Text: This week we’re covering Luke 6:1-16 dealing with Jesus’ teaching about and healing on the Sabbath and the increasing conflict with the Pharisees over this issue.
Other passages to read: this week we encourage you to read "horizontally" in these passages that are parallel to our text from Luke:
- Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath: Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28
- Man with a withered hand: Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6
- Old Testament background verses: Exodus 20:8-11; Deut. 23:25; 1 Samuel 21:1-6
Sermon Notes: "On Guard and At Rest"
1. Understanding the nature of the problem: Legalism
- Unbiblical (v. 3-5)
- Unloving (v. 6-10)
- Unsafe (v. 11)
2. Understanding the nature of the promise: Rest
Points to ponder: In your study this week, you might want to think about one of these questions:- External Rest – an act of liberation(Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
- Internal Rest – an act of trust (Hebrews 4:1-11)
- What is Jesus saying about David’s actions in 1 Samuel 21? How are the two situations parallel?
- Is there some area where we have become “religious” that doesn’t foster relationship with God?
- Like last week, what details does Luke supply, that are not found in Matthew or Mark?
- What does the Sabbath mean to us today? How should we apply the principle in our lives?
- Read Hebrews chapters 3-4 and ask yourself, “What is the key to entering into God’s Sabbath rest?”
- Like the passage where Jesus was rejected in Nazareth, is there something Jesus says in his Word that makes us mad? Why?
- Have we entered God’s rest (Hebrews 4:9)? What does that mean for my life?
- Do I trust God’s love enough to stop trying to approach him according to my system of works?
- How is my love for Christ reflected in the way I spend my time? If we do with our time exactly what we want to do, what does this reveal about our relationship with Jesus?
Here is a quote from this week's featured resource:
“The uneasy tension between Jesus and the Pharisees described in chapter 5 hardens into controversy over one of the main institutions of Judaism, the Sabbath. The Gospels list three Sabbath controversies. Two occur in the Synoptics and one in John 5. In each instance Jesus allows or even stimulates the controversy, providing several types of response:
- (1) the Sabbath is for man's benefit (Mark 2:27);
- (2) the Son of Man is "Lord of the Sabbath" (v. 5);
- (3) the Sabbath is for helpful deeds, the omission of which would be evil (v. 9); and
- (4) the Father works even on the Sabbath and so may the Son John 5:17).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 886)
Erickson, in his classic work, Christian Theology, writes,
“God had established the sacredness of the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). Only God could abrogate or modify this regulation…[In Luke 6 we see Jesus] was clearly claiming the right to redefine the status of the Sabbath, a right that belongs only to someone virtually equal to God.” (p. 702)
One of the ways that I try to process and express theological truth is through poetry. I take all the study and thinking and try to express the synthesis of ideas as briefly and as powerfully as possible. This week’s topic of “Sabbath” has produced two poems: Sabbath Roots and Sabbath Rest. I include them here in this post as personal commentary on this topic. I hope you find them meaningful and helpful in your understanding of the rest we have in Christ!
Sabbath Roots
Six days God worked creating
Three forming the framework—sky, water, land
Three filling it with teeming life—birds, fish, animals, man
One day he rested, it was all very good,
For our benefit not his.
He was not tired, but knew we would be.
He did not need to recharge his creative Spirit,
But saw that we would need to stop, to
Pause the naming, tilling, tending,
Subduing, producing, ruling,
Just for a day
To rest, to remember the Maker
To trust that we are not God.
After our fall from sinless
Unbroken relationship, mercifully
God did not remove the gift of Sabbath, yet
We looked at things differently now,
East of Eden,
Struggling against the thorns of a world,
A will, in rebellion.
We forgot it, buried it, under a pile of
Clay-tablet to-do lists, bricks without straw
Yet finally overwhelmed by our circumstances,
Labor to the point of despair, God heard us crying and…
Brought us out to be free,
Took us aside to be restored,
Set us apart to be different,
Then wrote it down in stone.
Sabbath roots of
God-given grace, not man-made entitlement,
Mandatory not optional, we are
Surprised by rest not added work, in
Weekend renunciation of toil’s curse to produce bread.
A people
Forced to trust
God to provide, make up the difference…
Not in vain.
© Greg K Dueker
This second poem uses a type of literary template we have previously discussed as being heavily used in the Gospel of Luke. It is a good idea to keep our eyes open for this inverted parallel structure as we study through Luke.
Sabbath Rest
Sabbath…
Rest in harmony with creation, Creator’s example
Trust in Yahweh’s revealed plan for our good,
Both neglected, misplaced, by people led to exilic slavery.
While land rested in obedience,
Until chastened people returned, rebuilt
Resolved never to lose what God restored, but
Rules too numerous replaced trust, produced crushing
Rules too numerous replaced trust, produced crushing
Burdens with which neither law, nor leader, cared to help.
Until…Jesus declared,
“The Son of man is lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5)
Now, our…
Burdens borne and sorrows carried by Sabbath’s Lord,
Rules’ record of our debt, its demands, nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14)
Jesus returned issue to the heart-land, celebrated
that Sabbath was to do good not bad,
to heal not harm, to bless not curse…people
Resolved in gratefulness to remember, to care, to
Trust in his work, not ours, allowing our entrance into perfect
Rest as it was intended…our salvation. Sabbath rests forever fulfilled.
© Greg K. Dueker
The following question was posted and addressed on our Bible Answers blog several years ago.
"Question: “How does the commandment to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" apply today?”"This has been asked many times over the years, and is kind of a trick question as it applies to a far larger set of commandments than just the ones pertaining to the Sabbath. I think that we need to consider three separate biblical issues regarding the Sabbath: Commandments, Purpose, and Principles. There were many prohibitions established in the Old Testament (OT) that applied to ancient Israel, but no longer apply today as commands, yet are still part of God’s Word and are useful for instruction on many levels. Those commands were part of God’s covenant (contract) with Israel. Today, if we are Christians, we are not under obligation to the requirements of the old covenant; instead we are part of the new covenant. Interestingly, all the moral commands of the OT are repeated in the NT, but the ceremonial, dietary, public worship, public health, and anti-idolatry laws are not renewed. Don’t misunderstand me, the NT is very strong in its stand against idolatry, and other sinful lifestyles, but does not contain commands to enforce physical punishment upon those choosing to live in rebellion to God’s plan like the OT does. So to answer your question about the command to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy", I would say that we no longer have the weight of such a command upon us just like we no longer need to travel to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God in Israel’s great national festivals.
Now let’s consider what the purpose of the Sabbath was. Jesus said on more than one occasion that the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath. Jesus also said that he was the Lord of the Sabbath and that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Jesus provoked considerable anger against himself from the religious leaders of his day by violating their legalistic Sabbath commandments. What did Jesus do on the Sabbath? He taught in the synagogues, healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, taught his disciples, and went about his Father’s business. Here are a few passages from the life of Christ that are a helpful study—Matthew 12:1-12; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-11; Luke 13:10-16; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 14:1-6; John 5:1-15; John 7:21-24; John 9.
The Jewish Sabbath celebrated a finished creation. It involved mandatory resting from one’s normal work in order to trust God for provision. The Sabbath was a revolutionary concept in the ancient world . . . a six-day work week; because God loved us he gave us a day of rest.
So what is the Sabbath principle? Regular weekly sabbath rest is a good thing for us:
- Physically—to rest. Our bodies need a break and if we don’t take one they will.
- Economically—to trust God, not our own efforts, to provide. Can God make up for the time we take to rest from the insidious intrusion of worldly cares, or do we live like we have to handle it all ourselves?
- Socially— to gather in community with family and fellow believers to remember what the Lord has done for us and to encourage each other –Heb. 10:25.
- Spiritually— to take time to serve someone besides ourselves, to worship God, and to quiet the other noises and demands of life to listen for the Shepherd’s voice).
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17 ESV)"
Actual link to this answer is: http://b4answers.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-does-commandment-to-remember.html"
Previously on "Ponderables":
- Why doesn’t Luke include the content of the Sermon from the Boat? At this point Luke is more concerned with the calling of Peter. If we look at the Prophetic Rhetorical Template contained in v. 1-11 it becomes clear.
- How can we reconcile verses 1-11 with Matt. 4:18-22 & Mark 1:16-20? Pastor Randy’s message spoke to this clearly. It can be done two ways. Randy talked about Matthew & Mark presenting an abbreviated version of the calling.
- Why does Simon ask Jesus to depart from him? Does he really mean it? It seems very similar to Isaiah’s experience in Isaiah 6. He was overwhelmed by his sin
- What is the real "miraculous catch" in this passage the one by Peter or the one by Jesus? The one by Jesus! He “caught” Peter, Andrew, James, and John!
- Why did Jesus want the healed leper to go to the priests? What two ways did the man’s disobedience cause problems for Jesus? Jesus wanted him to go as a testimony to the priests. It seems he was concerned that they might see the kingdom’s effects in a non-threatening way…within the context of their appointed duties. How often had the priests had to declare some a leper? And perhaps never to have seen one cured? As to the problems caused…they were two-fold. The unwanted publicity prevented Jesus from entering population centers and also stirred up the opposition of the priests and religious leaders against him.
- What does the 6-fold structure of 4:42-5:39 tell us about the message of this passage? Were you able to see the structure? Using Kenneth Bailey’s rhetorical template I see the calling of Peter in 5:1-11 as just one piece of the larger narrative presentation.
B Simon/Peter Called (5:1-11)
C Leper Cleansed (5:12-16)
C’ Paralytic Healed (5:17-26)
B’ Levi/Matthew Called (5:27-32)
A’ Missional Freedom/ New Wineskins (5:33-39)
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