Luke 6:1-11
Here we have two cases of Yeshua’s actions on the Sabbath, but let’s look at some key points from this same gospel before examining each case.
In Luke 4:16 we learn that Yeshua’s practice was to go to synagogue[1] on Sabbath. In Luke 2:41-43 we learn that his family observed the annual festivals. His parents were avid law keepers, even the ceremonial aspects (Luke 2:21-24, 39)[2]. They surely taught Him the Torah from early childhood (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Yeshua observed Sabbath likely stricter than most observers today.
In the grain field incident we have an exceptional case. Human need always takes precedent over Sabbath law. If one of my children were to fall into a well on the Sabbath, I would not wait until after the Sabbath to remove them, thinking I am pious for doing so. If I had a flat tire on the way to synagogue, I wouldn’t sit there and not change the tire until Sabbath was past.
This is the point Yeshua is making to the Pharisees. They ask him why his disciples are doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath, but He responds by telling them that if they really understood the Torah (Matthew 12:7; Micah 6:8) they would know that the disciples were guiltless. Yeshua used the example of David eating the sacred bread in the temple, which was not normally allowed to be eaten. For David, an exception was made, because of the surrounding circumstances.
In Matthew’s parallel account (Matthew 12:1-8), Yeshua gives the example of the Priests in the temple who violate the Sabbath but are blameless. His point is that the priests have to continue working on the Sabbath, really even more so, because the offerings are more numerous on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:1-10). Why were they blameless? They were doing the work of Yahweh for the good of the people. This was Yeshua’s point, and it was valid at the time he made it, and also thousands of years before he made it. He didn’t invent it, he just brought something to light that had been ignored.
The next instance is similar to the grain field incident, yet different to a degree. The scribes and Pharisees were watching Yeshua closely in order to see if he would heal a man with a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath.
Where does the law forbid that? It does not, but in the minds of the Pharisees (who upheld not only the written law, but also the traditions of the elders) Yeshua was breaking the Sabbath. Yeshua had no problem violating said traditions, because they had nothing to do with the proper understanding and interpretation of the Torah.
When Yeshua healed the man’s hand, he wasn’t violating the law, He was actually keeping the law, and bringing a glimpse of the Kingdom of Yahweh to this man. Yeshua was teaching us that according to Yahweh's law, it was (and still is) lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
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[1] The word synagogue, found in Luke 4:16 carries the meaning of an assemblage of persons, specifically, an Israelite assembly. This was a place where Jewish people in the first century met for prayer, worship, and the teaching of the Scriptures on Sabbath. The word is translated as assembly (KJV) or meeting (HCSB) in James 2:2, showing that the early believers in Yeshua worshiped in a synagogue.
[2] I have heard it said before that Yeshua never participated in animal sacrifices, but such is hardly the case when looking at these Scriptures in Luke. Luke 2:41-42 shows that his family would go to Jerusalem every year for the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread. During this Festival, there were numerous sacrifices offered to Yahweh (Numbers 28:16-25). One which Yeshua most certainly would have ate of (and possibly slaughtered himself) was the Passover lamb, a peace or fellowship offering.
In Luke 4:16 we learn that Yeshua’s practice was to go to synagogue[1] on Sabbath. In Luke 2:41-43 we learn that his family observed the annual festivals. His parents were avid law keepers, even the ceremonial aspects (Luke 2:21-24, 39)[2]. They surely taught Him the Torah from early childhood (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Yeshua observed Sabbath likely stricter than most observers today.
In the grain field incident we have an exceptional case. Human need always takes precedent over Sabbath law. If one of my children were to fall into a well on the Sabbath, I would not wait until after the Sabbath to remove them, thinking I am pious for doing so. If I had a flat tire on the way to synagogue, I wouldn’t sit there and not change the tire until Sabbath was past.
This is the point Yeshua is making to the Pharisees. They ask him why his disciples are doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath, but He responds by telling them that if they really understood the Torah (Matthew 12:7; Micah 6:8) they would know that the disciples were guiltless. Yeshua used the example of David eating the sacred bread in the temple, which was not normally allowed to be eaten. For David, an exception was made, because of the surrounding circumstances.
In Matthew’s parallel account (Matthew 12:1-8), Yeshua gives the example of the Priests in the temple who violate the Sabbath but are blameless. His point is that the priests have to continue working on the Sabbath, really even more so, because the offerings are more numerous on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:1-10). Why were they blameless? They were doing the work of Yahweh for the good of the people. This was Yeshua’s point, and it was valid at the time he made it, and also thousands of years before he made it. He didn’t invent it, he just brought something to light that had been ignored.
The next instance is similar to the grain field incident, yet different to a degree. The scribes and Pharisees were watching Yeshua closely in order to see if he would heal a man with a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath.
Where does the law forbid that? It does not, but in the minds of the Pharisees (who upheld not only the written law, but also the traditions of the elders) Yeshua was breaking the Sabbath. Yeshua had no problem violating said traditions, because they had nothing to do with the proper understanding and interpretation of the Torah.
When Yeshua healed the man’s hand, he wasn’t violating the law, He was actually keeping the law, and bringing a glimpse of the Kingdom of Yahweh to this man. Yeshua was teaching us that according to Yahweh's law, it was (and still is) lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
————--
[1] The word synagogue, found in Luke 4:16 carries the meaning of an assemblage of persons, specifically, an Israelite assembly. This was a place where Jewish people in the first century met for prayer, worship, and the teaching of the Scriptures on Sabbath. The word is translated as assembly (KJV) or meeting (HCSB) in James 2:2, showing that the early believers in Yeshua worshiped in a synagogue.
[2] I have heard it said before that Yeshua never participated in animal sacrifices, but such is hardly the case when looking at these Scriptures in Luke. Luke 2:41-42 shows that his family would go to Jerusalem every year for the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread. During this Festival, there were numerous sacrifices offered to Yahweh (Numbers 28:16-25). One which Yeshua most certainly would have ate of (and possibly slaughtered himself) was the Passover lamb, a peace or fellowship offering.