Jesus: Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 6:1-5

6 One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 3 Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?” 5 Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

A long-running debate existed between the Pharisees (who were very religious people) and Jesus over how the Sabbath was to be used. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a day on which to do no work, and the Pharisees to ensure no work was going to be done had defined what work was. The disciples by getting the kernels of wheat out of the husks (the rubbing action in their hands) were threshing wheat which was work. We want to express our frustration at the Pharisees’ narrowness.

But as we move to vs. 5, we find a challenge that speaks to us. Jesus said, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” Jesus is claiming that he is Lord – the maker of and the boss of – the Sabbath. Yes, he is claiming to be the Son of God, claiming to have been present when Sabbath was created (that is he was present at creation).

He is also claiming that he is Lord of the Sabbath (read Sunday) now. We spend most of the week – most of our lives – thinking we are in control, thinking we need to make things happen. But what would it look like if we stopped being in control on the Sabbath? What if one day a week we stopped trying to manage things? What is one day a week we did nothing? Can we trust Jesus, are we willing to trust God, so we let go of being in control one day a week? That one day a week, we stop, let go and let God.

PRAYER:

Lord God, we think we need to manage and control everything, and so we stress ourselves out seeking to be in charge. Help us on day in seven to let you be in charge – help us to give up control so that you can be Lord of the Sabbath – the Lord of our Sabbath. In Jesus’ name. Amen.