The Sabbath Days

Throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees were looking for reasons to accuse him.  One of their principle accusations was that Jesus didn’t keep the sabbath, Ex 20:8-11.

In Lk 6:1-12, Luke records two instances where the Pharisees observed Jesus doing something on the sabbath that they said was not lawful.  And in both cases, Jesus rightly justified his actions to their shame and anger .

In the first case, his disciples were eating corn in the field on the sabbath, Lk 6:1-5.  In the second case, Jesus healed a man which had a withered hand on the sabbath, Lk 6:6-11.

Eating corn in the field

On the sabbath, Jesus’s disciples plucked ears of corn to eat them.  They rubbed them in their hands to soften the kernels and then they ate them.  Sweet corn can be eaten raw when it is young and tender.

According to the law, they were not to do any work on the sabbath, Ex 35:2, and they were not to kindle a fire, Ex 35:3.  In truth, plucking ears of corn to eat, rather than to harvest, was not “work”, and eating them raw was certainly not against the law.  They didn’t have to kindle a fire to cook them.  As Jesus said in Matt 12:7, they were guiltless.

Yet, the Pharisees said that plucking and eating the corn was not lawful.  Evidently, this was like one of the commandments of men the Pharisees devised in their tradition, Matt 15:1-9, that was not a commandment of God.

Jesus answered the Pharisees by referring to 1 Sam 21:3-6 when David, the king, and his men ate the shewbread.  And in Matt 12:5, Jesus also referred to the priests who profane the sabbath when they offer the morning and evening sacrifice, Num 28:9-10.  In neither case would the Pharisees condemn the king or the priests.  Yet, they condemned Jesus, the Lord of the sabbath.

Jesus explained to the Pharisees in Mk 2:27 that the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.  Ex 23:12 says, “on the seventh day thou shalt rest”, and that they “may be refreshed”.  The sabbath was given to make them rest one day each week.

Healing on the sabbath

On another sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue.  And there was a man there whose right hand was withered.  As we saw in the previous lesson, the scribes and Pharisees were there, not to learn, but to keep and eye on him.  They were looking for some way to accuse him.  And Jesus knew it.

So, Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Rise up, and stand forth in the midst”.  And he did.

Then, with the man standing where the scribes and Pharisees could see him, Jesus asked them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it”?

This question is so clever.  Jesus is about to do good.  And as soon as he does, the Pharisees are going to immediately confer to destroy him, Mk 3:6.  Jesus knew it.  What Jesus did was good and lawful.  What they did in response was evil and illegal.

Right before Jesus healed the man’s withered hand, he looked round about upon them all.  According to Mk 3:5, he looked on them with anger, because of the hardness of their hearts.

As soon as the scribes and Pharisees saw that the man’s hand was restored whole as the other, they were filled with madness.  What a reaction to such a wonderful miracle.  This is the same reaction they had each time Jesus healed on the sabbath.

In Lk 13:11-17, Jesus healed a woman on the sabbath who had been bound eighteen years.  And the ruler of the synagogue was indignant.  Yet, Jesus explained to his adversaries that they loose an ox or an ass on the sabbath to lead him away to watering.  Why not this woman?  They were ashamed.

In Lk 14:1-6, Jesus healed a man who had the dropsy.  When they opposed him, he explained to his adversaries that they pull an ass or an ox out of a pit on the sabbath, if he falls into it.  And they couldn’t answer him.

Conclusion: the Pharisees never did legitimately accuse Jesus of violating the sabbath days.  He was the one who commanded it in the first place.  He certainly wasn’t going to break his own command.

Yet, the Pharisees, who accused him of violating the law on several occasions were the ones he caught “red handed” after his triumphal entry.  The day Jesus cleansed the temple after entering Jerusalem was the sabbath day.  To see this, refer to our lesson on The Day of Jesus Crucifixion.

The Pharisees, not Jesus, were the ones who profaned the sabbath days.  See Neh 13:15-22 for the perfect Old Testament example.

To study the previous lesson, see Typical Days in Jesus’s Ministry. To study the next lesson, see The Apostles and the Kingdom of God.