NOTES for Luk 6:1-10
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. |
2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? |
3 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; |
4 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? |
5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. |
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. |
7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. |
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. |
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? |
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. |
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According to the evangelist's testimony, the people around Jesus, and first of all the Pharisees, more than once reproached Him for a disrespectful attitude toward the Sabbath, expressed in particular by His doing on the Sabbath day something that violated the prohibitions connected with Sabbath rest. Some commentators even interpret these actions of the Savior as a deliberate violation of the Sabbath, which in their opinion He "abolished."
Meanwhile, Jesus Himself said that He came not to destroy the Torah, but to bring it to fullness. And this fully applies to the Sabbath: after all, keeping the Sabbath is the prescription of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. The only question is what in this case should be considered the meaning, and what the form.
The original meaning of the commandment about the Sabbath was connected first of all with the need for deepened communion with God, which one could learn only by dedicating special time to such communion, every seventh day according to the Torah's prescription. The prohibition against doing ordinary things on the Sabbath day was connected first of all with the need to step out of that cycle of everyday affairs that usually seizes a person completely. It is no accident that Jewish tradition forbids on the Sabbath not only work, but also speaking about work, and even thinking about it.
However, already in the post-exilic period the commandment about the Sabbath became overgrown with numerous rules and prescriptions, connected mainly with ritual prohibitions that were in many ways external and formal. For many, the Sabbath day was turning from a day dedicated to communion with God into a rather harsh and gloomy religious obligation: one had to think no longer about God, but about not violating some prohibition, while also making sure that those around him did not violate anything either. Jesus returns to the Sabbath its original meaning as a time of communion with God.
If a person is hungry, he must be fed; if he is sick, he must be healed, and there is nothing here that hinders communion with God, nor can there be. In fact, this is not about everyday work, busyness, and hustle that seize a person completely, but about a completely concrete situation in which a person in need of help finds himself. From the point of view of religious rules the Sabbath has been violated, but in essence it has not, because helping one's neighbor does not separate a person from God.
But there was something else as well: testimony to the Kingdom. After all, Jesus does not merely treat; He heals. The one healed recovers not because of someone's work, but because the Kingdom has entered the world and touched the one being healed. And it is precisely in the Kingdom that the Sabbath receives its fullness. In fact, where else could communion with God be fuller? And that is the only meaning of the Sabbath. Then it is no longer important what a person does or what he is occupied with. No act, provided it is done in the Kingdom, will violate the Sabbath.
Readings for 25 October 2025
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