Luke relates two events which relate to Jesus' actions on the
Sabbath and the differences between his teaching and that of the
Pharisees regarding the significance of the sabbath day. These events lead to a widening conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities.
Lord of the Sabbath This story is told in the synoptic gospels (, , ). Jesus' disciples are accused of breaking the Law () by the Jewish authorities who see them pluck wheat, rub it and eat it during the
Sabbath. Jesus invites his audience to recall the actions of
David and his men who when hungry received the
showbread (). Jesus indicates that he, the
Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Mark's text on the purpose of the Sabbath,
The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, is not repeated in Luke.
Verse 1 :
One Sabbath day Jesus was walking through the grainfields. His disciples began to break off some heads of grain. They rubbed them in their hands and ate them. Luke places the event at a specific date: (
en sabbatō deuteroprōtō), translated in the
King James Version as "on the second Sabbath after the first". This phrase is
not found elsewhere in the New Testament,
Evangelical writer Jeremy Myers suggests this could have been the day of
Shavuot (Festival of Weeks), which would give the action of Jesus an added significance. Only the
priests were allowed to collect wheat and process it on the Sabbath to bake the
showbread (which they could eat). Jesus extends this privilege to his disciples: in essence, in his teaching, priesthood is open to all. This action represents a radical departure from traditional ways and structures, and undermines the special status of the priests. In walking through the grainfields,
Ambrose observes that Jesus' "very practice and mode of action" represent the absolution of his followers from the duty to follow the old law.
Verse 2 :
But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" F. W. Farrar, in the
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, refers to "spy-Pharisees", a group who "dogged [Jesus'] steps as his ministry advanced". He thinks their initial plan might have been to see how far Jesus and his disciples walked, given the
2000 cubit rule which regulated travel on the Sabbath. :
When on the same day he saw a man doing work on the sabbath, he said to him: "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you do not know it, you are accursed and a transgressor of the law." The reference to knowledge suggests that this verse might reflect
gnostic influence. but many commentators argue that "it is impossible to say where the synagogue was to which [the] Pharisees belonged". Healing him by the verbal command: "Stretch forth thy hand", Jesus challenges the priestly authorities. They do not argue with him directly, but are "filled with anger" (verse 11 in the
New Life Version, NLV). On the Sabbath they begin to plot against Jesus, ignoring his question: "I will ask you one thing. Does the Law say to do good on the Day of Rest or to do bad? To save life or to kill?" (NLV). ==The choosing of the twelve apostles (verses 12–16)==