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what sabbath rules were the pharisees following that jesus was challenging here?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Luke 6:1-5

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first, that he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” Jesus answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he, and those who were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and took and ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Luke, a physician and careful historian, wrote this Gospel to explain the life and teachings of Jesus. In this passage, Jesus and his disciples are traveling through fields on the Sabbath, and their actions draw criticism from some religious leaders.

What does being 'lord of the Sabbath' mean for how we understand rest and responsibility today?

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Read alongside it

  • Mark 2:27-28

    This parallel passage explicitly states, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'

  • Matthew 12:1-8

    Another account of this same event, where Jesus adds the saying, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'

  • Exodus 20:8-11

    The foundational command for observing the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments, emphasizing rest and remembrance of creation.

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