Luke 6:1-11 "Lord of the Sabbath"

Let’s Pray!

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Well… in less than two weeks, our annual Women’s Conference is coming up.

We are flying in Cameron Sexton… my Pastor’s wife.

Cameron is so full of wisdom… and she speaks truth. Which is refreshing… and rare these days.

Ladies… don’t miss it! You’ll be blessed by Cameron… and refreshed in fellowship with other ladies.

Feel free to invite a friend… and… please register so we have a head count for food.

Guys… sorry… you’re not invited.

Let’s now open our Bibles to Luke 6. Luke 6:1-11 today.

We left off looking at the end of Jesus’ first year of ministry…

We recently read about the calling of Matthew… who threw a great feast and invited other tax collectors who also followed Jesus.

And, while this amazing moment unfolded… opposition arose… which is typical.

The scribes and Pharisees… go behind Jesus’ back (instead of going to him directly) and complain to His disciples about eating with Tax Collectors and sinners…

Then… the disciples of John… the Pharisees… maybe some other people too… gather and question Jesus… WHY His disciples ate and drank… while THEY fasted and prayed.

So Jesus spoke in parables… using the imagery of a wedding… cloth and wineskins… to illustrate that a new day was dawning… the dispensation of law was ending since Messiah had come… the dispensation of grace was upon them.

Now was an inappropriate to fast… and the old and new systems were not compatible.

And the Pharisees said, “Yeah… that makes sense!”

Not really… God was doing a new work… and could not use crusty wine skins like the Pharisees… so He called fishermen, tax collectors, a zealot… and other men as His Twelve.

Men flexible to the Gospel of Grace… and not hardened by legalism and tradition.

Which remains important for us today… being flexible to God’s leading… and by His Spirit.

“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”

So, Jesus’ 1st year ended with Him being led by God’s will… and the Pharisees back biting, opposing, and fighting Him.

And in Chapter 6… as Jesus’ Second Year of ministry begins… we see more opposition.

As the Pharisees question Jesus for working on the Sabbath…

He profoundly declares He is the “Lord of the Sabbath”… our message title today.

Let’s take a look!

And, in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Luke 6:1–11 but just to V5 now to set the scene… “Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

So… on the heels of Jesus teaching about how “no one puts new wine into old wineskins...”… and how those who have drunk old wine say, “The old is better...”

… the Pharisees prove the point.

The old ways of Judaic traditions which went beyond the law was not compatible with Jesus’ new way.

And all three Synoptic writers… Matthew, Mark and Luke make a point to record THIS account of Jesus declaring Himself the ‘Lord of the Sabbath’…

… immediately after Jesus gave parables about the old and the new… and how they are not compatible.

Perhaps Jesus should have thanked the Pharisees for demonstrating exactly what He was driving at.

Luke records this is the “second Sabbath after the first”… which is not confusing at all.

Lit. this is the “second-first Sabbath”.… which clears it right up.

The first Sabbath was the first one after Passover… which occurred in between the end of Luke 5 and beginning of Luke 6.

That account is only recorded in John 5 which tells us Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews (Passover)…

Jesus healed a lame man on that Sabbath in John 5… at the pool of Bethesda… Jesus told him “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

And the Jews were angry at the man for working on Sabbath (for carrying his bed… his mat).

And the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him for healing on the Sabbath and for saying ‘God was His Father making Himself equal with God.”

You can read all of that and more in John 5, but know… opposition against Jesus was really starting to brew.

And when you are doing the work of the Lord… like we have faithfully been doing the past six years… in teaching through the whole counsel of God… both on Sundays in Luke and Wednesdays in Genesis and Revelation…

This was Paul’s model… he said to the Ephesian Elders Acts 20:26–27 “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

Paul knew he was doing what was right and expected of him. He made the main thing the main thing.… which is the teaching of the word of God.

Paul didn’t say, “My conscience is clear because we have a great coffee bar… or because we have awesome worship…” or even because “we have great community”…

And don’t get me wrong… I love a good cup of Joe, BUT… the main thing that kept Paul’s conscience clear was declaring the whole counsel of God.

And that’s what we faithfully do week by week… that’s our primary vision for the church…

And I have a clear conscience. We hold nothing back because we teach the whole counsel of God…

And on top of that… we press into accurate interpretations of Salvation… the Gospel…

We just flew in an expert… to teach how to study the Bible inductively.

Faithfully we host Men’s Bible Study Saturday nights (presently we are going through Joshua).

We have women’s events… testimony nights, fellowship nights, our upcoming women’s conference…

And… we are always evaluating what’s next…

But we have to ask… do we have the right leaders to come alongside us to launch into more? …

Leaders who match the quality of 1 Tim 3…

Leaders who align with the Calvary Chapel Distinctives… to not cause confusion by teaching something that’s not us.

We pray… Lord show us by your ways what’s next… open doors in your timing… lead us by Your Spirit…

We want God’s ideas… not just good ideas.

And when you shepherd the flock of God… when you say ‘yes’ to ministry that God has led you too…

There is opposition… and naysayers… gossips and talebearers… and people with selfish motives… whom you are wise to avoid.

Paul warned the Ephesians elders in Acts 20:29–30 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

Paul also wrote in Romans 16:17–18 “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”

Don’t be simple or “unsuspecting”… Paul says to take note of those who cause divisions and offenses… and avoid them… stay away from them.

The Lord hates division. Pro 6 testifies “… these six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him...’

And in that list of what God hates is “one who sows discord [or strife] among the brethren.”

This is so serious that in the Pastoral epistles… Paul instructed Titus… Titus 3:10–11 “If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them. 11 For people like that have turned away from the truth [New King James says they are “warped and sinning”], and their own sins condemn them.”

To protect yourself and this body… heed these warnings.

The sad thing for Jesus is that He was constantly followed by… and critiqued by… and had people in His midst… just like this.

We just saw in Luke 5 that the Pharisees had a problem with Him, but went to His disciples instead… they didn’t go directly to Him… they complained about Him to His disciples… which was wrong.

That was cowardice… that was divisive… that was manipulative.

When you have a problem with a person, you go to that person… you don’t talk about that person to other people…

… and then dress it up as, “I really need your counsel.”

Have you ever heard the term “Prayer gossip?” It’s real.

And throughout Jesus’ ministry… all three years… He faced these situations…

Paul too… he wouldn’t need to warn about wolves… and people seeking power… and those causing divisions and offenses if he hadn’t experienced it… but he did.

Paul was top notch… it was his aim to not “build on another man’s foundation.” (Rom 15)

Paul would preach the Gospel somewhere besides where it was already being preached. I love that.

Ministry is war. It’s war from the forces without… it’s war against the flesh and sin… and unfortunately sometimes it’s war from within.

Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Paul was forsaken by Demas.

And there will be those who are thieves like Judas…

But they steal your time and head space.

And there are those who love the present world like Demas.… and they fall away apostate.

. So… how important was it for Jesus and Paul to have faithful people around them…

As they faithfully ministered to have men like Aaron and Hur who supported Moses’ hands as they got heavy… in the midst of battle. (Exo 17)

Jesus had inner circle of three… and then the other eight apostles (I’m not including Judas)… plus other faithful disciples.

Paul had Barnabas, Mark, Timothy, Priscilla and Aquilla, Lydia… plus others… he also looked to the Jerusalem Council…

And you and I… we need faithful battle buddies to war alongside us.

And in the body… we should not war… Paul exhorts endeavoring for unity.

A passage that keeps coming up… one my State Pastor led me to about a month ago was Ephesians 4:1–6 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring [or striving] to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

We are to endeavor or strive for unity in the body… for there is one body and one Spirit.… and we are to do this peacefully… patiently… and in love.

Unity is the opposite of division… God loves for us to be unified… He hates division.

Well… back in Luke… Jesus was back from Passover in Jerusalem (John 5)… and now in Luke 6… it’s the second Sabbath after the Passover.

And He and His guys were walking through the grainfields… which I have a slide of for you to picture the scene.

Seems like such a peaceful scene. Jesus and the guys walking through the grainfields.

And so often it’s the peaceful and unsuspecting days when those who are not doing the work of the Lord… like these Pharisees… with runaway tongues… stir up trouble and pestering the actual workers of the Lord.

The disciples were minding their own… and “plucked the heads of grain and ate them”…

I have a slide of grain to help you visualize the “heads of grain...” This can also be called barley or wheat stalk.

To get to the edible portion (the grain)... you have to rub and separate the wheat from the chaff… which the disciple did with their hands.

And some Pharisees are going to ambush them for this. Look at V2.

V2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

First things first… I’d like to know where the Pharisees were as Jesus and His disciples walked through the grainfields.

Can’t you imagine them popping out of the grainfields and shouting, “Aha! We caught you!”

More likely they were following them. Lot’s of odd behaviors by the Pharisees…

They were like creepers outside of Matthew house spying in on the party in the previous scene.

And what was their problem? What Sabbath Law was broken here?

The word Sabbath is mentioned at least 135x in the Bible.

This is our Saturday, and it was the one day the Law clearly prohibited work… for it was a day of rest…

It’s modeled after God’s day of “Rest” in Gen 2:2… the Seventh day when God rested or ceased His work.

Right In the beginning, God established a Sabbath day of rest for mankind’s benefit… for refreshment… for time with God…

And the intent was to have a day set apart to the LORD. To rest in and enjoy… and worship Him.

There was a constant reminder of this every seventh day… that ‘our rest is in God.’

But the Jews bungled it all up… the Pharisees hijacked this day… and added all these crazy restrictions around what they considered work.

They put a mile wide hedge of protection around Sabbath to avoid work… and it became a day of burdensome regulation.

This was unnecessary. God provided 613 OT Commandments… 365 in the negative laws (as in… “Don’t do”)… and 248 in the positive (or “Do”).

And these were great guide they could build a society off of.

But the Rabbis added thousands of the craziest rules to these 613 commandments.

Which likely started after the Babylonian captivity… which was the result of not keeping Sabbath years (just cf. 2 Chr 36:21; Lev 26:33-35; Lev 25:20-21 and Exo 23:10-11)…

So to avoid the mistake of not keeping the Sabbath year… and then being taking captive… and having their city and temple destroyed…

When they had a second chance to go back to Jerusalem (read Ezra & Nehemiah on that)…

They didn’t want to blow it. So… prior to captivity in Babylon they were rule breakers… now they became rule followers… but to the extreme.

They swung the pendulum from liberalism to legalism… but way too far in a restrictive direction.

And many of the added traditions still impacts Jewish living today… some examples…

You can’t kindle a fire on on Sabbath… so Jews don’t press elevator buttons on Sabbath… which I guess causes a tiny spark.

So, they have Sabbath Elevators…

Think of the movie Elf… the elevator stops at every floor.

There’s no separating good fruit from rotten fruit on Sabbath day… that’s winnowing or sifting.

No brushing off dry mud from your boots… that’s grinding.

No cutting your hair or nails on Sabbath… that’s shearing… it’s work!

No applying makeup… that’s dyeing.

No braiding your hair… that’s weaving.

Ladies look rough on Sabbath.

I could go on about not writing… or sharpening pencils… but you get the point…

And what’s wild… is Jews have found ways to find loopholes around so many of their laws…

Which is crazy… it’s so much work that’s being done…

And truly… they miss the intent of Sabbath.

In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

But the Jews flipped the intent upside down where Sabbath was no longer a day of refreshment in the LORD… for mankind…

… instead they made man a slave to Sabbath traditions.

G. Campbell Morgan stated, “Any application of the Sabbath Law which operates to the detriment of man is out of harmony with God’s purpose.”

And, there are still people with this same Pharisaic spirit today… adding unnecessary rules… better works… especially to the simplicity of the Gospel…

Where as we believe in Jesus Christ… we enter His rest.

Matthew records Jesus’ disciples were hungry by def. “pining or famished”, so they rubbed the wheat kernels… removed the husk and ate the wheat berries.

Was this is issue? Were they stealing?

I don’t think this is what the Pharisees had in mind.

It was permissible according to do this according to Deuteronomy 23:25 “When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.”

You couldn’t bring your combine through a neighbor’s field… but a hungry person could eat their fill of grain. They could not fill a container or harvest the grain, but they could eat it.

They didn’t have fast food chains and grocery stores all over like we do, and God had mercy on the poor and hungry, so this was legal.

Now… don’t take this to mean that you can eat you fill of nuts and berries from the bulk food aisle at the grocery store. That IS stealing.

So, if eating wasn’t the issue… perhaps it was working!

The disciples picked grain (that’s harvesting)… then rubbed the grain in their hands (that’s threshing)… and then they separated the wheat from the chaff (that’s winnowing)!

Those rebels! The Pharisees have them now.

What’s interesting is the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

What about restrictions on travel during Sabbath? Did the Pharisees not walk over the permissible 2000 cubits (about 1/2 a mile) on Sabbath?

Pharisees love the law when it works for them… and ignored the law when it worked against them…

Jesus called them hypocrites for similar inconsistent actions like this… and much worse.

Beyond being hypocrites, I would also suggest they were Manipulators… even sowers of division in Jesus’ disciples…

Whispering in the ears of the disciples… stalking and calling out “The Law says...”… Stirring up the crowds to even Crucify Jesus.

Calvary Chapel Pastor Gayle Erwin… who went home with the Lord last year… has a series on “Dealing With Manipulators”…

It’s free on YouTube… you should watch it… It’s quite insightful and helpful in navigating one of the most confusing situations that causes hair to turn grey.

My Pastor suggested I watch this series about three years ago when we had to navigate a manipulator in our midst. Check it out.

Anyhow… these Pharisees were like this because they worked hard and went out their way… to find fault in others…

While they were guilty of violating God’s law. If they wanted to find a law breaker, they should have looked in the mirror.

Don’t be a Pharisee to other Christians.

And if you do… expect that you will be called out one day… just as Jesus did here in vv 3-4…

vv3-4 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

Don’t miss what Jesus did here… first He replies to their question with a question… which we might not like, but this is common in Jewish culture.

Ask a Jew, "Why do Jews answer a question with a question?"

And expect the response to be… "Why not?" or "How should they answer?"

In Jesus’ day though it reflected deeper aspects of Jewish intellectual and cultural tradition.

Jewish learning, especially through the Talmud and rabbinic texts… emphasized questioning, debate, and probing deeper… versus just accepting straightforward answers.

Now I didn’t fact check this… so buyer beware, but I read in an article that Jesus was asked about 183 questions, and He only answered about 3 of them directly.

And about 25x, He countered a question with a question of His own.

Now the next thing we observe is Jesus asks, “Have you not even read this...?”

Now… this is hilarious to me… these were like fighting words.

Talk about insulting the pride of the Pharisees…

This phrase “Have you never read...” appears 10x in the Gospels… 6x in Matthew alone…

Which is not surprising… Matthew was really sensitive to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees… and seemed to love recording moments of Jesus’ divine sarcasm especially when He put the Pharisees in their place.

In fact Matthew would also adds Jesus saying in Matthew 12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

Again exposing their ignorance.. and accusing the accusers of failing to understand scripture.

Had they understood, they would not have condemned the innocent.

Mercy overrides Halakah- which is the comprehensive Jewish written and oral Torah or law.

The life of a person is more valuable than the keeping of the law.

And Jesus presses them for their cold literalism without consideration for life.

Judging righteously considers matters more wholistically… they failed in this.

And this question in V3… “Have you never read...?” likely ruffled the feathers of the Pharisees…

Because, they were scholars… they studied deeply… and took pride in their knowledge.… and they personally were prideful.

Though they weaponized their knowledge against others… and to elevate themselves.

And Jesus is going to challenge their understanding of what is lawful on Sabbath.

And Jesus cites and example from the life of David. Note that: Jesus will win this round… and many future rounds by citing biblical accounts in scripture.

The word is our guide and the authority on matters…

When you engage in conversation with a legalist… or a religionist… or cultist… just keep taking them back to the word of God.

It’s not an opinion… it’s a fact… and then they have to fight God… and not you.

And don’t forget… this is how Jesus defeated Satan’s temptations in Luke 4… Jesus kept quoting scripture.

And so, Jesus quotes the example of David’s life in 1 Sam 21…

David and his men were “in need and hungry”… due to the persecutions of Saul.…

They came to the city of Nob and petitioned the priest, Ahimelech, for some food, but the priest only had holy or consecrated bread/ showbread… which was restricted to the priests according to Lev 24:9.

Regardless… the High Priest granted to them the showbread highlighting a key principle… human need… and mercy is more important than religious ritual.

Which is a principle that carries over to our next account where Jesus heals the man with a withered hand.

And is a difficult principle for people who like the old wine… for people who hold tight to legalism.

And it stands as a defense for the disciples… David was not condemned for eating the Showbread… and the Pharisees should not have condemned the disciples for eating the grain…

A greater principle was at play.

Now Luke provides the most abbreviated version of this account… which is likely because he wrote to Greeks…

Matthew, who wrote to Jews, added a couple very Jewish concepts… like how God desires mercy and not sacrifice…

And concepts about the Temple and how amongst them there was “One greater then the temple”…

Speaking about Jesus… who predates the Temple… and predates David… and predates even the Sabbath…

And to predate Sabbath is to predate Genesis 2:2 where God rested the seventh day… and Jesus John 1:2 “was in the beginning with God”…

Thus, Jesus can rightly declare…

V5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

“The Son of Man” was a favorite title Jesus had for Himself… it’s a Messianic title… and points both to Jesus’ divinity and humanity…

Jesus… the God-man… is the Lord or the Master of the Sabbath…

Sabbath being “rest”… making Jesus the “Master of Rest.”

And if He is the Master… this means He has Sovereign authority over the Sabbath… and it’s purpose…

And only One could be Lord of the Sabbath… which was God… so this is also a divine proclamation.

Thus He fully understands Sabbath’s intentions WAY better than the Pharisees… and understands there is flexibility to be merciful like the priest in David’s day…

He has the authority to permit an act of mercy for His disciples to eat…

But the Pharisees… these sideline critics… they had no authority… not even to question Him…

And they know it… judging by their reply… silence.

There had to be a degree of satisfaction that the disciples experienced in this moment… to watch these trouble makers who were in the wrong… shut their mouths.

So often when someone is in the wrong… and are confronted… they are silenced.

In Nehemiah’s day, he was enraged at the nobles and rules for financially taking advantage of their brothers… and enslaved their sons and daughters…

So, Nehemiah called a great assembly against them… and rebuked them… and the word reads “Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.” (Neh 5:8)

They were wrong for what they were doing.

As were these hardened inflexible Pharisees… they were like old wineskins… and they would burst had they tried to contain Jesus’ fresh teachings.

And look… for us today… it ‘s been said… “We don’t have a Sabbath day… we have a Sabbath God.”

The Bible contains the account of man falling from relationship with God… and God redeeming mankind back into relationship with Him… which culminates in a marriage between His Son and all who believe.

And, the heart of Sabbath… is resting in the Lord… about a day of relationship with God… just like in the beginning.

And for us to find that rest… we look NOT to a day… but to Jesus Christ… who is our Sabbath rest.

In the Law… dietary restriction… festival observances…

These were a “shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Col 2:17)

Sabbath too… was but a shadow of what was to come… but the substance was Christ.

And He was right in front of these Pharisees who studied the shadows, but missed the substance.

And understand… Our Sabbath rest is not about a day… but about resting in the God-man.…

And ceasing from works to earn salvation… instead looking to Jesus in faith for rest.

For He finished His work at Calvary… to provide salvation for us.

And after salvation, the work we do in not to earn salvation, but in loving service to Him… and when we finish our work in this lifetime… it’s promised to us a full inheritance of rest to enter into…

Heb 4:9-11 declares, “There remains therefore a rest [Gk. sabbatismos… meaning “sabbath rest”] for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest...”

Our Christian life should be a diligent life full of abiding in Christ… and then finishing our work and entering fully into rest… as we exit this lifetime… and enter eternal rest.

And so Jesus is our Sabbath rest… truly the Lord of the Sabbath.

And the principles we learned in this first Sabbath account carry over to the next…

V6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.

So… now… at least one week later… and Jesus will demonstrate here and many Sabbaths forward what He declared… He is the “Lord of the Sabbath.”

No longer is Jesus in the grainfields, but in a Synagogue… indicating He is in a town… we don’t know which, but He had been in the Galilee region… around the Sea of Galilee in the North.

Perhaps this is the Synagogue in Capernaum.

And Jesus was doing what He often did… when He didn’t have to deal with opposition. He taught.

What a blessing it is to focus on teaching. Again Paul had a clear conscience before the Ephesian Elders… because he declared to them the whole counsel of God.

His was not a ministry of programs… but of centrality on the word of God.

And as Jesus taught… present was one who had a serious issue… a withered hand.

Withered by def. means “dry”… if we were thinking of land… this would by dry, arid land like a desert.

So, his hand was shrunken… crippled…

Dr. Luke alone note this was his right hand… which for most is their dominant hand… making working ad life even more difficult for him.

We don’t have many details how long he had this condition… or what caused this condition… if this was a form of rheumatoid or osteoarthritis…

We don’t know if he had a family… and how this withered hand put a strain on his life… and even worse if he was the provider of a family.

The historian Jerome wrote that this man was formerly a “stone mason.”

Whatever the case… we can imagine… this was a legitimate issue… a major burden… even to the point he would need to stop his trade.

When we were missionaries in the Philippines… an older man, connected to the people we ministered to, came to my door one day… and asked me to buy his watch so he could buy his medicine.

I said no. I wanted to find out more… and discern the right step…

So I asked people that knew him what his story was. The reality was his sister sent him money every month for medicine, but he spent it on alcohol.

And in finding that out… I was glad I didn’t enable him.

I was happy to help him, even without his watch, but I wasn’t willing to enable his alcoholism.

Tough love is right in many circumstances.

But, this wasn’t the case with the man with the withered hand… his need was real.

Though… he may have been a pawn in a ploy to manipulate… and catch Jesus working on Sabbath… look at V7.

V7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.

The scribes and Pharisees had a motive of finding an accusation against Jesus to discredit Him… to bring up religious legal charges against Him.

Matthew add that they point blank asked Jesus the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? - that they might accuse Him.” (Matt 12:10)

And as we saw in John 5… the Jews in Jerusalem, at Passover, sought to kill Him for working on Sabbath.

Which was written into the law… Exodus 35:2 and elsewhere reads, “Whoever does any work on it [Sabbath] shall be put to death.”

So… the religious leaders…are seeking the death penalty.

That’s where we are. Jesus is teaching… healing… doing good for many people… and they hate Him for it… even to the point that they want to kill Him…

But they were also are losing control… Jesus was changing the system… bringing new wine… a new dispensation of grace…

And the Religious leaders were so on guard about losing control…

One of the most telling versus to prove this point is seen just prior to Jesus’ last week of ministry…

Jews came told the Pharisees the things Jesus did (which was ministry)…

So in John 11:47-48… the Sanhedrin (the High council gathered)… and said “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

They decided to take decisive action to prevent people following Jesus… and out of fear of them losing their place…

Which could refer to the Temple… or Jerusalem… OR (and I like this interpretation)… their positions.

Because that really drives at what motivated them… their selfish gain… not ministry.

Just like we looked at earlier in all those warning Paul wrote for the present church age. Be on guard saints… don’t be simple and get played.

And regardless… of whether the man with the withered hand was a pawn… placed there as a trap…

Jesus will show compassion… and demonstrate His authority and the truth behind His declaration…

Truly He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

vv8-9 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”

Jesus, once again, “knew their thoughts”… demonstrating His divine omniscience.

We’re not told what their thoughts were… but we can imagine…

One is thinking, “Will He work on the Sabbath and break the law?”

Another is thinking, “Is he actually going to heal on the Sabbath?”

And there’s always one… who’s mind is on food… “I wonder what my wife if making for lunch today?”

There’s always one.

We do get some insight… not necessarily to their actual thoughts, but to their heart condition… if we look at this account in Mark 3.

Right after Jesus asks the question in V9… Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”

Mark alone records Jesus’ feelings and the Pharisees heart condition.

Mark 3:5 states, “And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”

They were hard hearted. Did they forget the pain this caused their nation in the past?

In Zech 7… God pleaded with Israel (post-exile_ to “show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother...”

And for justice, and not oppressing… and not planning evil…

But they were hard hearted. Zechariah 7:11–12 reads, “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. 12 Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.”

And this was the same heart attitude of the Pharisees still some 500 years after Zechariah.

And this made Jesus angry and grieved.

Know that refusing to heard God’s word… not showing compassion… and hardening one’s heart makes God angry and grieves Him.

Jesus… knowing their thoughts… knowing their hard hearts… calls the man to “Arise and stand here.”

And now this man becomes an object lesson on the mercy of God.

Jesus said to the Pharisees… “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy [to kill]?”

Mark adds, “But they kept silent.” There it is again… they have nothing to say because they know they are wrong.

It was lawful to do good on Sabbath… but they would not admit this truth.

In Matthew’s account Jesus even cited they would rescue their sheep from a pit on Sabbath… and man has more value than a sheep.

So this hard heartedness grieved and angered Jesus…

For they were incapable of mercy… their prideful hearts were immovable… and they were stuck in tradition…

And Jesus was righteous in His anger… this was not sin.

Ephesians 4:26 states, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,”

That was my Grandmom’s favorite Bible verse. Probably because she was 100% Polish and married a 100% Italian professional boxer.

I wonder why that was her favorite verse?

Continuing on… Jesus in righteous anger and grief…

V10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

I bet that look from Jesus made time stand still… and every one of those Pharisees looked at the ground.

This scene gives me goosebumps… the Lord of the Sabbath says… stretch out your hand…

He has no concern for the ill thoughts and intents of the Pharisees…

And demonstrates mercy. The man in obedience stretches out his hand… and it nap-crackle-pops back into place.

It was restored as whole. His right hand… his strong hand was restored. Once again he could lift his mason’s tools.

His dignity… His dreams… His ability to provide were all restored.… with a merciful word from Jesus.

When I was withered in alcoholism and Jesus said to me, “You need to put to death the old man and get baptized again.”

What would have happened if I doubted and disobeyed?

I probably would’ve missed the miracle… and you’d probably be listening to someone else right now.

There are times when God is going to call you to “stretch out your hand.”

To trust Him to to take that which is withered in your life and entrust it to Him.

And it requires faith.

Faith which the Pharisees did not have. Look at V11 and worship team come…

V11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

Mark added they “plotted with the Herodians (their enemy), how they might destroy Him.”

Showing the depths of the hypocrisy and depravity of the Pharisees.

They should have praised Jesus as Messiah… the Lord of the Sabbath… the merciful healer and God.

They wouldn’t, but we will now…

Let’s Pray and worship the Lord.

As we sing this last song… there will be people to pray with you…

Come pray is there is something withered in your life to extend out to Jesus.

Come pray if you need rest… Jesus is your Sabbath rest.

Don’t take it home… surrender it to Jesus.

And may the God of peace be with you as you enter this week ahead.