Luke 6:1 says, And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. Jesus and His disciples were going through a field of corn on a Sunday. They were hungry and took some ears of corn to eat. This was not stealing but was acceptable at that time, but it would have been considered working on the Sabbath. We don't need to get so caught up in religious rules and regulations that we forget to meet basic human needs. Verse two adds, And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? The Pharisees questioned why Jesus and His disciples were doing something unlawful, which was working, on a Sunday. Again, they were more concerned with religious laws than they were with the physical needs of Jesus and His disciples. Verse three states, And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; Jesus answered them with a scriptural reference to David and a time when those with him and he were hungry. Whenever we answer questions about our behavior, especially concerning spiritual things, as followers of Christ we must base our answers on Scripture. Verse four adds, How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? Jesus said that David went into the temple at that time and took the shewbread to eat and gave to those with him as well. This definitely was against religious law, and yet David felt it was okay to do what he did. This doesn't mean that we can just arbitrarily ignore God's law, but that we should always put works of mercy above following rigid rules and regulations. Verse five declares, And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Jesus told them that the Son of man, which was Jesus Himself, was the Lord of the Sabbath. As long as we know that the Holy Spirit is behind what we do on Sunday, or any other day, we should be okay in what we do. Verse six says, And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. On another Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and a man with a withered hand was there. Just as Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, we should be in church on Sunday if at all possible. Verse seven adds, And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. As usual, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus, not to learn from Him, but to find an accusation against Him. Some people, even other Christians, watch Christians not to learn from them, but to try to discredit them. Verse eight continues, But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Jesus knew what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking, and He told the man with the withered hand to stand up. So far, Jesus had done nothing they could fault Him for. As long as we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there should never be anything any one else who professes to believe in Jesus Christ should be able to fault with us for doing it. Verse nine declares, Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? Jesus put the decision back on the scribes and Pharisees with a simple question. Was it lawful to do good or to do to do evil on the Sabbath. For Jesus not to heal the man when could would be doing evil. We must never do evil, even on Sunday, by neglecting to do what is good. Verse ten adds, And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. Since the scribes and Pharisees didn't answer Jesus's question, He healed the man when he obeyed Jesus instructions. Jesus didn't have to have the man to stretch out His hand in order to be healed, but it was a test of the man's faith and obedience for him to be required to. God can do things today without our help, but it is a sign of obedience for us to do what He calls us to do. Verse eleven continues, And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees were consumed with anger because they could not condemn Jesus for doing good instead of evil on the Sabbath. They then began to plot what they could do to Jesus. Jesus was a threat to their position and power. Jesus is still a threat to the position and power of many people today, and ultimately each individual much decide what he or she is going to do with Jesus.
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