Amy C Walters

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath | Luke 6:1-11

When Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees respond with fury and plotting. What has happened to cause them to react that way? We look back several chapters at Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees and notice that with each of their complaints, Jesus responds with who he is.

Something very surprising and rather sad happens at the end of this story. In this whole debate between Jesus and the Pharisees over the Sabbath, Jesus has appealed to Scripture as he references a story about David. He has appealed to his own authority as Lord of the Sabbath. He has appealed to the heart and the priorities of the law of doing good and saving life. And then Jesus puts an exclamation point on all of that teaching by healing the man with the withered hand. His power puts that period at the end of the sentence.

But how do the Pharisees and the teachers of the law react to this healing? “They were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do with Jesus.” Wow, how sad! There’s no amazement at the miracle, no awe of Jesus who performed the miracle. Instead, they begin to plot. 

What has happened to take these Pharisees from curious to furious? To figure that out, let’s look back at the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees in the Book of Luke. 

The first time Luke mentions Pharisees is in the story of the paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by his friends (Luke 6:17-26). We’re told that Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to listen to Jesus, and they had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. They filled the house where Jesus was teaching, so much so that when the friends brought this paralyzed man on a mat to see Jesus, they couldn’t get into the house.

Somehow the Pharisees don’t even notice them or make a way for them. So the friends lower the paralyzed man through the roof right in front of Jesus. And Jesus first says to the man, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This creates a stir among the Pharisees and the teachers. They think to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

They are correct in saying, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” and their conclusion should have been, perhaps this is God. Instead, they decide that he is speaking blasphemy. 

How does Jesus respond to this? He knows their thoughts, and he says, “Why are you thinking this? So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” and then he heals the paralyzed man, and tells him to get up and walk. Jesus punctuates his teaching with a miracle. 

What about the next interaction we see between Jesus and the Pharisees? It’s after Jesus has called Levi, a tax collector, to be one of his followers.

Jesus and his other disciples are at a party that Levi throws for them. The house is filled with tax collectors and people that the Pharisees classify as “sinners.” And the Pharisees complain to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you hang out with tax collectors and sinners?” They disapprove of the company that Jesus keeps. 

Jesus responds to them by calling himself the doctor for the spiritually sick. He has come to call sinners to repentance.

The Pharisees have another complaint. They say, “John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees often fast and pray, but yours go on eating and drinking.”  

Jesus responds by saying that he’s the bridegroom. And you can’t make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them. That would be inappropriate. You must maximize your time with the bridegroom. 

Then we come to this week’s story, where Jesus and his disciples are walking through the grain fields, and the Pharisees are once again complaining about the disciples, saying that they shouldn’t be picking heads of grain and rubbing them in their hands to eat them. That’s work, and that’s unlawful on the Sabbath. 

And what is Jesus’ response? “I am the Lord of the Sabbath.” 

In the second part of the story, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus into breaking the Sabbath. And what does Jesus do? He puts a man in front of them with a withered hand, and he says, it is always lawful to do good. And Jesus heals him. 

Now notice, all these interactions with the Pharisees up to this point, with every criticism and complaint, Jesus responds with who he is. 

• I am the Son of Man who has authority to forgive sins.
• I am the doctor for spiritual sickness. 
• I am the bridegroom. 
• I am the Lord of the Sabbath.

Look at me. This is what the Pharisees have been missing. They know about the Messiah, and they’re supposed to be looking for him. And yet, Jesus does not look how they expected him to look. They expect him to do and say the things that reflect who they are, to hang out with the people that they approve of, to choose the disciples that they approve of, to fast like they do, to not work like they do, to restrict everyone else like they do. 

But Jesus does not bow to their agenda. Jesus is basically saying, “I know this is different than what you expect, but look at me, because all of the clues that you need for who the Messiah is, they are right there. Look at me and recognize who I am.” 

This is our key truth for today: look to Jesus. 

Some of you have hurt in your lives from religious people, from pastors, from churches, from situations in those places where you should have felt safe. And yet, there were sinful people there, and things happened. And maybe now you’re starting to deconstruct things. But in the process, make sure that you look to Jesus.

Because pastors will fail you, churches will fail you, other Christians, they will fail you. But Jesus will not. Look at him.

Some of you have not trusted Jesus as your Savior, because you don’t like the hypocrisy you see among the Christians. And yeah, we Christians are sinners. We fail. We are hypocrites who make mistakes. But don’t let us be the hang up. Look to Jesus. He’s the one that we’re trying to follow and doing a miserable job of. And yet, if you look to Jesus, you will fall in love with him.

Some of you have your own ideas and plans about things that you want to accomplish, the way that things should be. And you are holding on so tight to those things, maybe because you don’t like change, maybe because you think this is the way it should be, it’s been working this way so far, why change it? And someone has come along and threatened to change those things. 

When you are tempted to hold on so tightly to your agenda, to your plans, to your comforts, that it’s creating trouble with everyone around you, you need to stop and look to Jesus. Is this something that Jesus says you need to stake your life on? If so, do it. But if this is your own agenda, let go of it. Look to Jesus.

I have seen really ugly things come from people who would not let go of their own agendas. People who are furious when you propose any other plan besides their own, even if it points to what Scripture has said is right. I have seen it tear a church apart.

Our own agendas can be so dangerous. Make sure that when you are holding on tight to something, it’s because it reflects Jesus and who he is, and not your own plans. Because like the Pharisees, if I go on insisting on things that are not according to God’s Word, I’m going to miss out on what Jesus is doing.

Notice that in this passage about what is appropriate on the Sabbath, Jesus points to doing good, to saving life, and then he does that by healing a man at the risk of his own life. And the Pharisees, who are so adamant about not doing anything wrong on the Sabbath, then begin to plot his murder on the Sabbath. They are so blinded by their own preferences and plans and desires, that they completely miss the point.

And the point is, look to Jesus.