Do Nothing or Do Good? Luke 6:6-11

On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

By this time it seems Jesus knew what was coming...the Sabbath seemed to be a real point of contention between Him and the Pharisees.

The whole issue is now is doing GOOD “WORK” on the SABBATH-specifically HEALING a person with a shriveled hand...meeting a human need and showing compassion.

Rabbis of that day held that only if a life was in danger was healing permitted…it was silly-you could treat a heart attack, but not a toothache.

The Hebrew word for Sabbath is “sabat” and it means “repose or rest.”

Jesus asks them directly…wanting them to answer…

“Which is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

The Bible speaks in several places about placing bindings & burdens on people:

"Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, is loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 18:18

“For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” - Matthew 23:4

“Why do you try to test God by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? -Peter in Acts 15:10

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “ - Paul in Galatians 5:1

Jesus' defense in picking kernels the grain fields was based on the Old Testament Scriptures, but His defense in the synagogue for doing good and healing a man was based on the nature of God’s Sabbath law. God gave that law to HELP people, not to HURT them, to BLESS them, not to BURDEN them.

These Pharisees, these church leaders have NO CONCERN or CARE for the man…only their precious LAW. Rather than rejoice at an actual miracle, they want to argue over silly points of their man-made additions to the true word and law of God.

Jesus showed that compassion for people was more important that silly man-made rules...

He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Matthew 12:11-12

Jesus argued that if a farmer could care for his animals on the Sabbath, shouldn’t we care for man, made in the image of God? Jesus was frustrated (“at their stubborn hearts”) and angry(Mark 3:5)

Then...Jesus takes the offensive...he does something NEW and completely different.

Jesus calls the man front and center, for ALL the critics to see… and heals him…’ “STRETCH FORTH YOUR HAND”…and the Pharisees begin to plot against Him.

We modern-day followers of Christ need to know...

if we decide to follow the ways of Jesus, we will have religious critics.

Our Lord’s Day ought to be a time of rest…a time we set aside for God…and if we have the opportunity to DO GOOD…then let us DO GOOD!

“Anyone then knowing the good he ought to do, and doesn’t do it, sins.
James 4:17

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest (sabbatismos) for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.”
Hebrews 4:9-10

Are YOU giving God 1 Day out of 7…for time just with HIM?

Questions for Discussion:

1. What harmful “religious” tendencies was Jesus resisting by His actions andwords during these incidents
2. In these incidents, whose actions were really Sabbath-keeping? Why?What could you do to make next Sunday a service to God?

3. List some of the traditions that are taken for granted in your church, but are not directly mentioned in the Bible. Which seem to aid Christian mission? Which seem to impede the work of Christ?
4. Teaching that God's rules can sometimes be set aside for the sake of human need, is dangerous. How can we observe this truth without abusing it?
5. Are there any people who you are "looking for a reason to accuse"? (6:7) Why is this attitude dangerous? How can it blind you?

Lord of the Sabbath-Luke 6:1-5

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 3 Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5 Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Luke 6:1-5

We should hestitate to criticize another’s faith or religion. We want people to respect our faith. We must look close and understand the religion of the Pharisees…to see why Jesus was SO OPPOSED to it.

The Pharisees started out wanting to do good...wanting to keep the law. Psalm 119:33-36 would be a good example of their original intent: Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Phariseees were devoted to Law..but then over time, they began to devote themselves to ALL the rules one step removed from the Law.-thus creating a Law Centered religion.

Jesus and disciples walking thru grainfield eating grain was perfectly legal according to Deuteronomy 23:25- If you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.

But the Pharisees had become OBSESSED with not violating "their" rules of the Sabbath and not "working" on the Sabbath.

From the Talmud:” In case a woman rolls wheat to remove the husks, it is considered as sifting; if she rubs the heads of wheat, it is considered threshing; if she cleans off the sides adhearances it is sifting our fruit, if she bruises the ears, it is grinding; if she throws them up in her hand, it is winnowing.”

It even got worse...even silly...
Couldn’t travel more than 3000 feet from your house
Not carry anything weighing more than a dried fig
Not have a needle..might have to sew something
Couldn’t take a bath…might splash water and wash the floor…

Jesus spoke against the Pharisee's ways in Matthew 23:4
“For they bind heavy burdens and grevious to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”

The Sabbath was originally to remind the Israelites of their slavery…

Two greatest needs..WORSHIP and REST….Israel was not free to do either in Egypt.

Psalm 37-“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”

God's original intent was for the Sabbath to be a BLESSING not a BURDEN.

Notice Jesus did not point out the silliness of their laws. He used their own Scripture to try to convict of the error of their way and expose the truth.
Jesus’ point: Human needs (compassion and mercy) should override bare legalism.

Jesus then asserts His authority-“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”

Lessons for Us as Modern Day Disciples.
We are Jesus’ disciples watching this…even today. What can we learn?

First, to observe the Sabbath-No where does Jesus give ANY justification for breaking the Sabbath. He and disciples observed it as a day of rest and worship. The Sabbath was for the Jewish people, thus the no mention of it in the NT.

The principle of setting aside a day of rest and worship is biblically sound.

Second, the Law is not to make life harder for man, but to help man. The Pharisees didn’t have any problem with laws that prevented mercy to the suffering. But Jesus,…was a man in love with people….always recognizing their needs and eager to help their suffering.

I think Jesus’ frustration is with the complex system religion has become..His is much simpler..It starts with love for the Father and works itself out with love of man. It flows out of a heart yielded to God, not mind schooled in regulations.

If we truly follow Jesus’s way…

we can expect to be criticized by our religious peers.

As the original Sabbath gave the Jewish people opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from slavery in Egypt…our modern Lord’s Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from the slavery of sin that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus.

Questions for Discussion:
1. What does the word “Sabbath” mean to you?

2. List some of the traditions that are taken for granted in your church, but are not directly mentioned in the Bible. Which seem to aid Christian mission? Which seem to impede the work of Christ?

3. Teaching that God's rules can sometimes be set aside for the sake of human need, is dangerous. How can we observe this truth without abusing it?

4. In these incidents, whose actions were really Sabbath-keeping? Why?

Living a Patchless Life-Luke 5:33-39

They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' "

Luke 5:33-39

From that point on...Jesus answered and then tells parables on PERSONAL DISCIPLINE.

Gospel writers Matthew and Mark make explicit the "unshrunk cloth" (Greek agnaphos) that is implied by Luke's "new garment" (Greek kainos) (Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21).
Once we become Christians God does not want us hanging on to the old garments of our sinful past and just putting "patches" on the holes in our lives.

The New Testament teaches us again and again on this…Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus…"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to PUT OFF your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to PUT ON the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22
"Therefore each of you must PUT OFF falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." Ephesians 4:25

· What OLD garment am I to take off? FALSEHOOD-LYING
· What NEW garment am I to put on? Speaking TRUTHFULLY to people.
"He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." Ephesians 4:28
· What OLD garment is a thief to take off?

STEALING.
· What he needs to do is “put on” getting a job. But he not only needs to get a job… he has to change his entire attitude toward money.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

What are we to TAKE OFF? UNWHOLESOME TALK - cursing, gossip, put-downs, insults talking behind their backs.
What are we to PUT ON? Talk that BUILDS others up.

Christianity is about more than "PATCHING" the holes in my life.

That's NOT how the Pharisees did things...the Pharisees were all about "PATCHING" over the holes in their lives.
Matthew 23:27- Jesus saying: "You are like whitewashed tombs."

When it came to SIN, the Pharisees' philosophy was:"If you can't SEE it - it doesn't exist." And "If I can PATCH the hole… the hole isn't there anymore."

Some Christians act like that is true about other things:
• Telling lies is cancelled out by going to mid-week Bible Study
• Verbally abusing your wife is canceled out by teaching Sunday School.
• Running around is canceled out by giving a gift to the church.
• Gossip is canceled out by supporting a missionary.
• Unforgiveness of an enemy is canceled out because you’ve kind to the poor.
• Hatred of someone who did me wrong is canceled out because I love Jesus.
• Grumbling in church or at home or work - is canceled out by the fact that I do a good job of supporting my family.

There's a 2nd aspect of the Pharisees' "PATCHING" theology... They figured people were acceptable to God as long as they didn't tear TOO BIG a hole in their lives.

But, back to the text…Jesus begins his parable… "And no one pours NEW wine into OLD wineskins. If he does, the NEW wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined."

In His first parable Jesus was telling us that He wanted us to CHANGE on the OUTSIDE He wanted us to change how we LIVED and ACTED.

In this 2nd parable, Jesus was saying that this CHANGE was going to be on the INSIDE as well. Something "NEW" was going to be poured into this container. God had spoke about this, in Ezekiel 11:19… "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."

"When he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."

Jesus in John 16:8

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the OLD has gone, the NEW has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Are YOU Living a PATCHED or PATCHLESS LIFE?

Questions for Discussion:

1. In what ways does following Christ require us to replace old habits with new ones? Why do we resist making these changes?

2. Does Jesus speak against fasting in this passage? What does he teach about fasting, if anything, in this passage?

3. What are the structures in our lives and society that are incompatible with the Life of the Spirit in our lives?

4. Please share a struggle you had with trying to contain the Life of Christ in an "old wineskin"?

The Most Unloved Man in Capernaum-Luke 5:27-32

At this point in Luke’s story…we have met a fisherman, a leper, a paralyzed man…and now a TAX COLLECTOR.

Have you ever felt like everyone hated you…despised you…made fun of you. Have you ever felt that way to the point you would do ANYTHING to change…

The tax collector's name is given in Mark and Luke as Levi, making it likely that he is a descendent of the tribe of Levi, from whom the priests and Levites descended. Look in the New York City telephone book today, and you'll find thousands of families by this name. Instead of a holy ministry of serving in the temple, this Levi is instead engaged in a most unholy trade -- at least as it was practiced in Palestine.

Jesus looks at him, and says simply: "Follow me." The word in Greek is, akoloutheo, which means, literally, "come after" from a, copulative, and keleuthos, "road," properly, "walking the same road.". Then it means "accompany, go along with." But it also has a specific meaning, "to follow someone as a disciple."

Think what Levi feels like when he hears those two words tap-tapping like a door-knocker on his soul. He is being called to leave his lucrative trade as a tax collector to become almost a beggar, sustaining himself on the sometimes meager contributions made to his Rabbi or Master. In an instant he is being called from wealth to poverty. But I don't think the issue of poverty really enters into his decision. Only one thing matters, and it matters very deeply -- oh, so deeply -- to Levi.

Jesus has sought him out for a purpose...

He seeks US out for a purpose today.

So what does Jesus DO that makes a DIFFERENCE?
· Jesus ACCEPTS him.
· Jesus LOVES him -- the most unloved man in Capernaum.
· And Jesus CALLS him personally: "Follow me." Since he was a boy he hadn't imagined himself a righteous man. Now he is being called to accompany a holy man on his itinerant travels. How bizarre! How wonderful!

Matthew replies to Jesus invitation by issuing an invitation to his new Master. "Jesus, I would be very honored if you would be a guest in my home this very night." Jesus accepts.
This is no intimate dinner party for a few guests. Luke describes it with the word megas, meaing "great." To his large house suited to a wealthy man, Levi invites "a large crowd of tax collectors and others."

Levi has introduced his closest friends to his newest Friend, and is now ready to follow. The growing band of disciples -- Peter and Andrew, James and John -- who have despised him for collecting a toll on their fish exports may have been stand-offish at first. But when they see Jesus warmly accept him, they accept him, too, into this strange new fellowship of disciples called from all walks of life to walk with Jesus and learn his ways. It is giddy and glorious, and deeply moving to Levi, as he cleans up after the party.

He is no longer Levi the tax collector.

He is Matthew the Disciple.

Two clear lessons for disciples in this passage:
1. Jesus doesn't really care what others think about a person, or how others value a person. He loves the outcasts and the unloved.
2. Jesus didn't concentrate on polishing the already righteous, but on rescuing the perishing. His mission is to the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and the brokenhearted.

The scribes and Pharisees saw Matthew and his friends as condemned sinners, but Jesus saw them as spiritually sick “patients” who needed the help of a physician. The first step toward healing sin sickness is admitting that we have a need and that we must do something about it.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (5:31-32).

If all were righteous, spiritually healthy, Jesus would have no necessity to pay a house call. But because we are not so righteous after all, because our souls are troubled and besmirched by compromise -- because of all this we desperately need Jesus to come and call us to something better than the filth we may be living in. We need him to call us to our best.

Have YOU made an appointment to see Jesus?

Have YOU seen Great Physician about YOUR sickness or problem?

Jesus LOVES you…Jesus will ACCEPT you..and Jesus is PERSONALLY CALLING you to come and FOLLOW him down the road He is walking.

Questions for Discussion:
1. Who in our society would correspond to the rich outcasts like tax collectors were in Jesus'day?

2. Why do we Christians feel so uncomfortable around blatant sinners? Why did Jesus succeed in making himself so at home in their presence?

3. Have you ever had a time when you felt like an outcast? What did it feel like to you, when Jesus' voice broke through all the static and let you know that he had chosen you and really wanted you?

4. What was Levi’s first action as a new follower of Jesus? (Vs 29) Who did he invite to his “new career” party?

5. To follow Jesus or to walk more closely with Him, what are (or were) the most difficult things (or ways of life) for you to leave behind?