Luke 6, Part One

Plucking grain on the Sabbath (vs. 1-5)—I have a rather lengthy discussion of this event in my summary of Matthew 12:1-8. It’s so lengthy that I’m not going to reproduce it here. I will simply summarize by saying that I do not believe that Jesus is endorsing David breaking the law (which he did). The Lord is condemning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who did not censure David’s actions (which were wrong) but are denouncing Jesus’, which weren’t. You can check my comments in Matthew 12, Part One, if you are further interested in what I have to say on this.  (Follow this link to that article:  Matthew 12, Part One.  The Mt. 12 post will open in this window, not a new one, but simply hit the "back" button to return here.)

Healing on the Sabbath (vs. 6-11)—One of the major themes of Jesus’ life was His conflict with the religious leaders, especially the Pharisees, who added a plethora of traditions to the Law of Moses and then condemned people for not submitting to those human-created strictures. Jesus wasn’t going to do it (submit). In regards to this event, to the Pharisees, just about anything constituted “work,” and thus a violation of the Sabbath. So when Jesus healed on the Sabbath they considered Him a law breaker. The fact that He succeeded in this miraculous healing was indication that God approved of His actions; the Almighty would certainly not certify sin with a miracle. But Jesus’ popularity, as much as anything else, is what riled the religious elite, and after this demonstration of Christ’s power, “they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (v. 11). The fact that a miracle had been performed was totally irrelevant to them. Evidence means nothing to some people, not when their self-aggrandizing interests are at stake.

The selecting of the 12 apostles (vs. 12-16)—This selection included Judas Iscariot (v. 16), who would betray Him. Jesus knew Judas would do this, of course, but it was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy, which was a further indication of Who He was. I find it extremely interesting that, before this monumental decision, Jesus ”continued all night in prayer to God” (v. 12). All night in prayer. How many of us have ever done that? The last time I can recall staying up all night was to fix my computer, and I was talking to techies, not God. But this was, as I said, a monumental decision—who were going to be the 12 men (11, actually) who would be His “witnesses” (Acts 1:8) to the first century world, and among whom, eight of the New Testament books would be written. Jesus needed men He could trust, and His selection was wise. But He didn’t do it until He had “continued all night in prayer to God.”

Healing a multitude (vs. 17-19)—These three verses actually introduce the rest of the chapter. He had been on a mountain when He had made His choice for apostles. He then “came down with them and stood on a level place” (v. 17). The sermon He is about to preach is often called “The Sermon on the Plain.” It has many similarities to the Sermon on the Mount, but it’s not the same occasion. Nearly every preacher has preached basically the same sermon in different locations; I have several lessons I’ve preached in many places. Jesus did the same. There was “a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases” (v. 17). He took care of them, as well as casting out some demons. Once He had done that, He began his sermon, as recorded in verses 21-49, and will be discussed in part two of my summary of Luke 6.