But Others Do It
Luke 6:1-11
Did Jesus advocate breaking the law?
Photo by sohaib jafar on Unsplash
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?" Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come and stand here." He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?" After looking around at all of them, he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. - Luke 6:1-11
When it comes to the laws regarding the Sabbath, Jesus sure does seem to ignore those.
He does something here that surprised me when I heard it for the first time years ago. He says so-and-so did it, so why can't I?
It reminded me of my arguments when I was caught doing something my parents didn't want me to do. That never worked for me.
But Jesus doesn't simply pick anyone who broke the law. He picked David.
His argument is that David's men were hungry and there was this bread that was available, so they ate it.
Jesus wasn't being accused of stealing holy bread, but of doing work on the Sabbath.
To us Christians, who observe the Sabbath Day by going to church for an hour or two, what Jesus did by picking wheat for his men was natural.
Our idea of work is a lot different than what Jesus did. To us, work is what we get paid for, or at least try to get paid for. Cooking, buying groceries, preparing a meal, and turning on the television or playing golf, are not work in our minds.
But what is the lesson we take away from this story?
If we walk away with the idea that a law, ill-conceived, is not legitimate and can be broken, I think we are getting the wrong message.
People will argue with me on this. To many, Jesus is a rebel who acted out against authority, both in his own faith community and in his domain, against the Emperor.
What Jesus was saying with respect to the laws around the Sabbath was that they were compiled based on a false assumption of what God meant by making the day holy.
What Jesus was really doing when he broke the law, was using it to show the Pharisees and scribes that they, too, break this law for their own benefit, when they save a sheep who has fallen in the creek or down a well.
There will always be people who feel we need more laws, more specific than the ones we have, and there will be those who oppose so much oppression.
The true test of the legitimacy of a law, when it comes to what God wills for us, is if it aligns with the one great commandment Jesus taught, to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, and to love one another as God loves us.
How are we doing with that one?
More to come...