Jesus vs. Legalism

Introduction

For the next few months, we are going to discuss Jesus as a teacher. We may skip over this reality of Jesus as teacher at times, but we cannot.

And the reason that we cannot is that we believe that Jesus is the fountain of unfettered, unmetered, unstained, unbiased, and unadulterated truth.

Over the next 4 months, I want you to begin to do a few things:

Trust the words of Jesus.

Rest in the words of Jesus.

Be called to action by the words of Jesus.

Read Luke 6:1-11

Luke 6:1–11 ESV

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 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, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And 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.

From the time I was around 18, I have had a habit of reading God’s word and spending time in prayer every day with the Lord. I miss days, and that time looks different at different seasons of my life.

I remember at one time (around 6 years ago), I discovered a prayer book that I really enjoyed reading and praying through those prayers. So, I began to incorporate that book into my quiet time. It was very helpful. So I started to ask the question, what else would be beneficial to my quiet time.

I picked up journalling.

I started reading old theologians.

I started reading new theologians.

I started reading Biblical cultural commentators and Biblical theology textbooks.

The best thing - they were all helpful to me, spiritually. But over time… something started to happen. I

I started to think less of people that didn’t have a rigorous quiet time.

Then, I ran out of time to do all of those things, and I began to feel guilty about not doing them. Then, my guilt would drive me away from wanting to do them at all.

And I would assess my time to see if I had time to do everything.

Eventually, I was just tired, spiritually. So, I said, Lord, I am going back to the basics. What do you require of me? My word and my presence. Ok. Prayer and scripture.

Explanation

What is the Sabbath? (6:1)

The Sabbath is founded in the days of creation. In Genesis 1, God created the world as we know it in six days, and He rested on the seventh day. God did not need rest, but He modeled rest for His people.

In the Levitical law, God establishes the Sabbath as a day the Israel would depend upon him for sustenance and provision.

As part of this law, Israel was not allowed to work on the Sabbath day. Violations of the Sabbath were punishable by death.

Because violation of the Sabbath is so deeply rooted in pride and self-sufficiency, it was heavily guarded.

The Pharisees are angered that Jesus’ disciples are eating grain on the Sabbath. (2-3)

Levitical law permitted one to pass through a neighbors field and pluck grain as long as one did not attempt to harvest it.

To pluck grain and rub it in your hand was not a crime against the Sabbath. They have taken the law - you cannot work on the Sabbath - and made the law further than it needed to go.

24 chapters of rabbinic tradition had been written around rightly observing the Sabbath. It was ridiculous and strict and repressive and complex. And your SALVATION depends upon this

These laws include:

You could not walk more than 3000 feet on the Sabbath, UNLESS, you had food that were 3000 steps away, then you could walk 3000 back. So, you could walk home.

You couldn’t carry anything on your person that weighed more than a dried fig, but you could carry half a fig two times on the Sabbath.

If you threw an item with one hand, you had to catch it with that hand, because to catch it in the other hand was a sin.

Cold water could be poured on warm water, but warm water couldn’t be poured on cold water.

If you ate and olive and realized that it was a bad olive, you could not eat another, because the taste profile was different, and you could only have one olive.

These laws were meant to serve as guardrails against actually violating the law, but slowly and steadily, they became the law themselves.

The problem with these Rabbinic laws is this - We have one verse in Exodus that summarizes the law on the Sabbath. Exodus 31:15 “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.”

What we see in these rules and regulations is legalism.

What is legalism? Legalism is the conviction that keeping the law of God gives one salvation and with God.

Instead of faith that saves, legalism trusts in the law as the ultimate means to get to God. Legalism attempts to use human behaviour to procure the favor of God.

A good way to explain legalism is the principle of open hands and closed hands.

In God’s word, we see things that we must do and we must not do. We keep those things in a closed hand. We don’t change or waver on those things.

We also see things that are matters of conscience. Those are in open hands.

A legalist places things in the opened hand into the closed hand.

While the definition of legalism is pretty rigid, legalism plays out in many ways:

People who struggle with legalism create new laws or more complex laws to attempt to earn the favor of God.

People who struggle with legalism cannot differentiate well between the opened hand and the closed hand.

People who struggle with legalism want people to conform to their form of morality to be accepted by them. The guardrails that they see as appropriate for their lives becomes the standard for everyone.

Jesus reacts to the Pharisees in this story in several ways that eat away at their works driven lives.

David ate the bread of the Presence.

The priests granted David and his men the bread of the presence when they were hungry. They technically violated the law, but Jesus heralded this moment as one near to the heart of God

God saw David’s need and allowed him to eat.

The priests violate the Sabbath when the offer sacrifices.

Matthew 12:5-7 “Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

God desires to grant mercy to His people.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

Here is where the truth comes in. Jesus isn’t the most clever and won the battle.

Jesus created Sabbath, and He speaks the truth that obliterates every other alternative opinion.

Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath - the ultimate flex.

Jesus and the Pharisees were fundamentally opposed as to the purpose of the Sabbath.

For the Pharisees, the Sabbath was about moral conformity and control.

For Jesus, the Sabbath was about rest and God’s provision.

How do you know if you are struggling with legalism?

When you are little enamored with Christ, His Cross, and grace.

When you feel so overwhelmed with your guilt after sinning that you feel as though you cannot go to God to ask for forgiveness.

When you believe that God loves you, but He doesn’t like you.

When your private life doesn’t match your public life.

When you are constantly comparing your spiritual walk to someone else’s.

The answer for legalism is found in what the Pharisees missed.

They missed a true encounter with Jesus, and because they missed that encounter with Jesus, they missed.

His Presence

His Sustenance and Provision

His Mercy

His Healing

When I was

Invitation

Come to the one who will give you rest.

Put aside dead religion and rules and follow Jesus.