GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 6:1-2
Lord of the Sabbath
(Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)
6 One Sabbath, when Jesus was going through the grain fields, his disciples were picking and eating heads of grain after rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
What Jesus’ disciples were doing was not illegal. We have a completely different idea of fields today. If we venture into a cornfield, we’re trespassing. If we grab a few ears without permission, we’re stealing (fortunately, most of the people foolish enough to steal corn can’t tell the difference between field corn and sweet corn). What Jesus and his disciples were doing was allowed by the Law of Moses. Deuteronomy 23:25 says, “When you go into your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.”
What some of the Pharisees were objecting to was that their oral law forbade working in any way on the Sabbath, and harvesting grain was seen as labor. Some branches of Israel allowed this kind of reaping (Mishna Menachot 10:3) which others such as the Sadducees did not. The Pharisees, in this case, joined with the Sadducees against Jesus.
The Pharisees and Sadducees
The Pharisees and Sadducees had their origin in the days following the return of the exiles. About 430 BC, Malachi and Nehemiah completed their books, the last two books of the Old Testament. A century later, Alexander the Great came to power and Hellenized Palestine, introducing the Greek language and Greek customs everywhere he went.
Shortly after Alexander’s death, his generals took over the administration of the region. At that time, a Jew named Antigonus of Sokho became the first Jewish scholar with a Greek name. Two of his students were Zadok and Boethus, who were very charismatic but who lacked their teacher’s Biblical insights.
The Sadducees (followers of Zadok, ca. 250-200 BC):
▪ Only accepted the five books of Moses
▪ Denied that there is a resurrection, or angels, or even a heaven
▪ Interpreted the Law of Moses more literally and strictly
▪ Emphasized free will in man
The Pharisees (followers of the Maccabee John Hyrcanus, 152 BC):
▪ Accepted all 39 Books of the Old Testament as the word of God
▪ Accepted the resurrection, angels, heaven, and hell.
▪ Believed in the immortality of the soul
▪ Were champions of human equality
▪ Were not particularly theological but more ethical in their teachings.
A number of Jewish sects, including the Sadducees, Boethusians (or Baitusim), the Essenes and the Zealots, did not survive the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans. The Pharisees did survive, and the sages and Rabbis who came along in the years that followed (from 100-600 AD) were either Pharisees or simply disputed against them. Today, all mainstream Jews are described as “Rabbinic,” followers of the oral laws passed down by the Rabbis of that time (100-600 AD). Very few of the oral laws from before those early “Rabbinic” years remain today.
Since many of the Jewish sects were similar except in matters of very minute details, it’s evident why the Pharisees and others wanted to question Jesus. They didn’t have a label for him or for his followers.
But Jesus did not come to join one Jewish party or another. The days of the Jewish laws were over. He had come to fulfill all of it and to draw all Jews to himself—Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and anyone who would listen to him and follow him. Some did. Pharisees like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea put their faith in him, and Zealots like Simon as well. His call has gone out into all the world, to the very ends of the world, and you have heard his words too. Through Jesus, the one great detail that matters is whether or not your sins are forgiven—and they are. All of your sins are wiped clean by the blood of the Lamb of God. Keep trusting in Jesus for everlasting life. In him, we have become the righteousness of God.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota