Who Needs a Rest?

If you have your Bibles, please find Luke 6.  As we continue in our verse by verse and chapter by chapter study of Luke, I want to share a message with you entitled, “Who Needs a Rest?” 

 

The answer to that question is all of us do.  God created us this way, and He created a Sabbath for us.

 

Sabbath is a word found throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it literally means an interruption for rest.  It is related to a word that means to cease or to desist.

 

I feel like this is a fairly well-known fact, but in case you didn’t know, God created the Sabbath in Genesis 2 after creation.  See Genesis 2:1-3. 

 

1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

 

Therefore, God rested on the seventh day or what we know as Saturday after six days of work creating everything.  He didn’t rest because He needed it, but He knew we would need it and thus provided an example.

 

In the OT, the Sabbath was on Saturday or literally sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.  It was a day of rest and worship for the nation of Israel, and had specific instructions attached to it.  The most well-known would be those found as part of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:8-11. 

 

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

 

Consequently, the OT also contains a lot of laws pertaining to the Sabbath and what could be done and what shouldn’t be done.  With that in mind, look at Luke 6:1.

 

 

1. The Interrogation of Jesus by the Pharisees about the Sabbath, 6:1-2

1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grain fields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 

 

It was the Sabbath on Saturday, and Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field picking and eating grain.  Some Pharisees saw them and accused them of violating the Sabbath. 

 

How so?  Was it wrong to eat the grain?  No, it wasn’t wrong to eat the grain. 

 

In the eyes of the Pharisees, what was wrong was what happened before they ate.   What did they do before they ate?

 

They had to have picked and rubbed the heads of grain in their hands.  That amounted to harvesting and was prohibited work on the Sabbath. 

 

Were they not aware of Deuteronomy 23:25?

 

25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

 

Surely, they were.  However, they considered work to have happened regardless. 

 

 

2. The Explanation from Jesus to the Pharisees from God’s Word about the Sabbath, 6:3-5

3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

 

Jesus answered them with the Bible.  Jesus reminded the Pharisees of a story about David from 1 Samuel 21. 

 

BTW, King David was a type of Christ.  What does that mean?  In many ways, but not all, King David foreshadowed Jesus Christ. 

 

David was with some of his army, and they were hungry and needed to eat.  Therefore, they entered the temple and ate some bread that was supposed to be for the priests only. 

 

However, it was the priest who gave David the bread and authorized his eating along with his men.  In effect, Jesus was saying if David could reinterpret the Law, and I am greater than David, then it is ok to for my disciples and I to pick grain and eat it on the Sabbath. 

 

Notice verse 5.  He said, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.  Who was the Son of Man? 

 

It was Jesus.  He was claiming to be God, and claiming to have the authority to reinterpret the Law as He sees fit.

 

 

3. An Illustration of Mercy that took place on the Sabbath, Luke 6:6-11

6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

 

Verse 6 takes us to another Sabbath or Saturday.  Jesus went to a local synagogue and was preaching.  There was also a man whose hand was withered.  We might say atrophied.

 

This is significant because the left hand was considered evil in Jewish culture, and therefore, this man could not work or hold a job if his only option was working with a withered right hand. 

 

The scribes and Pharisees watched Jesus closely.  They were like predators ready to pounce on their prey.  However, Jesus knew their schemes and their evil desires, and so He asked them a question about the man before He healed him. 

 

BTW, How did Jesus know their thoughts?  He knew their thoughts because Jesus was God, and God is omniscient or all-knowing.  

 

And, remember the Pharisees have their own idea of work.  The text seems to indicate that they would have considered healing as work and violating the Sabbath.

 

He asked in verse 9, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or destroy it?” 

 

Understand what Jesus did.  He equated good with saving a life and evil with destroying a life.  They were speechless.

 

Consequently, Jesus acted…on the Sabbath.  He did good to this man.  He mercifully healed his hand and restored life to him enabling him to work and live normally in society. 

 

How did the Pharisees respond?  Look at verse 11.  The Pharisees were filled with rage because Jesus decided to save a man’s life…even on the Sabbath. 

 

 

Conclusions

What does all of this mean for you and me this morning, and how does it apply to our lives?

 

First, the Sabbath is important.  We need to rest.  It doesn’t have to be on Saturday, but it needs to be 24 hours in a week.

 

Exodus 23:12, 12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

 

Exodus 31:12-17, 12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

 

Exodus 35:1-3, 35 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

 

However, the Sabbath is not only important for the Christian, but the only true rest that any person can every have is in Jesus.  Stop trying to work your way to heaven.

 

Matthew 11:28-30, 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

This is an invitation to be saved.

 

Second, Jesus is God, and how He interprets the Law is right.  He can reinterpret the Law.  He can heal a withered hand, and He can save your life today.

 

Third, whether it is the Sabbath or any other day, when you have the opportunity to do good, do it.  That doesn’t mean we skip corporate worship for service and ministry projects.

 

However, we need to remember Proverbs 3:27. 

 

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.

 

It has also been well said, “Good omitted is evil committed.”