Introduction Remember Jesus is introducing a new Sabbath (vv.1-11), a new nation (vv.12-19) and a new blessing (vv.20-49). Jesus has been trying to impress upon the religious leaders that meeting real needs, addressing the human condition is more important than religion or ritual. In this section Jesus makes it clear that doing good, showing kindness, demonstrating mercy and saving life is more important than religion and ritual (vv.6-11). This is not to say that religion has no importance and ritual has no place in the life of the believer. Some of us are content to treat church and the Bible and the rules as the do all, be all, end all we confuse our religion with our relationship and fellowship with God. Church and the Bible and the instructions are supposed to help us cultivate love and grace and mercy, the recognition of sin, the power of God so that we can enjoy fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with each other. There is today an evangelical rationalism which says that the truth is in the Word and if you want to know truth, go learn the Word. If you get the Word, you have the truth. That is the evangelical rationalism that we have in fundamentalist circles: "If you learn the text you've got the truth." This evangelical rationalist wears our uniform. He comes in wearing our uniform and says what the Pharisees... said: "Well, truth is truth and if you believe the truth you've got it." Such see no beyond and no mystic depth, no mysterious or divine. They see only, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord." They have the text and the code and the creed, and to them that is the truth. So they pass it on to others. The result is we are dying spiritually. To know the Truth, we must "know" the Son. (A. W. Tozer in Power for Living (Oct. 16, 1977). Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 13). Legalism is self-righteousness. It is the belief that God is satisfied with our attempt to obey a moral code (Erwin W. Lutzer). Legalism On The Offense: Opportunities To Accuse (vv.6-7) Luke 6:6-7 (NKJV) 6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. The drama takes place on the Sabbath day. Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. We are not told what the sermon was about. There was a man in the synagogue whose right hand was withered. We don t know if he was a regular member or a guy who was planted by the religious leaders to tempt Jesus to heal on the Sabbath day. We are not told. It probably doesn t matter. 1
(v.7) The word watched in the original language means to give attention or to scrutinize. The Greek word is pareterounto which means to watch closely in the same way that a predator evaluates its prey. Did the religious leaders want to watch Jesus so they could learn from him, or imitate him, or love him? No they were there to find some fault so they could accuse him! Think for just a moment they were there to see if Jesus would show some kindness, some compassion some love and heal the man so they could charge him with sin! The Scribes the Pharisees were the religious gatekeepers. They seem to have been without mercy or compassion. You will recall that Jesus said, Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matt.5:7) Kent Hughes writes, Put another way, a merciful spirit is a sign of having received mercy. No matter how religious you are, if you do not care about the welfare of others, if you have no concern about the salvation of the lost, you are lost! Do not soften this, because Jesus never did (p.202). It was their job to make sure Jesus did not doing anything immoral, or illegal or unscriptural. But it was not their job to elevate human tradition to the level of divine law. The ministry of the Scribe began in about 450 B.C. In a crucial time in the history of the nation, Ezra the Scribe read from the Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) to the handful of people who returned to the land from the Babylonian Captivity. The Law bound the people together and helped insure the survival of the Jewish people. Since the Law was the greatest thing in the life of the people, the job of Scribe became the most important profession. The job of the Scribe was to study, to teach and preserve the Law. Through the years the Scribe took the Law of God and attempted to define every key phrase and word of the law. They ended up with thousands and thousands of rules and regulations to govern people s lives. When the Scribal Law was finally complete it contained more than fifty volumes. Legalism makes demands and binds God s people where God has left them free. Legalism majors on the minors and minors on the majors. There was an early tradition found in The Gospel According to the Hebrews (not in the New Testament) that the man was a carpenter who made his living with his hands. It adds that the man pleaded with Jesus to heal him so that he might not have to beg for food in shame. He who makes the law his standard is obligated to perform all its precepts, for to break one commandment is to break the law. He who lives by faith and love is not judged on that basis, but by a standard infinitely higher and at the same time more attainable (Joseph Fletcher). I cannot keep count of the number of people in whom religion, the love of God and the desire to serve him, or even a quite secular ideal of perfection, lead only to a life of sterility, sadness, and anxiety. The fear of sinning has killed all their spontaneity. The subtle analysis of their conscience has taken the place of that childlike simplicity of heart 2
that Christ demands. All joy has been replaced by the pursuit of duty. They have come to the point of doing nothing that gives them pleasure, as if God, who loves us, never required any but disagreeable things of us! They make incredible efforts but win no victories. They are always comparing themselves with those they look upon as their betters (Paul Tournier). Believers who are motivated by legalism are always anxious to know what is expected of them. They want to do only what is necessary to make themselves look respectable. They crave specific rules so they can know precisely how to behave. They plod along hoping that someday their efforts will pay off. According to the New Testament such people are legalists; they are using the law to establish their righteousness (Erwin W. Lutzer). Love On The Offense: Authority To Heal (vv.8-10) Luke 6:8-9 (NKJV) 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, Arise and stand here. And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy? When the Bible says He knew their thoughts I suspect that means literally he knew what they were thinking. He knew what their true motivations were. Jesus had the power of God. This is one more evidence for His Deity. They were looking for an excuse to find fault with Jesus. But Jesus was going to use this opportunity to help them thing through their legalistic position. He is going to challenge them to contemplate the whole matter and be honest in their conclusions. (v.9) I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy? In Matthew s gospel (12:11-12) Jesus illustrates that every man in the Synagogue would rescue a sheep on the Sabbath, so why not a man? Jesus is in effect not only claiming to the Lord of the Sabbath, He is claiming to be the Lord of all that is good and the Lord of Salvation. Jesus claims to be the one who does good and the one who saves life. When Jesus reasons with the religious leaders it is not evidence that He hates them but rather that He loves them. Jesus love extends to those who violently hate him, reject him, and who even refuse him. Jesus is appealing to them to be open and honest and confess the truth. What Jesus was about to do was good and had at its core the desire to heal, to save, to restore. The point is overwhelming doing good and saving life always supersedes religion and rituals. The stunned Scribes and Pharisees are speechless. 3
Christ's answer to legalism is that external obedience to the moral law must be coupled with a corresponding inner attitude of love and honesty. Christ's teaching was not intended to abrogate obedience to the moral law, but to add to its intended spirit (Erwin W. Lutzer). The silence must have been deafening. Then the Savior s voice roars Stretch out your hand. Luke 6:10 (NKJV) 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Jesus healed the man. Jesus asked the man to do what he could not do. Stretch out your hand. The man s hand was withered. Again this miracle illustrates the power of God s word. The man did so and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Luke 1:37 (NKJV) 37 For with God nothing will be impossible. Why not wait? Because now is the day of salvation. The man s hand needed to be healed. His life needed to be saved. He may or may not ever see Jesus again. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV) 2 For He says: In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Someone called my show and asked me the question, What does it mean to honor the Sabbath day, and keep it holy? I did not get a chance to answer his question on the air. I wanted to ask, Why do you want to know? Is it so you can know the rules and regulations, so you can know what is expected of you? The greater question is what is the purpose of the law? The first great purpose of the Law of God is to reflect the perfect righteousness of the Lord. The law of God tells us much about who God is. Augustine wrote, The law orders that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace. The law exposes our weakness so that we might find strength in Christ. It is the schoolmaster who drives us to the Lord. The second great purpose of the Law is to restrain evil. The law does not change human hearts. It can serve to protect the righteous from the unjust. The law allows for a limited measure of justice on this earth until Jesus Christ shows up. The third purpose of the law is to reveal what is pleasing to the Lord. We are born-again, we are the children of God. The law enlightens us as to what is pleasing to our Father (see Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul pp.255-257). Has the Lord ever asked you to do the impossible? When God commands something He will always provide the power the enablement the provision. 4
Jesus could have waited a few hours and healed the man after the Sabbath was over. Jesus could have healed the man privately. Jesus healed the man openly and immediately. It was a deliberate violation of the Sabbath traditions. Earlier in the chapter Jesus defended his actions from the Scripture. Now Jesus bases his defense on what he does in the Synagogue based on the nature of God s Sabbath law. God gave that law to help people, not to hurt them. Mark 2:27 (NKJV) 27 And He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Legalism On The Defense: Strategies To Get Rid of Jesus (v.11) Luke 6:11 (NKJV) 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. In the end, grace-haters must find a way to get rid of Jesus. Mark 3:6 (NKJV) 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. The Herodians were a group of Jews who supported the Herods in power in the Roman provincial government. They were natural enemies of the Pharisees. Both united in their common opposition to get rid of Jesus. It would be like if the KKK and NAACP joined forces to kill a political candidate. Legalism often leads to the ludicrous and then the lethal. But they were filled with rage. How angry? The kind of anger generated when you are threatened, when your way of life comes under attack. The religious leaders were certain that Jesus was bashing their religion, their customs, their traditions. They knew Jesus was a credible threat. One of the marks of a cult is blind devotion to the irrational, the indefensible. Make no mistake about it, the legalist is as much a slave to legalism as he or she ever was to the sins of their formal life. This was the accusation Jesus will level at the leaders, Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers (Luke 11:46). The doctrine of damnation is applied to all who fail to measure up to their organizational standards. Some of the most virtuous men in the world are also the bitterest and most unhappy because they have unconsciously come to believe that all their happiness depends on their being more virtuous than other men (Thomas Merton). 5
Can I suggest something? The less truth an organization represents, the more organization it requires. Truth produces loyalty. The absence of truth makes necessary the bonds, the chains, of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not keeping the rules. Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Jesus has made us free. Why would you be entangled in the yoke of bondage? Why would you carass your chains? Why do you kiss your captor? Why do you love the rules so much? Because the Bible says so. Ps 119:159-176 159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. 160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. 161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. 162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. 163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. 164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. 165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. 166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. 167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. 168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. 169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. 170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word. 171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. 172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. 173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. 174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments. Conclusion There's something comfortable about reducing Christianity to a list of do's and don'ts, whether your list comes from mindless fundamentalism or mindless liberalism: you always know where you stand, and this helps reduce anxiety. Do's-and-don'ts-ism has the advantage that you don't need wisdom. You don't have to think subtly or make hard choices. You don't have to relate personally to a demanding and loving Lord. -- Robert C. Roberts in The Reformed Journal (Feb. 1987). Christianity Today 6