Lord of the Sabbath

^{Luke 6:1}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. ²And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? ³And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; ⁴How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? ⁵And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

What did Jesus mean when he said that he was Lord also of the Sabbath? Google it, and you will get 17 million hits, but none that I saw hit, or even came close to hitting, the meaning of this verse. All the references I saw focused on the concept that Jesus, being God, could rewrite the rules, that he was not subject to the laws of the Sabbath. 

Putting this in context, notice in this passage that the Pharisees were taking issue with Jesus’ disciples, plucking the ears of corn on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were not at this time complaining about actions taken by Jesus himself. In response to their spoken accusation, Jesus likened what his disciples were doing to what David had done when he ate of the shewbread in the house of God. Jesus was making the point that, in condemning the disciples, they were also condemning David, not a position they would want to be accused of.

But Jesus knew that their real issue was not what his disciples had done in the field, but that he had regularly healed on the Sabbath. As Jesus frequently did, in verse 5 he answered the accusation that was on their hearts, but not spoken.

Their real issue was raised as the story picks up in verse 6, where Jesus healed on the Sabbath. 

^{Luke 6:6}And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. ⁷And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. ⁸But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. ⁹Then 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? ¹⁰And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. ¹¹And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

The scribes and Pharisees considered Jesus healing power to be work, which was forbidden on the Sabbath.

^{Luke 13:11}And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. ¹²And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. ¹³And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. ¹⁴And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

The scribes and Pharisees considered healing to be the work of Jesus’ own hands. Therefore it was acceptable to heal on the other six days, just not on the Sabbath. In this they were mistaken. The work of healing was not done by him even on the other six days, healing was the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, what did Jesus mean when he said that he was Lord also of the Sabbath?

In Luke 6:5, Jesus did not say that he is Lord of the Sabbath, but that he is Lord also of the Sabbath. What else is Jesus Lord of in addition to the Sabbath? Could it be the other six days of the week? Jesus was not just Lord on the Sabbath, but he was also Lord of the other six days of the week. The focus was not on the Sabbath, but on the other six days of the week. He rested every day of the week, not just the Sabbath.

The Pharisees did not have a problem with Jesus doing miracles on the other six days of the week. They did not have an issue with him being Lord on the other six days. He was also Lord of the Sabbath.

Another question: what does it mean to be Lord?

^{Matthew 23:11}But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

To be Lord of all, Jesus was to be the servant of all. Jesus continually yielded his resources to the Holy Spirit as instruments of righteousness. He did nothing of himself. 

^{John 5:19}Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

This verse applied to every day of the week, not just the Sabbath. Jesus never – never – did anything of himself. Everything that was done, everything that it looked like he did, everything that was done in him, was done by the Spirit.

Jesus was continually at rest, allowing the Holy Spirit access to the members of his body to do according to his purpose.

When Jesus said he was Lord also of the Sabbath, he was saying that not only was he at rest on the Sabbath, but he also rested on the other six days of the week. 

^{Hebrews 4:10}For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.

^{Matthew 11:28}Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus invites you into his rest. Cease from your own works and let the Spirit do the work in you.

This changes the purpose of the Sabbath. It is not a day when nothing is to be done, but a day to yield your resources to God as instruments of righteousness. Every other day of the week you can do what needs to be done. The Sabbath is the day of the week for the Lord to do what he needs to do through you. You can wear yourself out for the other six days. When there is nothing left, take a break, and watch what the Lord can do through you as you wait on him. He can do more in one day than you can do in six. The Sabbath is the day for you to be a spectator, to watch what he does in you.

Jesus was Lord also of the Sabbath. If we are to pattern our life after Jesus, we would enter into his rest not only on the Sabbath, but on every day of the week. Allow the Spirit of holiness to control your every activity.

Listen to what Hebrews 4 has to say about the Sabbath:

^{Hebrews 4:1}Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. ²For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ³For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. ⁵And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. ⁶Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: ⁷Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ⁸For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. ¹¹Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. ¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. ¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ¹⁵For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The Sabbath rest is when we cease from our own works, exercising faith to allow the Spirit of holiness to use our resources for the works that were finished from the foundation of the world. In verse 13, the eyes are the Spirit of God, and it is him with whom we have to do. The Sabbath rest is not a rest from all works, but a ceasing from works of our own.

In verse 16, we come boldly before the thrown of grace where Jesus sits ready to help in our time of need. When something bad happens we wonder where God is, that he would allow such a thing. He is on the throne of grace, ready to dispense mercy if we would only approach boldly and ask.

^{Mark 11:23}For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

The Greek word for mountain is horos, from which we get our word horizon. Our horizon is as far as we can see. Faith involves the unseen, that which is beyond our vision.

The Greek word for repentance is metanoia: meta meaning beyond, noir meaning knowledge. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Faith involves going beyond what we know to be good and evil.

Faith is going beyond what we know, going beyond what we can see. We put our hand in the hand of the one who stilled the water.

Practical Application

If we are going to rejoice in all things, we need to work with the Spirit in everything that we do. In our time of need, we approach boldly the throne of grace, asking for strength to do what needs to be done. That is not limited to theological concepts. When you have something that needs to be done, approach the throne, ask for wisdom, wait on God.

His purpose, one of many, is to show himself strong on your behalf. You have to build something? Ask him to show you how to go about it. Wait until he shows you.

I have to build a hatchway for my sister-in-law. We are installing it this Friday and I do not have the design yet. I am confident that he will show me how it should be done. If he has not shown me by Friday, we will postpone it. I will be spending some time at the throne of grace concerning this need. It is much more rewarding to know that God did it through me than to know that I was clever enough to come up with the design myself.

Let’s make this our standard operating procedure: identify the need, go to the throne of grace, wait for him to show you, in your mind, how it is to be done, do the deed.