City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’ 3 And Jesus answered them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?’ 5 And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.’”

Luke 6:1-5 ESV

Reflection

I’ll start off with a clip from The Chosen with the grain-gleaning scene:

At first glance, it looks like the disciples are trespassing, but they’re not. God through Moses said the Hebrews may pick kernels from their neighbors’ fields with their hands but no tools can be used (Deuteronomy 23:25). What’s so bad about eating heads of grain on the Sabbath? In the Pharisees’ eyes, it was considered “work” and outright breaking the Fourth Commandment  (Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus responds by referencing 1 Samuel 21:1-6, when David ate bread consecrated to God and for the priests to eat. The priest Ahimelek willingly gave David and his men the consecrated bread, his own dinner (Leviticus 24:5-9).

Why did Jesus bring up this story to the Pharisees? What’s the significance of this story with eating grain on the Sabbath? What’s the link between the consecrated bread and the grain? In both cases, God-fearing parties were hungry and appeared to commit sacrilegious acts. On the outside, David eating the consecrated bread looked like he was asking God to strike him dead, but the priest gave it to him on the condition he and his men were ceremonially clean (they were). Jesus allowed His followers to glean grain on the Sabbath, our version of a drive-thru. If the disciples harvested their breakfast with a sickle, then yes, that would be considered work (and stealing). Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, emphasizing His humility rather than His deity.

“17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Hebrews 2:17-18 ESV

From Matthew’s perspective of the incident, Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6:

“7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

Matthew 12:7

The Pharisees were more concerned with following the law than the reason for following the law. Jesus knew the reason for the law of Sabbath, to rest and remember the Lord.

“Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” 

Mark 2:27

The point of the gleaning-grain rule in Deuteronomy is to share with those who are hungry, and the point of Sabbath is to rest and remember the Lord. God knew we would need rest and more often than not, put off rest in favor of busyness. We know our electronic devices cannot run forever and have to be recharged, and so do we.

Application

Do you have kids? Or grandkids? Nieces and nephews? You know kids always ask “why?” Why do we brush our teeth? Why do we clean our rooms? Why can’t I put this fork into the electric socket?

But what about grown-ups? Why do we do what we do? To avoid trouble?  Out of love for God? Jesus doesn’t want you to legalistically follow the rules just for a “get out of hell” free card, He desires a relationship with you (Matthew 12:7). When you become close to God and really dig into His Word, you see more the reason for the rules, and the point of them is God’s Love for us.

Prayer

Lord, thank You that You look at the heart and not the outside (1 Samuel 16:7), help me to do the same. Help me to realize Your Love for me in the rules. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.