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Luke 6:1-11. 01/15/2017.
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Expectations,
we all have them, and they impact us deeply.
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Everyone experiences emotions
ranging from disappointment to anger when their expectations are not met.
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In the first century, the Pharisees
had certain expectations of the Messiah, expectations that, after seeing Jesus
in action, led them to disappointment and anger.
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The Pharisees expected the Messiah
to defeat Roman rule and re-establish David’s throne thereby reinstating Israel
as an independent nation.
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They also believed that in order to
remain in favour with God, keeping the torah (i.e., the law) was essential, but
their traditions added so much to the law that God's original intent vanished.
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The Pharisees saw themselves as
guardians of God's law and as such they were God's chosen and the Messiah would
come to them.
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The very name Pharisees means the
separated ones. They believed their strict adherence to the law made them
special.
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But Jesus did not overthrow the
Roman Empire or re-establish David’s throne over Israel in the way they had
hoped.
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Also, Jesus did not uphold their
traditional understanding of the law, but rejected their clinging to the law
over showing compassion.
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They thought that they had figured out
God's plans.
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They thought they knew what the
Messiah would be like.
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They thought they knew how to obey
God.
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They thought they were doing
everything right!
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They had a mission: observe the law!
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They thought they knew what to
expect of Messiah when he came.
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When they heard about the young
traveling preacher and healer from Galilee who many thought was the Messiah,
they decided to check him out.
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But this would be King of Israel did
not meet their expectations in the slightest.
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They thought he did not show concern
for the law.
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He hung out with tax collectors and
sinners of every stripe.
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He did not separate himself from
common, sinful people.
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He even healed on the Sabbath.
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But he had a mission: release the oppressed!
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Their mood of expectation and hope
changed in the blink of an eye to disappointment, disbelief, and murderous fury,
because they thought life revolved around rigid observance of the law and the
Sabbath.
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Instead of seeing Jesus as the
bridegroom, Israel's King and husband to be, they saw Jesus as an imposter who
had to be stopped.
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Jesus, however, responded to their
threats with continued prayerful, faithful obedience to God his Father's plan.
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He taught, he healed, and he cast
out demons. Even on the Sabbath, he released the oppressed!
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While the religious leaders called
for his death, Jesus called for faith.
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While they claimed he violated the
Sabbath, he claimed to be Lord over the Sabbath.
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One Sabbath day Jesus and his
disciples were walking through a field of grain.
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As it happens, they were hungry, so
they began to pluck heads of grain, rub them between their hands, throw away
the chaff, and munch on the exposed kernels.
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The Pharisees had no compassion for their
hunger. They thought it better for the disciples to go hungry than break their
traditions.
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To the Pharisees, the disciples were
behaving disgracefully because they were harvesting grain and preparing food on
the Sabbath.
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That counted as work and work was
not allowed on God's day of rest.
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Mark 2:27 reports Jesus as saying to
the Pharisees, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath."
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The Lord's Sabbath was to be a
blessing, not a burden.
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The Sabbath was made to bless man,
not man to bless the Sabbath.
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The Sabbath is for human enjoyment. Humans
were not made for the Sabbath's importance, rather God created Sabbath for
human well-being.
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Its purpose is to help communities
and families grow together in love of God and of each other, not force people
to succumb to rules and regulations.
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Using Scripture, Jesus continued to
make his case, he reminded the Pharisees about 1 Samuel 21:6.
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And Jesus answered them, "Have
you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
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?" (Luke 6:3-4, ESV)
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David and his men were in need, so
they went to the tabernacle and ate the bread that was lawful for only the
priests to eat.
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These were the 12 loaves of
yeast-free bread which represented the 12 tribes of Israel before the Lord.
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There was no other bread to eat and God
cared for David his chosen servant and did not want him to starve.
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Nowhere in Scripture is David
condemned for taking the holy bread.
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Human need trumps strict obedience
to the law.
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By appealing to David, Jesus invited
the Pharisees to compare him to David, to compare King David to his greater
descendant.
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If the strict laws for the bread of
the Presence could be set aside for David and his companions, who were fleeing
for their lives, then how much more could the Sabbath traditions be set aside
for Jesus and his disciples who proclaimed God's kingdom.
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While the Pharisees accused Jesus'
disciples of violating the Sabbath, Jesus used Scripture to show that his
disciples were guiltless, innocent.
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Human need outweighs legal
requirements.
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The Pharisees thought that they had
all the answers, but Jesus did not fit their answers.
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They would have been insulted by
Jesus' question, "Have you not read…?"
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Of course they had read. They knew
the story about what David did when he and his companions were hungry, but they
did not see or understand how the story applied to them and their present
situation.
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Jesus, therefore, interpreted and
applied the Scripture for them to show the Pharisees that because the disciples
were hungry their need was more important than keeping the ceremonial
requirements of the law.
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Human need trumps strict obedience
to the law.
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Jesus, by comparing himself and his
disciples to David and his soldiers, was telling the Pharisees, if you condemn
me, then you also have to condemn David.
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Jesus emphasized the need to
exercise discernment and compassion when enforcing the ritual law and that was
something the self-righteous Pharisees could not understand.
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As Matthew recorded in his parallel account, "You would not have
condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I
want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices'"(Matthew 12:7, quoting Hos.
6:6, NLT).
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David put human need above ritual
law, and Jesus taught and did the same.
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If it was true for David and his
soldiers, then how much more true for Jesus, the Son of Man?
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As Jesus said, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
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When Jesus said this, he was claiming
to be greater than the law.
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As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus could
overrule the traditions of the Pharisees.
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Because he created Sabbath, he had
the authority to define Sabbath.
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Because Jesus is the King of the new
kingdom, he brings a completely new relationship between God and people that
releases people from the burdensome traditions of the Pharisees.
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The Pharisees used religion to judge
and condemn; Jesus used religion compassionately to share gospel truth.
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True
disciples don't judge and condemn, but compassionately share gospel truth.
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Luke shared with his readers (as did
Mark and Matthew) that on another Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue
and in the congregation was a man whose right hand was withered.
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And the Pharisees were watching him
to see whether or not he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find
some reason to accuse him.
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Knowing what the Pharisees were
thinking, Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand
here."
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The man got up and stood where Jesus
asked.
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Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Tell me, is it lawful on the Sabbath
to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?"
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It was the Sabbath and the Pharisees
were still on mission to observe the law, but Jesus was still on mission to
release the oppressed.
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Because of his mission, Jesus again
challenged the Pharisees.
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Because of their mission to observe
the law, the Pharisees had a new mission: find evidence to get rid of Jesus.
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Jesus knew their thoughts, so he put
the man with the withered right hand where everyone could see and he invited
the Pharisees to make a decision, to choose sides.
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They could either choose their own
legalistic understanding of the law or they could choose to follow the Lord of
the Sabbath.
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What is better on the Sabbath, to
save life or to destroy it?
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Jesus' question was met with silence
by the Pharisees.
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While the Sabbath was a day for rest
and worship, it was also a day to show mercy to those in need.
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What better day than the Sabbath day
for releasing the oppressed?
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Again, the Pharisees used religion
to judge and condemn; Jesus used religion compassionately to share gospel
truth.
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True
disciples don't judge and condemn, but compassionately share gospel truth.
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Receiving no answer from the
Pharisees, after looking at all of them, Jesus returned his attention to the
man, telling him to stretch out his hand.
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And the deformed, withered hand
became as healthy and whole as the other.
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Jesus set this captive free; free
from a life without productivity, free to serve, free to work, free to worship
in the temple, free to live with dignity.
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Were the Pharisees thankful? No, "the enemies of Jesus were wild with
rage and began to discuss what to do with him" (Luke 6:11, NLT).
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Again, the Pharisees used religion
to judge and condemn; Jesus used religion compassionately to share gospel
truth.
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True
disciples don't judge and condemn, but compassionately share gospel truth.
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The Jewish religious leaders of
Jesus' day were more concerned with guarding the cannot's and the do not's of rigidly
observing the law.
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But Jesus was more concerned with
setting captives free, releasing the oppressed.
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The enemies of Jesus were all about
the negatives: do not break this rule, do not do this activity; do observe the
law.
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But Jesus was all about the
positives: he preached the good news, he healed, he cast out demons, he showed
mercy and compassion to those in need.
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Again and again Jesus gave the
Pharisees a choice between blindly using the law to judge and condemn and
having compassion on others in need.
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Again and again the Pharisees chose
blind observance of the law and rejected compassion.
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Today Jesus continues to offer the
same choice to believers.
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We can blindly judge and condemn or
we can choose mercy and compassion.
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True
disciples don't judge and condemn, but compassionately share gospel truth.
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