it are the only marks that people can see that we are followers of Jesus, then perhaps we have not been great at living lives that reflect a greater expression of Jesus in the world.
 

1. Have you ever kept the Sabbath so legalistically that it ceased to be a joy in your life? 
2. How can you shape your life so that the Sabbath is truly something for you and brings rejuvenation into your being? 
3. How can you teach your kids about the Sabbath in a way that is life-giving?