Legally Gleaning the Fields to Feed the Hungry
'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. And certain of the
Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on
the sabbath days? 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; 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? And he said unto them,
That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
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. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 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. 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?
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. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.' Luke 6:1-11 (KJV)
Christians have their rules, their policies, their procedures, their laws, their constitution, their decrees, their customs and man-made traditions. We take these things seriously and spend much time in debate about things like skirt height, skirts only, shoulder strap width, open-toed shoes, hair length, make-up, piercings, tattoos, music volume and the rest. We write the rules and we intend to keep them. We watch them and we accuse them and we commune with one another as to what we might do to them. Is she in the club or out? What would Jesus do? Is it still legal to eat corn on Sunday? Cornbread perhaps? Even the enforcers devised ways to get around their own devilish entrapment schemes. Given enough time, if we aren't careful, we might look an awful lot like the Pharisees did in their day.
On this day, Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, stopped along His journey of doing good, long enough to eat. The priests were watching Him and took note that He was working on the Sabbath. Their customs were strict and they took a harsh interpretation of Mose's Law. With good intentions the priest were taking a broad ridiculous swipe of legalism that put many burdens on the poor for their moral justification. They took God's law and turned it into a rules based religion.
Jesus was disgusted with their customs, in all its complexities and let them know it. Don't we have to eat to live? Is it really illegal to do good on the Sabbath? His is a much simpler, kinder, based on Grace - religion, one which flows out of the heart of God and not out of the mind of man. When the priests saw they were not going to be able to control Him, they became filled with madness. They set out to devise their schemes as to what they might do to Jesus.
This day, help me to keep my eyes on You, precious Lord of Love. Help me to see your purpose, to keep it simple and to keep my feet free to follow You where You lead me.
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. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 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. 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?
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. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.' Luke 6:1-11 (KJV)
Christians have their rules, their policies, their procedures, their laws, their constitution, their decrees, their customs and man-made traditions. We take these things seriously and spend much time in debate about things like skirt height, skirts only, shoulder strap width, open-toed shoes, hair length, make-up, piercings, tattoos, music volume and the rest. We write the rules and we intend to keep them. We watch them and we accuse them and we commune with one another as to what we might do to them. Is she in the club or out? What would Jesus do? Is it still legal to eat corn on Sunday? Cornbread perhaps? Even the enforcers devised ways to get around their own devilish entrapment schemes. Given enough time, if we aren't careful, we might look an awful lot like the Pharisees did in their day.
On this day, Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, stopped along His journey of doing good, long enough to eat. The priests were watching Him and took note that He was working on the Sabbath. Their customs were strict and they took a harsh interpretation of Mose's Law. With good intentions the priest were taking a broad ridiculous swipe of legalism that put many burdens on the poor for their moral justification. They took God's law and turned it into a rules based religion.
Jesus was disgusted with their customs, in all its complexities and let them know it. Don't we have to eat to live? Is it really illegal to do good on the Sabbath? His is a much simpler, kinder, based on Grace - religion, one which flows out of the heart of God and not out of the mind of man. When the priests saw they were not going to be able to control Him, they became filled with madness. They set out to devise their schemes as to what they might do to Jesus.
This day, help me to keep my eyes on You, precious Lord of Love. Help me to see your purpose, to keep it simple and to keep my feet free to follow You where You lead me.
Comments
Post a Comment