Luke Reading (#15)

Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 6:1-11

[6:1] On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” [3] And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] 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?” [5] And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

[6] On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. [7] 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. [8] 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. [9] 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?” [10] And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. [11] But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Observation

• Look at the first incident (v. 1-5).
  • What were the disciples doing (v. 1)?
  • How did the Pharisees object (v. 2)?
  • To which OT story did Jesus refer in his response (v. 3-4)? 
  • What was Jesus’ concluding statement (v. 5)?
• Now, look at the second incident (v. 6-11).
  • Where was Jesus (v. 6)? Who else was there with him (v. 6-7)?
  • What did the scribes and Pharisees want (v. 7)? Why were they listening to Jesus? What were they hoping he’d do?
  • What did Jesus know about them (v. 8)?
    • What question did he pose to the Pharisees (v. 9)?
    • What did he say to the man with the withered hand (v. 10)?
    • What happened (v. 10)?
    • How did the scribes and Pharisees respond (v. 11)?

Interpretation

• In these two incidents, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath.
  • What was the purpose of the Sabbath in the OT law?
  • Why would the Pharisees think that plucking grain or healing someone would violate the Sabbath?   
  • How does the story of David (v. 3-4) apply to this situation?
    • Was what David did technically in keeping with the OT law?
    • Why was it OK for David to do what he did?
  • What does Jesus teach them about the Sabbath in v. 5?
    • Who is the Son of Man?
    • What does it mean to be “the Lord” of the Sabbath? What is Jesus claiming about himself?
  • How does Jesus’ question in v. 9 put the Pharisees in an awkward position?
• Why are the Pharisees angry? 
  • Shouldn’t they be happy that this man’s life is changed for the better? 
  • What does that tell us about their hearts?
• Pull it all together. Is Jesus opposed to the OT law about keeping the Sabbath? What is he teaching the Pharisees about his identity and the purpose of the law?

Application

• Can you think of any extra rules that Christians make (think: things that we expect people to do that aren’t actually in the Bible)?
  • Are you ever tempted to love the “rules” of Christianity more than you love people? 
  • How can you keep God’s law and make sure that you don’t lose your love for others? 
    • Is the law of God more important than compassion for others? 
    • Is compassion more important than the law of God?
• The Pharisees were enraged by Jesus’ kindness because it threatened their control and violated their version of what was right. Do you ever love being “right” more than being kind?

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