Rules or Ruler

Rules or Ruler

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Luke 6:1-16

Introduction: (What?)

I know of a man who almost always had a copy of the Constitution and By-laws when he came to church. He seemed to take great delight in pointing out violations of those “rules”. What this modern-day Pharisee did not understand is that rules are made to benefit people, not to hem them in. The truth is, until a few years ago when the Constitution and By-laws were changed, we would be at this very moment in violation of our Constitution and By-laws which stipulate that morning worship is to take place at 11 a.m. We started at 10:45. The question we must answer is “Are you following rules, or a Ruler?”

Examination: (Why?)

1. No farming on Sunday

Lk 6:1-5 “On a Sabbath, he passed through the grainfields. His disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry—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? He even gave some to those who were with him.” Then he told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.””

With the increase of the popularity of Jesus as more and more people were healed or set free from demonic possession, the Pharisees increased their vigilance of His activity. It would almost seem that they were stalking Him and taking notes of everything He did or said that might be in violation of their religious laws. On this particular Sabbath Day one of the Pharisaical “spies” reported what they deemed to be a violation of the Sabbath Laws. John McArthur noted in his study bible that; Actually, no law prohibited the plucking of grain in order to eat on the Sabbath. Gleaning handfuls of grain from a neighbor’s field to satisfy one’s immediate hunger was explicitly permitted (Dt 23:25). What was prohibited was labor for the sake of profit. Thus a farmer could not harvest for profit on the Sabbath, but an individual could glean enough grain to eat.

I read an article this week explaining the “39 Categories of Work prohibited by Sabbath Law”. These were laws instituted by the Rabbis, not by scripture. Let me give you one example; 2. Burning

This involves making a fire or causing anything to burn.

Even throwing a toothpick into a fire is considered a violation of the Sabbath under this category.

This is another category of work mentioned specifically in the Torah, as we find (Ex. 35:3), “You shall not light a fire at home on the Sabbath day.” (Note 9)

The use of fire is one of the prime ways in which man demonstrates his mastery over nature. Indeed, the use of fire is one of the cornerstones of human civilization. It is fire that allows man to extract energy, his most basic requirement, from nature. Thus, in a sense, it is also a prototype of Sabbath work. (Note 10)

Obviously, this category forbids such acts as striking a match or turning on a stove. It also prohibits smoking on the Sabbath.

An automobile engine works by burning gasoline. Turning on the ignition and stepping on the accelerator causes it to burn. It is therefore forbidden to drive a car on the Sabbath.

Heating a piece of metal so that it glows is also in the category of burning.(Note 11) When an electric light is turned on, its filament is heated white hot, producing light. This is therefore forbidden on the Sabbath.

In general, any use of electricity violates the spirit of the Sabbath, since it involves extracting energy from nature. According to many authorities, electricity has the same status as fire with regard to the Sabbath. In any case, the practice of all observant Jews is to avoid turning any electrical appliance on or off. Since a telephone also works by electricity, it also should not be used.

As He often did, Jesus responded to their accusations by taking them to the scriptures, specifically 1 Sam 21:1-6 “David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech was afraid to meet David, so he said to him, “Why are you alone and no one is with you?” David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place. Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever can be found.” The priest told him, “There is no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread, but the young men may eat it only if they have kept themselves from women.” David answered him, “I swear that women are being kept from us, as always when I go out to battle. The young men’s bodies are consecrated even on an ordinary mission, so of course their bodies are consecrated today.” So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, for there was no bread there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from the presence …”

The RULER of the Sabbath (v 5 “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.””) overturned the “rules” of the Sabbath that had been created by the religious leaders. By making this statement Jesus was identifying as God which enraged the Pharisees.

2. Only emergencies treated

Lk 6:6-11 “On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The scribes and Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against him. But he knew their thoughts and told the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand here.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, he told him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored. They, however, were filled with rage and started discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

Once again the scribes and Pharisees were stalking Jesus on a Sabbath Day, this time they were actually at church. It seems that even today there are some who attend church to try and find something that the pastors or musicians or deacons or ushers do wrong. I read once that a woman exiting a service where Dwight L. Moody preached pointed out to him the grammatical errors he had made in his sermon. Moody replied, “Madam, I’m happy that you at least remembered something from the sermon.”

Moody, who only had a 5th grade education, was known to have mis-spellings and grammatical errors in many of his sermons. However, he had God-given wisdom. One of his quotes, which fits this point is: “Too frequently when Christians get together they seek for points upon which they differ, and then go at it…The Christian denominations too often present a spectacle of a political party split into factions and unable to make an effective fight.”

This was the case with the scribes and Pharisees. They came looking for another reason to reject Jesus as Messiah. But they constantly under estimated Jesus. Don’t you just love how Jesus set them up? He knew what they were thinking so He had the man with the withered hand get up and stand in the middle of the synagogue. Inside the synagogue, important people sat on benches, called chief seats, which lined three sides of the room (Matt. 23:6). Common people sat on the floor, which was usually made of dirt or flagstones . Speakers and readers would stand on a small platform, the bema. Jesus wanted the man to be where everyone could see him. Then He addressed those in “the chief seats”. His question to them was not rhetorical…He waited because He wanted an answer. Yet no one spoke up. Then, dramatically, Jesus said to the man “Stretch out your hand!” He did…and it was restored. But look at the reaction of the religious leaders. They were “filled with rage”. They began to plot “what they might do to Jesus.” Instead of surrendering to the One who could heal without even a touch or a command, they plotted to get rid of Him.

3. The primacy of prayer

Lk 6:12-16 “During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

What Jesus did next is important for us to see. Remember Jesus said in John 5:19 “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things.” He needed to get alone with His Father because the time had come to select His “special forces” and begin their intense training. From among the “disciples” (followers) He would choose some to be Apostles (sent ones). There were far more disciples than just the 12 who were chosen. Jesus didn’t just pick out the ones He liked, He sought the wisdom of His Father in selecting those who had been born for this. Mark wrote that the purpose Jesus had for these Apostles was Mark 3:14-15 “He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons.”

There is an old joke comparing the work of a nominating committee with the example of Jesus is selecting the Apostles which goes like this; “Jesus prayed all night and then picked 12 Apostles. The NC prays 12 minutes and picks all night to fill the leadership roles in the church.”

The bottom line of these verses is that if the LORD of the universe felt the need for extended prayer concerning the work of the kingdom, who are we to think we can do without it. I firmly believe that the reason churches in general, and our church in particular, are failing to impact society is because we think we can do it with programs and events instead of prayer and the power of God. We have over 100 people here today. Come Wednesday, in two prayer meetings, we will do well to have 10-12.

Application: (How does this apply to my life?)

Why are you here today? What are you expecting?

Have you surrendered your life to Jesus to the degree that if He were to show up today it wouldn’t bother you that the service went over time?

Ask God right now to show you what He wants from you, and be willing to take a stand.