Lord of the Sabbath - Luke 6:5

The beloved physician Luke shared, “And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do you that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was hungry, and they which were with him? How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?”, and in chapter six and verse five of his book Luke shares how Jesus tells the Pharisees, “the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” where we read:

And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

The verse reads, “And he said unto them, ...” Luke began with the words, “and he said” or “and Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “unto them” which means “to the religious leaders known as the Pharisees” the following words. Luke shared how Jesus continued to share with the questioning “Pharisees”.

The verse goes on to say, “... That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” Luke continued with the words, “that the Son of man” which means “the Messiah who designated himself as the head of the human family who both furnished the pattern of the perfect man and acted on behalf of all mankind” “is Lord also” or “exist as the One to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, and the title given to God the Messiah” “of the sabbath” which means “pertaining to the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work”. Luke shared how Jesus told the “Pharisees” that He, the Messiah, ruled and had power over the “rest day” known as the “Sabbath”.

When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we see Jesus' conclusion to His example of King David eating the “showbread” within the tabernacle. The idea was that David was “hungry” and in need, and so were his men even as Jesus and His disciples were in need of nourishment. Although the “showbread” was considered “consecrated and sacred”, it was still “bread”, and could be eaten. David and his men's “hunger” superseded the “law” that only the “priests” were to partake of it, and although people were not to “labor” on the “Sabbath day”, the hunger of Jesus' disciples was more important that the rule. God loves people, and His desire is to provide for them both physically and spiritually. Those who yield their lives to His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” shall find His desire to fulfill their needs is greater than the “law” that governs the rule of the sanctuary or the sacred day.

Next time Luke shares how, “there was a man whose right hand is withered”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".