Luke 6:1-5

content/bible_journal/luke_5:33-39.md

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+title = "Luke 5:33–39"
+date = "2022-11-06"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk5.33-39)
+
+It's kind of funny that today I read a post on Crossway called [_The Son of Man
+Came Eating and
+Drinking_](https://www.crossway.org/articles/the-son-of-man-came-eating-and-drinking/).
+
+This conversation is a continuation of the one started when the Pharisees and scribes grumble at Jesus for eating and drinking with sinners. He replies with a "Yeah, that's why I'm here," so they try to compare Him and His disciples to the practices of others: "John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but yours eat and drink." The implication is that they eat and drink too much, and are not as holy as those other men's disciples.
+
+Jesus answers with a statement that probably made no sense to them at the time. He compares Himself with a bridgroom and His disciples as the wedding guests. Weddings were big occasions in the first century, where everyone was expected to eat, drink, and be merry, because it was such a joyous occasion. But Jesus also alludes to the fact that He won't be present with His disciples forever, referring to His death on the cross.
+
+And then there's this parable that seems to come out of left field. To be completely honest, I don't know what to make of it. I've heard sermons on it, read articles, and they sounded good at the time, but I can't figure out what the application is or how it fits into the context. I understand the physical mechanisms described, but I can't connect them to the spiritual reality that Jesus is actually talking about. (Because that's what parables do: take an easily understood, earthly story and show how that reflects spiritual matters.)
+
+* * *
+
+Your word is true, good, and beautiful even when we don't understand it.

content/bible_journal/luke_6:1-5.md

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+title = "Luke 6:1–5"
+date = "2022-11-07"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk6.1-5)
+
+Now we get to the heart of what was wrong with the Pharisees' way of thinking.
+They had read the Prophets and the Histories and saw that God had brought
+judgement on their people because they did not follow God's commands (which is
+true). So they decided that in order to get God's blessing they needed to
+follow the Law perfectly. But there are over 600 commands in the Torah, and
+some of them are fairly obscure and subtle. They memorized them anyway. And for
+some, they put up fences around what God had said: the Sabbath is a day of rest
+and you are not to do any work ([_Ex.
+20:8–11_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ex20.8-11). But what is "work"? How are
+you going to obey the command if you don't know? The extra rules that the
+Pharisees created were intended to help people obey the Law, but in reality
+just made life harder. (E.g.: Cover your mirrors on the Sabbath, because if
+your wife looks and sees a gray hair she might pull it out, which would be
+work.)
+
+Back to our passage. Jesus and His disciples were going through a field, and
+somebody got peckish and started eating the grain. This is allowed in the Law
+of Moses ([_Deut. 23:25_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Dt23.25)). However the
+way this works is to take the ear off the stalk, then rub it between your hands
+so that the seeds separate from the chaff so that you can blow it away.
+According to the Pharisees, you can pick up food to eat it, but that is like
+threshing, which is clearly work.
+
+Some Pharisees see what Jesus's disciples have done. (How, I wonder? Why were
+they out in the fields on the Sabbath?) When they confront Jesus about it, He
+reminds them of the time David and his men ate the bread that had been
+dedicated to God. According to the Law, only priests and their families should
+have been allowed to eat this bread ([_Lev
+24:5–9_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Le24.5-9)) but the priest there gave it
+to David for he and his men were on the run from King Saul and had no
+provisions ([_1 Sam 21:3–6_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Sa21.3-6)).
+
+Jesus then says something extraordinary. "The Son of Man is lord of the
+Sabbath." (_v. 5_) "Son of Man" is how Jesus most often refers to Himself, and
+it is how Daniel describes the Messiah when He is given dominion and authority
+over the nations in Daniel 7. The Sabbath was created by God when He rested on
+the seventh day of Creation, but Jesus is claiming authority over it.
+Effectively, He says it's not up to the Pharisees to decide what's lawful to do
+on the Sabbath, but Him.
+
+* * *
+
+Let us read Your Word with clarity, so that we may do precisely what is says,
+and not cling to our traditions which were created by fallible men.