YOUR BELIEFS: BURDEN OR BLESSING? Luke 6:1-11
Proposition: “Your belief system needs to be a blessing rather than a burden for others in following Jesus.”
Objective: My purpose is to challenge each child of God to make sure that their belief system is a blessing, not a burden for others as they follow Jesus.
INTRODUCTION:
Illus: The following are some laws that either still are, or once were, in effect in various places in the United States.
In Iowa, it was a law that one armed piano players must perform for free.
In Wyoming, you cannot take a picture of a rabbit during the month of June.
If you keep your donkey in a bathtub in Georgia, you might be arrested.
In Harper Woods, Michigan, it is illegal to paint a sparrow and then sell it as a parakeet.
In Wisconsin, there is a law that says you cannot serve apple pie in public without cheese.
It is illegal to whistle underwater in Vermont.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, you need a licensed engineer to open a soda bottle.
It is illegal for a man to knit during fishing season in New Jersey.
In Hood River, Oregon, you need a license to juggle.
In Connecticut, a pickle must bounce to be considered a pickle.
Now I imagine that the stories behind these laws are just as humorous as the laws themselves. Think about it. What circumstances must have come about to cause Vermont to make it illegal to whistle underwater? Did somebody drown because there was an underwater whistling contest? And unless you’re watching Veggie Tales, who has ever heard of a bouncing pickle? And after you try to bounce it, do you really want to eat it? Such laws are silly, and I am sure the story behind them are just as silly.
Two incidents concerning the Sabbath are now brought before us to show that the mounting opposition of the religious leaders was reaching a climax. The first occurred on “the second-first Sabbath” (literal translation). This is explained as follows: the first Sabbath was the first one after the Passover. The second was the next after that. Wiersbe: “By their strict and oppressive rules, the Pharisees and scribes had turned the Sabbath Day into a burden instead of the blessing God meant it to be, and Jesus challenged both their doctrine and their authority.” The right use of the Sabbath—All four Gospels make it clear that a chief point in the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities concerned the right way to keep the Sabbath. What does it mean to not work on the Sabbath?" The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to be a blessing for us. It’s a gift. It is not a set of rules to burden us, but a gift to be received.
I. THE OCCASION: The Horrifying Harvest (vvs. 1-5) “On the second Sabbath”— shocking, appalling shocking—Problem: The Pharisees added to God’ simple Sabbath Law. They were horrified and criticized Jesus and His disciples. The Lord Jesus and His disciples were passing through some grain fields on the Sabbath, followed by a delegation of Pharisees. The Pharisees knew that Jesus’ popularity was growing steadily. They also were becoming alarmed at the realization that Jesus was not in their camp, indeed, was often attacking them (cf. the Sermon on the Mount). They were afraid to leave Jesus to Himself, unwatched, unchallenged. We learn: Not breaking the Law is not the same as being a good moral person.
1. The occurrence (v. 1) “Now it happened on the…Sabbath”—The Jews took the Sabbath seriously. Keeping the Sabbath was near the top of the list of Pharisaic virtues. The “Sabbath rest” was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God’s goodness and the goodness of His work, both in creation and redemption. The picking of grain from someone else’s field was permissible according to Deut 23:24–25, so that the issue was not picking the grain but doing so on the Sabbath, as the next verse makes clear.
2. The objection (v. 2) “Why are You doing what is not lawful”-- He was the most powerful teacher the world ever saw or ever will see. And he was attacking them. He was attacking their religion. I suppose you could say He was attacking what some would say was the best part of them. He wasn’t attacking the prostitutes, and He wasn’t attacking the tax collectors, He wasn’t attacking the riffraff of society. In fact just the opposite, he seemed to be drawn to those people, and attacked the religious nobility. And He not only attacked them, but He attacked them at the foundation of their religious system as well as at the level of their own false spirituality. And His attack was relentless.
Picking heads of grain constituted “reaping” and rubbing in their hand is “threshing.” They had been guilty of a double offense, reaping and thrashing. This was a fragrant violation of divine Law. Legalism breeds criticism. Anyone who tries to achieve salvation by works ends up becoming a legalist and one of the signs of legalism is a critical spirit. To add to this the person also becomes judgmental. Legalists ignore God’s love and grace.
Illus: Of course, the Pharisees felt obligated to work out in exhaustive detail just how one is to keep the Sabbath in their zeal to "put a hedge around the Law." How far could you walk before it became "work"? The "Sabbath Day’s Journey" was calculated at 2,000 cubits, or about 1,000 yards--a little over half a mile. How much could you carry in your hand without it constituting a "burden" and thus work? An amount equal to the weight of a dried fig. If a person in one place had his hand stretched forth into another place and filled with fruit, and the Sabbath "overtook" him, he should drop the fruit rather than risk "carrying a burden." Women should not wear ornaments on the Sabbath because they might be tempted to remove them in order to show them off, and thus momentarily "carry a burden." It was wise not to look in a mirror on the Sabbath, because you might be tempted to pull out a gray hair, and that would be work. If you arrive at your place of rest just as the Sabbath begins, you should unpack only what may be handled on the Sabbath. To prevent your beast from working, you may untie the ropes and let the rest fall to the ground by itself. To make sure you avoided work, you must not climb a tree, ride, swim, clap your hands, or dance on the Sabbath. The only exception to this would be if there was immediate danger to the person’s life. To confuse such traditions of men with the Law of God and to impose this confusion on the consciences of others is not only evil in itself, but it does tremendous damage, creates huge stumbling blocks to faith, and brings the name of God into disrepute.
3. The observation (v. 3) “Have you not read this?”-- The Lord’s answer, using an incident from the life of David, was that the law of the Sabbath was never intended to forbid a work of necessity. Rejected and pursued, David and his men were hungry. Each week 12 consecrated loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, would be placed on a table in the Temple. This bread was called the Bread of the Presence. After its use in the Temple, it was to be eaten only by priests. Jesus, accused of Sabbath breaking, referred to a well-known story about David (1Sam. 21:1-6). David , the great hero of the past, led his men in eating showbread when it became simply a matter of preserving the body.
4. The opportunity (v. 4) “He went into the house of God”—Note that need took precedence over ceremony. The Pharisees could hardly say that the priest, David, or his men had sinned in the event. Their logic seems to flow: “What was right for David’s seed must be right for My disciples.” David had employed the higher law of human need for preference to the ceremonial law. They went into the house of God and ate the showbread, which ordinarily was reserved for the priests. God made an exception in David’s case. There was sin in Israel. The king was rejected. The law concerning the showbread was never intended to be so slavishly followed as to permit God’s king to starve.
5. The oversight (v. 5) “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath”-- On one occasion, when fleeing from Saul, David and his men had eaten this sacred bread. Their need had been more important than ceremonial regulations. Jesus was appealing to the same principle: Human need is more important than human regulations and rules. By comparing Himself and His disciples with David and his men, Jesus was saying, "If you condemn me, you must also condemn David."
Here was a similar situation. Christ and His disciples were hungry. The Pharisees would rather see them starve than pick wheat on the Sabbath. But The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. He gave the law in the first place, and no one was better qualified than He to interpret its true spiritual meaning and to save it from misunderstanding. His Lordship declares supremacy.
Illus: Chuck Swindoll tells another story about some overseas missionaries who developed a hankering for some peanut butter. They couldn’t get it where they were deployed, & so they wrote to some friends in the states to request a jar a peanut butter. Their friends were glad to help in such a small way, & so sent a box containing several jars of peanut butter. Wouldn’t you know it, there were some other missionaries in the same location who thought it was "unspiritual" to crave peanut butter. They said that when a person became a missionary, they should have left the luxuries of the U.S. behind them, and they should take up their cross, and not desire peanut butter. They probably said that by wanting peanut butter, they were acting like Lot’s wife, looking over her shoulder at Sodom and Gomorrah and all she had left behind. Eventually, it got so bad, this couple who wanted peanut butter came back to the states. They gave up being missionaries.
II. THE OBSERVANCE: A Hateful Healing (vvs. 6-10) “On another Sabbath”--disgusting repulsive—Problem: The Pharisees used God’s Law to accuse people. The scribes and Pharisees watched to see if Jesus would heal a man’s withered hand.
1. The anguish (v. 6) “A man…whose right hand was withered”—Jesus had gone to the synagogue on the Sabbath for worship. As usual, He was chosen as visiting teacher for the day. They just knew that’s who He would be attracted to. The one person that was hurting the most! According to the tradition of the religious leaders, no healing could be done on the Sabbath. Healing, they said, was practicing medicine, and a person could not practice his or her profession on the Sabbath. The religious leaders were more concerned about protecting their laws than freeing a person from painful suffering. Jesus was positive: doing good and helping those in need. Would Jesus be true to His mission or would He seek to appease the religious power brokers?
2. The accusation (v. 7) “whether He would heal on the Sabbath”— The Pharisees wanted evidence against Jesus. Angered by their defeat in argument regarding Sabbath observance, the scribes and Pharisees were now eager to trap Jesus, since they maliciously were watching Him. They were determined to make a case against Jesus.
3. The anticipation (v. 8) “He knew their thoughts”— Jesus as all-knowing knew their evil disposition. Since Jesus knew their thinking, He called the man to center stage so everyone could see. He worked right out in the open where all could see. Note the excitement when the man stepped forth there before them all.
4. The asking (v. 9) “I will ask you one thing”— Then Jesus asked His critics if it was lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil. If they answered correctly, they would have to say that it was right to do good on the Sabbath, and wrong to do harm. If it was right to do good, then He was doing good by healing the man. If it was wrong to do evil on the Sabbath, than they were breaking the Sabbath by plotting to kill the Lord Jesus. Doing good is always in season.
5. The appraisal (v. 10) “When He had looked around”— There was no answer from the adversaries. Jesus then directed the man to stretch out his withered right hand. (Only Dr. Luke mentions that it was the right hand.) With the command went the necessary power. As the man obeyed, his hand was restored to normal. However, Jesus violated the ceremonial law, but the man’s hand was restored to normal in their sight. We learn that not doing good is worse that not doing bad.
III. THE OUTRAGE: A Hotheaded Hypocrite (v. 11) “filled with rage” confrontational—Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites.” (Matt. 23_13) The Pharisees had transformed a day of blessing into a day of bondage. [It takes great skill to do that!] Original intent? To provide a day of rest for the children of Israel that would free the people from the tyranny of a life of unending toil.
1. A definite resentment “They were filled with rage”-- Beaten in argument and discredited before the people, Jesus’ opponents were driven to desperation.. The Pharisees and scribes were filled with rage. Here is rage that is kin to insanity with lack of sense. As a result of this miracle, Jesus was hated even more. They wanted to condemn Jesus for breaking the Sabbath. All He had done was speak a few words and the man was healed. No servile work was involved. Yet they plotted together how they might “get” Him. This describes the deep fury of Jesus’ critics. They felt humiliated.
2. A distinct response “They…discussed with one another”— Yet they plotted together how they might “get” Him. This included the Herodians (Mark 3:6). They now were more than critics; they were enemies. Beaten in argument and discredited before the people, Jesus’ opponents were driven to desperation.
3. A deliberate resolve “what they might do to Jesus”—Here nearly two years before the end of Jesus’ earthly life, we see the set determination to destroy Jesus. This verse marks the beginning of Christ’s controversy with the Jewish leaders that lasted all during the rest of His career. Since there was no time for action now by the Pharisee, they were just planning and plotting what could be done.
CONCLUSION:
1. Our beliefs based on God’s rules are for our benefit, not our misery. God does not say, I’ve got you now, you dirty rotten sinner! You’ve broken my rules again (ha, ha, ha).
2. Our beliefs based on God’s rules are under the Lordship of Jesus. He is “the Lord of the Sabbath.” OT: Many laws, few principles. NT: Two laws, many principles.
Illus: George Barna, the statistician, in one of his polls determined that “among people who regularly attend Christian churches; 32% have never experienced God’s presence, 48% have not experienced His presence in the past year, which means of the millions who regularly attend church worship events relatively few worship” or have a real worship experience with the Lord.
3. Our beliefs based on God’s rules should produce good in our lives. Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath Law, but should observe the Sabbath principle: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” (Heb. 4:9-10)
4. Our belief system should produce blessings, not burdens. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
Illus: A story about a crisis in Holland. Many Christians believed that Sunday was like the Sabbath and that it is wrong to work, play or do anything but worship and rest. Much of Holland is below sea level but the Dutch reclaimed the land by construction an ingenious system of dykes and canals to hold back the seawater. On one particular Sunday, storms raised the water level to a dangerous height and the water threatened to overflow the dikes and flood a particular city, ruining the crops. Many residents went to the dikes to add sandbags but there were too few workers to stop the rising tide. The local constable appealed to the local Dutch Reform Church for help. He knew there were hundreds of able-bodied men who could make the difference. He went to the church to persuade the members to come and help. The leaders quickly met and decided it would be sinful to break the Sabbath rules by working on Sunday. The pastor appealed to the leaders to change their minds and help with the work. He referred them to this passage where Jesus broke the Sabbath rules of His day for the good of others. The reply of the chief church elder leader is classic. He said, “I have always had a hard time accepting what Jesus did on the Sabbath, too!” It would be funny if it were not so tragic. The town flooded and most of the crops were ruined—but many of the Christians felt pious because they hadn’t desecrated the Sabbath Day.
Illus: I heard a story about a train traveling through the night in a very violent rainstorm. The lightning flashes were almost blinding, the rain hitting the windows was deafening and the strong gust winds rocked the train from side to side. When the lightening flashed and lighted up the darkness, the passengers could see the rising water along the tracks. This created terror in the minds of the passengers. Several passengers noted that through all the noise, lightening and wind, one of the passengers, a little girl, seemed to be at perfect peace. The adult passengers couldn’t figure out why the little girl was so calm during all this excitement. Finally, one passenger asked her, “How is that you can be so calm when all the rest of us are so worried about what might or could happen?” The little passenger smiled and said, “My father is the engineer.”
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