You might remember from our series earlier this year in Luke 1-5, that Luke has a deep theological agenda at work in how he writes his Gospel. He is presenting Jesus as the ultimate (High-)Priest. We see that agenda at work again in 6:1-11. Part of the job of the Levitical priest was to interpret, teach and apply the Law (II Chron.15:3; 19:8; 31:4 etc.). The Pharisees have set themselves up as guardians and gate-keepers of the Law. As soon as Jesus – the Priest – begins His ministry, there is a sense of inevitability about the conflict that ensues.
The Pharisees are basically stalking Jesus. His whole life and ministry is under intense scrutiny (v.7). And yet Jesus is bereft of fear, and their hostile gaze does nothing to hinder His life or teaching. Over the course of Jesus’ public ministry this antagonism will find expression in a host of different contexts, and over a number of different questions. As we come into Chapter 6, Luke gives us a couple of instances when the flashpoint is ‘Sabbath’. In one sense the question of whether Jesus and His disciples are keeping Sabbath is just a symptom of the key issue at stake: who has the right to interpret the Law.
The Pharisees are a complicated bunch. It’s easy to turn them into two-dimensional comic-book villains... But in reality they were just sincerely wrong. This is an important observation in Church life. We can easily be hoodwinked into thinking that someone’s point of view is legitimised by the sincerity with which they (claim to) hold it. It isn’t. As the old trope goes: you can be sincerely wrong. And the Pharisees were certainly that.
But working out why they were wrong is trickier than it might first seem. In fact, at first glance they seem to be holding an entirely defensible position. The Sabbath is built into the theological structure of creation, and keeping it is so critical that it was embedded in the Ten Commandments. Violating the Sabbath was a capital offense; and there are repeated prohibitions throughout Scripture against activities such as lighting fires (Ex.35:3), gathering wood (Num.15:32f), carrying a burden (Jer.17:21), and trading (Neh.13:15-17). And when the ancient Church is sent into exile, the presenting issue was their failure to keep the Sabbath for themselves or for the land (Lev.26:43).
The problem is that whilst they are keeping the Sabbath in a negative sense (i.e. in terms of what they are NOT to do), they have lost sight of what it means to keep Sabbath positively. They have reduced the Sabbath to an institution in its own right, forgetting its purpose in pointing towards the wholeness and rest of the New Creation, and its context in a Law that is supposed to be the articulation of what it means to love God and neighbour. Once the Law is removed from Christ, it becomes enslaving. Only in Christ is it the freedom it was designed to be.
Questions:
In what other ways can a Christian vision for life become enslaving once it is taken out of the context of our relationship with Christ? Why does that happen?
Do you think that the idea of a Sabbath should still feature in a Christian’s life today? What might that look like?
What is the difference between Jesus’ view of rest, and our own society’s vision for rest?
Why do the Pharisees think Jesus’ disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath (6:2)?
How does Jesus’ response (appealing to I Sam.21:1-7 & 22:9-10) answer the Pharisees question? After all, on the face of it, David’s taking the consecrated bread doesn’t have anything to do with the Sabbath.
What does Jesus mean when He says that He ‘is Lord of the Sabbath’? Does this mean that Jesus can do things on the Sabbath that no-one else can? ...that in some way the Law doesn’t apply to Him?
Where does Jesus’ courage in facing the religious authorities of His day come from?
Why would the Pharisees think that healing on a Sabbath was unlawful?
What does Jesus’ response in v.9 teach us about the purpose of the Law, and of the Sabbath more specifically? How does that make sense of the Old Testament teaching about the Sabbath?
Why does Jesus’ healing evoke such fury from the Pharisees?
