6:1,2
In the gospels we see a growing conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities, and others. Jesus was rejected at Nazareth, there was the forgiving of the paralysed man, mixing with “tax collectors and sinners”, then the questions about fasting. Now we get one of the several Sabbath confrontations. Jesus is radically different from anyone who has come before, and He also makes audacious claims about Himself. He claimed to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1,2, He claimed to be able to forgive sins, He has claimed to be the bridegroom. Now He will claim to be Lord of the Sabbath.
It was a Sabbath and the disciples were eating grains of corn. Taking the grains of corn was not the problem, the Law said that people could take the corn from the edges of fields, it was doing this on the Sabbath that was the “problem”.
6:3,4
Jesus referred the Pharisees to the Bible. We don’t appreciate what a sharp barb this would be. The Pharisees claimed to be the true upholders of the Law and the Prophets, they prided themselves on this, yet here was Jesus saying they did not know the Bible. Jesus refers them to the time that David fed his followers on consecrated bread, breaking the Law (Lev 24:5,9). The Pharisees had a totally wrong view of the Law. There are two things to notice about Jesus’ attitude to the Law here. First is that a legalistic interpretation, or application, was not the way to go. If you do that you miss the spirit of the Law. Secondly, seemingly insignificant incidents in the Bible are regarded as very important. Jesus regarded all the Old Testament as the word of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment