Better Than One Day

The disciples kept finding themselves in trouble just because they were with Jesus. Jesus called Levi, Levi threw a feast and the disciples went with Jesus. The Pharisees were mad that they weren't fasting. Now Jesus is continuing His ministry, the disciples are going with Him and they eat some take-out grain on the way. The Pharisees are mad that they are breaking the Sabbath.

Who knows how many ways you might get in trouble just following Jesus?

There's no indication that Jesus told them ahead of time that He was going to poke the Pharisees. “Hey, guys, watch this." But every time, Jesus answers directly, clearly, and provocatively. This is another so-called controversy story, and the last line provides even more about Jesus' unique claims of authority.

We are going through Luke's account because it builds our confidence. Luke wrote so that we'd be certain of the truth about Jesus. Jesus came that our sins might be forgiven, but with that, He came to define how we organize our weeks.

There are two Sabbath stories in a row, the last two controversy stories in this part of the book. In the next paragraph, 6:6-11, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, and here in 6:1-5 the Pharisees caught the disciples snacking in a field on the Sabbath. Jesus answered by comparing Himself to David and claiming to own the day God called His own.

The key word in this paragraph is Sabbath. The word itself means seven or seventh. We call the seventh day of the week Saturday, Israel called it Sabbath day. The Jewish day started at sundown, so Sabbath was what we'd consider Friday evening through Saturday evening.

On the first seventh day God rested from all His work (Genesis 2:2). When a nation came out of Egypt, and the Lord gave Moses the stone tablets of the law, keeping the seventh day became a commandment that the Lord required of Israel (Exodus 20:8-11). They were prohibited from doing any ordinary work on the Sabbath. Even as they wandered in the wilderness, the Lord gave them twice as much manna on the sixth day so that they did not need to gather, to work, on the seventh.

In order to keep the Sabbath "holy" (Exodus 20:8), some Jews set up a fence, so to speak, around the property to keep anyone from getting into the house. The fence kept getting moved farther out, and built higher. The Pharisees in particular seemed to care more about the fence than about what was in the house. The Mishnah later recorded 39 Nots for the Sabbath day (tying a knot, untying a knot, etc.). The disciples managed to break three or four of the 39 with one handful.

That said, the Sabbath was given by Yahweh to set His people Israel apart from the other nations. There is a sabbath principle which follows from the creation order, but the Sabbath proper was an issue of Israel's national identity. Every Jew should have held convictions about keeping the Sabbath day holy, so the Pharisees were not wrong to have conviction. There were arguments from within Israel that Israel's failure to observe the Sabbath brought God's judgment on them through Roman occupation.

Is the behavior of Jesus and His disciples an example of the compromise?

They were plucking and rubbing the grain (Luke alone mentions the rubbing). Exodus 34:21 forbids farm work; Deuteronomy 23:25 allows a hungry man to take a handful by hand; the Pharisees stretched the first over the second. That's their fence.

To the Pharisees, it was a slippery slope, and they concluded that Jesus and His disciples were doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. That they asked it in the form of a question doesn't mean it isn't an accusation.

Jesus and His disciples were traveling between ministry things. What were the Pharisees doing out in the field? Where did they get their Sabbath police badges? The whole thing rubbed these rule-keepers the wrong way.

Jesus answers, but assumes some knowledge on their part and expects that they can follow an argument. The answer is not straightforward, but it is substantial.

He assumes that they know the Bible. Have you not read...? Jesus starts a lot of His questions this way.

He reminds them of the story from 1 Samuel 21:1-6. At that point Saul was king, Saul was angry with David, and David had just run away. News had not yet gotten out that he was a fugitive, and so when David and his men stopped in Nob, it was a surprise, but there was no hint that David was in trouble.

David spoke with the priest, Ahimelech. David said he was on a special mission from the king (which was a lie, but not the point here) and that his men were hungry. He asked for food, and the only food available was the bread of the Presence, the "showbread." The law said it was not lawful for any but the priests to eat (Leviticus 24:9). Ahimelech ended up giving the bread to David anyway because the Lord’s anointed said he was on a mission.

(To make another connection, Doeg the Edomite was there in Nob that day, and became a tattle-tale to Saul. Saul ordered that Ahimelech and other priests of Nob, 85 in all, be murdered for aiding David, which Doeg did. This is behind David's Psalm 52, "the righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh" (verse 6), a response to a massacre.)

Jesus could have defended and won His case that His disciples weren’t breaking the law. But Jesus makes a bigger claim. He argues through the story of David that there were some situations where the need of the Lord’s anointed outweighed the rule. If it was acceptable for David and his men to eat holy bread, then the Son of David (Luke 1:32) is even greater and He and His men can eat on the holy day.

The final word is a big word. The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.

Comparing Luke with the other gospel writers, Mark has the most detailed account, and he included more of what Jesus said. Namely, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The day was a gift, not a burden.

Luke leaves that part out. The relationship between the Sabbath and man is not the main point. The focus is on the relationship between the Sabbath and the Son of Man.

Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man who had the authority to forgive sin which He proved by causing the paralyzed man to walk (Luke 5:24). Here He announces His authority over the Sabbath law. These are startling claims.

Whose day is it (Exodus 20:10; 31:13)? So what is Jesus claiming? God calls it "My Sabbaths," so claiming lordship over it is claiming to be the LORD. It's the same logic as the scribes' "who can forgive sins but God alone?" (5:21).

Jesus is the better David. Jesus is the better rest/sabbath. Jesus is the better law; the law was a shadow and He is the substance. The rule-keepers were guarding the fence while the Owner of the house was in their midst.

Why does this matter to you?

Laugh when you’re in trouble for following Jesus. The disciples can’t get a break. Last week they were feasting not fasting, now they’re eating wrong again. It wasn’t even a hot meal, it was just raw grain. They were just following Jesus. Being in trouble with Jesus is better than approval from those who don’t love the Son of Man.

The righteous shall see, and fear, and laugh at those who won’t make God their refuge. Read Psalm 52 this week.

Love the house more than the fence. This story shows the “old wineskins” (their rules) that couldn’t hold the new wine (Jesus’ presence). The rule-keepers wanted to protect a holy day, they missed the joy of being with the Holy One. There’s another Sabbath story in the next paragraph which rubs the Pharisees wrong again.

The point isn't that fences are bad; wise fences are good. The Pharisaical error is treating the fence as the house, and grumbling at other disciples over it. We can miss the point in similar ways.

• How about those who are tough to talk to about their strict expectations for what songs can be sung in a church worship service?
• Similarly, how about those who hold to only a certain sort of style of dress for Sundays?
• What might be some other similar fences that get too much of our attention?

Let Jesus define your week. We gather on the first day not because we need a fence but because the Lord of the Sabbath rose. We assemble, w rest, we feast, because Jesus is better.

David’s mission was better than the special bread, and Jesus’ mission and ministry were better than the special day. The Lord of the day is better than any one day.

If Jesus is not Lord, then believing it is pitiable not profitable. If Jesus is Lord, then it is RIGHT to confess whether or not it “helps.” And since it is TRUE, hold onto that truth with all your mind and might no matter what. This is GOOD and PLEASING in the sight of God.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5–6 ESV)