Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
September 27, 2000
:1 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.
the second sabbath after the first – this phrase is only in the King
James. Scholars aren’t sure what it
means. This is the only place in
Scripture that this word (deuteroproto) is found.
corn fields – sporimos –
fit for sowing, sown; sown fields, growing crops
ears of corn – stachus –
an ear of corn or of growing grain
rubbing – taking a grain of wheat and rubbing it in your hands was a
way of getting the chaff off, so you could chew on the whole grain. Very healthy stuff.
Going through your neighbor’s grain fields, plucking and eating the kernels
of wheat, was allowed under the Law:
De 23:25 When thou comest into the standing corn of
thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt
not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.
What was illegal was to go through your neighbor’s fields and harvest it
for your own profit. But if you were
hungry, you could pick enough to feed yourself.
:2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not
lawful to do on the sabbath days?
The Law of Moses stated:
(Exo 20:8-11 KJV) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
{9} Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: {10} But the seventh day
is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle,
nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: {11} For in six days the LORD made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
But the question would arise, just how much can I do on the Sabbath and not
be considered working? Could I work to
feed myself? Could I work to dress
myself?
Because of these kinds of questions, the Pharisees developed their own set
of laws to define exactly what could be done and what couldn’t. Their rule for
reaping grain on the Sabbath was:
“he that reaps (on the sabbath day) ever so little, is guilty (of stoning), and "plucking of ears of corn is a
derivative of reaping"”
Lesson
Take a break
Before we get too far into why Jesus could break the Pharisee Sabbath
traditions, don’t get past the first lesson – learn to take a break!
The other weekend Craig and Debbie got away for a weekend off. They came back so recharged and refreshed
that I’m thinking that we all ought to take a weekend of, even from church
responsibilities, at least a couple of times a year! Maybe every other month!
Illustration
How to Join the Coronary Club: Membership Requirements
1. Never say No to a request -- always say YES.
2. Your job comes
first; personal considerations are secondary.
3. Accept all
invitations to meetings, banquets, committees, etc.
4. Go to the
office evenings, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
5. Golf, bowling
and hobbies are a waste of time.
6. It is a poor
policy to take all the vacation time which is provided to you.
7. Never delegate
responsibility to others; carry the whole load at all times.
8. Do not eat a restful,
relaxing meal -- always plan a conference for the dinner hour.
9. If your work
calls for traveling -- work all day and drive all night to make your
appointment for the next morning.
10. Fishing and
hunting are a waste of time and money -- you never bring back enough fish or
game to justify the expense.
11. Take the
briefcase home on the evenings when you do not go to the office. This provides an opportunity to review
completely all the troubles and worries of the day.
Take a break
Illustration
I heard that the other day a pastor felt like he needed to
take a day off, so he called up his assistant and made it sound like he was
really sick. “I think I have a bad case
of the flu, I think you better preach for me today…” he said to the assistant. Then the pastor packed up his golf clubs and
went off to the golf course. In heaven,
one of the angels asked God if God was going to do something about this pastor
calling in sick when he wasn’t. “Sure,
I’ll do something about it, I’ll make him miserable,” God said. When the pastor got up to the first tee, he
swung, and for the first time in his life he had hit a hole in one! The angel said to the Lord, “But Lord, I
thought you said you were going to do something!” The Lord replied, “Well, who is he going to tell about it?”
Illustration
“The only time my prayers are never answered is on the
golf course.”
Billy Graham (1918– )
:3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what
David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him;
:4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread,
and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for
the priests alone?
Jesus refers to a story in:
(1 Sam 21:1-6 KJV) Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the
priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him,
Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? {2} And David said unto Ahimelech the
priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no
man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have
commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. {3}
Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine
hand, or what there is present. {4} And the priest answered David, and said,
There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the
young men have kept themselves at least from women. {5} And David answered the
priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these
three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and
the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the
vessel. {6} So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there
but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the
day when it was taken away.
David and his men were running from King Saul. They were in need of food.
At the tabernacle, twelve large loaves of fresh bread was prepared every
week to place on a golden table in the holy place. Even though the law forbade anyone but priests or their families
to eat of this “hallowed bread”, or, “showbread” (Lev. 24:9), David and his men
ate it.
The point is that sometimes a person’s need can override a law.
Matthew records another argument of Jesus:
(Mat 12:5 KJV) Or have ye not read in the law, how that on
the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are
blameless?
Every Sabbath, the priests themselves did quite a bit of work.
Nu 28:9 And on the sabbath
day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour
[for] a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:
The priests still performed sacrifices in the temple, yet
were not considered as breaking the Sabbath Law. There were some inconsistencies to the traditions that the
Pharisees had come up with.
:5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
The word order in Greek is kind of interesting:
“Lord is the Son of Man, also of the sabbath”.
In English, we have to use certain orders of words to simply make sense, to
show what is the subject and what is the object. In Greek, word order places emphasis. The emphasis of Jesus’ reply is “Lord”.
Mark records,
(Mark 2:27 KJV) And he said unto them, The sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the sabbath:
The law of the Sabbath was to get people to take a day off, rest, and
worship God. It was meant for their
benefit. When certain interpretations
become so strict that there is no benefit, something’s wrong.
Note:
Jesus might have broken the human traditions of the Pharisees, but He DID
NOT break the Law.
:6 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.
withered – xeros – dry; of
members of the body deprived of their natural juices, shrunk, wasted, withered
:7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the
sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
watched – paratereo – to
stand beside and watch, to watch assiduously, observe carefully; to watch,
attend to with the eyes
accusation – kategoria –
accusation, charge
:8 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.
thoughts – dialogismos –
the thinking of a man deliberating with himself; a thought, inward reasoning;
purpose, design; a deliberating, questioning about what is true
Jesus knows that these guys are going to question what He’s going. But He knows that He’s doing what is right
and proper. Jesus doesn’t shy from
doing what is right just to keep from offending these Pharisees. He is teaching them about what is right.
:9 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?
Good questions
:10 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.
looking round about upon – periblepo
– to look around; to look around about one’s self; to look round on one
(i.e. to look for one’s self at one near by)
stretch forth – ekteino – to
stretch out, stretch forth; over, towards, against one
restored whole – apokathistemi
– to restore to its former state; to be in its former state
:11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what
they might do to Jesus.
filled – pletho – to fill;
to be fulfilled, to be filled
madness – anoia – want of
understanding, folly; madness expressing itself in rage
Lesson
You
can’t always control people’s response.
I don’t think Jesus was trying to provoke
these men to “madness”. I don’t think
He was thinking, “Just wait until they see what I do to them this time!”
I think Jesus has some very good points
here. But they are having a hard time
receiving it.
Lesson
Be
prepared to think outside your box.
Sometimes Jesus will tend to hit at things
that are outside the way you like to think.
There are people who have some amazing
prejudices. They have these ideas of
what is and isn’t acceptable. Be
prepared to have Jesus challenge some of your thinking.
Warning: I’m not talking about Jesus having you do things that are outside
of what Scripture says is acceptable.
:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to
pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Why would Jesus spend the entire night in prayer?
He’s got some important decisions He’s about to make.
:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he
chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and
John, Philip and Bartholomew,
:15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called
Zelotes,
:16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the
traitor.
Lesson
Bathe it in prayer.
If Jesus thought it important to spend an entire night in prayer before
making decisions as critical as choosing His twelve disciples, should we
consider it from time to time?