GETTING THE SABBATH STRAIGHT

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LUKE 6:1-11
Lesson #16
GETTING THE SABBATH STRAIGHT

• Memory Verse: Heb 8:13
• At the end of the last chapter Jesus told us that He was doing something new:
  • In parable form Jesus said that the Old Testament religion of Judaism (the old wine bottles) cannot contain and move forward with the new wine of the Holy Spirit in this New Testament age.
  • The new Spirit is incompatible with the old religion. Why?
    • To understand the transition that Jesus was introducing at the time of His first coming to earth, we must first know how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament, and how the Holy Spirit functions today in this New Testament age.
    • In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not come to indwell a believer.
      • Yes, the Holy Spirit was present and worked continually from the day of creation when He moved on the face of the earth (Gen 1:1).
      • However, the Holy Spirit came upon a person to anoint him to do a specific task for God. When that task was complete, the Holy Spirit left.
        • We see God anoint Samson with the Holy Spirit periodically in the book of Judges when Samson was doing what God wanted him to do.
        • We see God anoint David to be the king. But when David sinned he begged God not to take the Holy Spirit from him. (Psa 51:11)
    • Today the Holy Spirit comes to live inside the believer that receives Jesus Christ into his heart when the believer is born again.
      • The Holy Spirit does not leave the New Testament believer, even when that person sins.
      • Instead the Holy Spirit is quenched like putting out the flame of a candle. (1The 5:19)
      • For that reason the Apostle Paul tells us to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph 5:18)
• In Luke 6, the author gives us an example of how things are changing from the old to the new.
• Read Luk 6:1-5 Breaking the Sabbath or not—the disciples?
  • Background: The Sabbath
    • The word Sabbath means “Saturday”. There is NO such thing as the Christian Sabbath. Sunday is NOT the Christian Sabbath.
    • The Sabbath was not a special day of worship for the Jews. The Jews were to worship God every day. It was a day of no work.
    • By the time of the New Testament the religious leaders added many more prohibitions regarding the keeping of the Sabbath Day than God originally intended for the Jews.
    • The beginning of the Biblical Sabbath was the week of creation where God rested on the seventh day.
    • However, the seventh day of the week was not called the Sabbath until God gave the Israelites the Law of Moses.
    • In the Law of Moses God gave them a complete and complex system based on cycles of 7 that was called the Sabbatic System and revolved around the agricultural calendar of planting and harvest. (A study of this system appears in our study of the book of Leviticus, Lessons #23 and #24 and #26.)
      • There was a Sabbath day…every 7^th day.
      • There was a Sabbath week…every 7^th week.
      • There was a Sabbath month…every 7^th month.
      • There was a Sabbath year…every 7^th year.
      • And more…
    • What was God’s purpose for the Sabbatic System?
      • It was to give the Jews a religious calendar that would show them God’s complete plan for all time.
      • It contained the events of the first and the second coming of Jesus.
    • What was God’s purpose for the Sabbath Day?
      • To mark a people, the Jews, as His special people. The Sabbatic System and the Sabbath Day were given ONLY to the Jews.
      • To provide a type or prefigure for the age of grace.
        • In creation, God worked 6 days. Then He rested on the seventh day.
        • Through a majority of history, man will try to work his way to God, but only when man rests in faith in Jesus Christ, does true peace come.
        • The seventh age of dispensation is the millennium when Christ will rule for 1,000 years. Then we will see true “rest” (the fullness of the blessings of God).
    • It is important to remember: Everything about the Sabbath and the Sabbatic System was part of the Law of Moses and given ONLY to the Jews.
      • Jesus repeated all the other of the Ten Commandments in the New Testament in one form or another except the one that says “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.” (Exo 20:8)
      • Jesus never insisted on a literal keeping of the Sabbath Day.
    • In the book of Hebrews (Lesson #05), we are told that the Sabbath was to be symbolic for entering into the full blessings of God. (Heb 4:1-13)
  • The action:
    • “his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.” (1)
    • This was technically considered by the Pharisees the work of a threshing process.
  • The question by the Pharisees:
    • “Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?” (2)
    • Exo 20:10 was the commandment that said, “thou shalt not do any work.”
    • However, in reality the disciples were NOT breaking the Law of Moses.
      • Read Deu 23:24-25
      • It was lawful to pull the grain but it was not lawful to cut it.
    • The Pharisees had a much more strict interpretation of the Law. In fact they added 623 rules regarding the Sabbath that God did not give them.
  • Jesus test case: David
    • Read 1Sam 21:1-6
      • David and his band of men were fleeing from King Saul. King Saul hated David and tried to kill him many times. Anyone helping David was putting himself in danger of Saul’s wrath.
      • David had already been anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the next king even before Saul’s death.
      • They were hungry and approached the priest, Abimelech, for food.
      • Abimelech was afraid of King Saul and therefore hesitant to help David.
      • The only thing that Abimelech had was the holy bread that came from the table of showbread inside the tabernacle.
        • This bread represented the 12 tribes of Israel.
        • This bread was replaced once a week with newly baked bread.
        • God had said that the priests could eat the week-old bread. This week-old bread is the bread he gave to David and his men. (1Sam 21:6)
    • Jesus did not argue with the Pharisees as to whether the Disciples broke the Sabbath or not. Instead He mentions this Old Testament incident with David that was definitely a big stretch of the Mosaic Law.
    • What does this incident with David and Abimelech prove to us?
      • Holiness is a matter of the heart and not in the observance of outward rules.
        • Notice that Abimelech considered David and his men holy. Why?

Because David was already anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the next king.

Because David and his men were trying to live moral lives.

• • • • • The whole matter of keeping the Old Testament Law was based on a legalistic maintenance of external rules and regulations.
        • The whole matter of the new system in the New Testament is under the direction of the Holy Spirit and based on an internal conviction in the heart.

Read Joh 16:8

The Holy Spirit would now convict the person of sin in his conscience instead of the guidance of external behavior by a set of rules like the Ten Commandments.

• • • • It prefigures the New Testament concept that the believer is to be the priest in this age of grace.
        • Read 1Pet 2:9
        • The Old Testament priesthood was often corrupt with immoral men legally in that position.
        • The situation with David and Abimelech shows us that in order to minister as a priest of God, moral holiness is a requirement.
        • Every believer in Jesus Christ is supposed to be morally pure partaking of Jesus Christ as the bread of life and serving God as a priest: bringing people to God and bringing God to the people.
  • “ And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” (5)
    • Jesus demonstrates that He has the authority over Judaistic rules and regulations of the Old Testament Law.
    • Notice that Jesus uses the name “Son of man” for himself so as to identify himself with man.
    • Remember Luke is proving that Jesus is the perfect man.
• Read Luk 6:6-11 Breaking the Sabbath or not—Jesus?
  • Dr. Luke gives us another Sabbath event to show us things are changing.
  • The man with the withered hand
    • This man was being used by the Pharisees to trap Jesus into breaking the Sabbath.(7)
    • Notice that the Pharisees knew Jesus had the power to heal this man. They were counting on it.
    • Notice that the Pharisees knew Jesus had the compassion to heal this man. They were counting on that as well.
  •  ^“But he knew their thoughts…” (8)
    • How did Jesus know their thoughts?
      • Remember that Jesus functioned as the perfect human according to Luke and not because He was God.
      • Luke already told us that Jesus was functioning in the power of the Holy Spirit after His baptism and wilderness temptation.
      • Then, is it possible for the average believer in Jesus Christ to know the thoughts of other people?
        • Yes, if it is revealed to him by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministry, and for the glory of God.
        • Read 1Cor 12:7-8
    • The word of knowledge is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that functions in this New Testament age of grace.
  • “Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?” (9)
    • The Law of Moses made an exception that if your animal fell into a pit on the Sabbath, you could rescue it to save its life without breaking the Law of Moses.
    • Jesus asked them for a priority determination. What is more important…
      • …Life or death?
      • …Keeping rules and regulations, or showing love and compassion?
  • Because Jesus upset the trap that was to condemn Him, the religious leaders are opposed to Him and seek to kill Him from that incident until they finally manage to succeed with the crucifixion.
  • Notice that Jesus ends that day with an all night prayer session. Why did Jesus need to pray when He was God in the flesh?
    • Jesus was functioning on a human level.
    • In our humanity we need the continual communication with God to know the Father’s will in the same way that Jesus knew the Father’s will though prayerful communication.
• Summary and Application:
  • It is important what you believe about keeping the Law of Moses of which the Sabbath is one small part.
    • What you believe will determine if you walk by faith or by rules and regulations.
    • What you believe will determine if you are listening to the Holy Spirit who wants to guide you in your life personally or if your religion is only dead tradition.
  • As Jesus is the model for us, He ministered in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. It is a much more exciting way to live the Christian life in communion with God.

Homework
Luke 6:13-16

• Application of Luk 6:1-12
  • What new things have you learned about the Sabbath?
  • How do these new things make a difference in your Christian walk?
• Preparation for Luk 6:13-16
  • Read Luk 6:13-16
    • What do you think is the meaning of the word disciple?
    • What do you think is the meaning of the word apostle?
• Memory verse: Joh 15:16