Luke 6
Luke 6 (NKJV)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.

2And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

3But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

5And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

6Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.

7So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.

8But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.

9Then 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?”

10And 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.

11But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

12Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

14Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

15Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;

16Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

18as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

19And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes

20Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.

22Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24“But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.

25Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

29To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

30Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

31And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

32“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.

35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

36Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Do Not Judge

37“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

39And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

41And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?

42Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

43“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build on the Rock

46“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

47Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

48He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

49But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently against that house; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

Exodus 31:12–18
Exodus 31:12–18 (NKJV)

The Sabbath Law

12And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

14You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

15Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

17It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

18And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Mark 2:27
Mark 2:27 (NKJV)

27And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

Scripture readings

Devotional 📖

What is the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is a day of rest for the Earth and for the people of God. On the Sabbath, they would spend time resting from work to meditate on who God is and what He’s done for them. The Sabbath gives us time to experience deeper revelations of God and our identity in Him as His chosen ones. It’s a holy day, meaning that it has been set apart by God for God. We need the Sabbath so our souls can be refreshed.

The 24/7 grind culture is an attack against our relationships with God. If Satan can’t tempt you to sin, He’ll make you busy, then you’ll be too busy for Him. 

If you can't rest in his presence on Earth how are you gonna know how to rest in his presence in heaven?

Jesus here made a statement that almost got Him stoned (defo wasn’t the first or last time this happened)!

He said He is Lord over the sabbath. Man was not made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man.

The Pharisees prohibited anyone from doing anything on the Sabbath to the point where it became a day of bondage rather than relief and rest for the people of God. People were threatened to be kicked out of their communities if they were seen carrying a mat on that day.

The Sabbath is a time of rest and encounter with God and was made for us. This means that we don’t follow the Sabbath because the day in itself holds authority, but in reverence to the Creator who knows what we need and declared that we should take a Sabbath rest each week. Observing His laws while dishonouring His person will get you nowhere. The Pharisees had so much confidence in the laws of God, that they had missed out on His person. 

What Jesus was showing us is that He is not bound by the authority of the Sabbath, but is Lord over the Sabbath, so declares what is lawful on that day. The Pharisees were unable to see God clearly because of their blind obedience to tradition. They misunderstood the heart of God in declaring the Sabbath, oppressing His people with laws instead of seeking out the Person behind the laws. Some of us have been guilty of this, thinking Christianity is a rulebook, rather than seeking out the person it reveals: Jesus Christ.

‘Lord’ - ‘Kurios’ - supremacy - the state of being superior to all others in authority, power, or status. 

Many of us know Jesus as saviour, as Son of God, Son of man, but not as Lord. To call Jesus Lord is to submit our lives to His divine authority. It means we automatically take the posture of servanthood. He has supreme authority over our lives and dictates what we do.

If reading that sentence made you uncomfortable…maybe He isn’t truly your Lord?

I encourage you to take note of what areas of your life are truly submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Oftentimes, the situations we are in don’t change, because we remain Lord over them and we don’t possess the power to change them. It’s only through submission that we will see the power of God at work in our lives. 

The truth of Jesus is that He is Lord. It’s not a title He earned post-resurrection, it’s what He was called even on Earth. He is the supreme ruler, is in complete control, and has authority over every single thing that possesses power. Our response to this truth if we profess His Lordship is obedience. We cannot ask Him to take care of our situations and still remain Lord over our own lives. We need Him to teach us how to submit as He did. More than our words, a life of obedience is a love offering to Him. 

Prayer 🙏

Lord Jesus, I recognise you as supreme ruler over my life, my health, my body, my mind, my heart, my soul and my spirit. My response to your Lordship is obedience. Help to submit to you Lord, ever ready for service. Grant me a willing spirit and make me quick to obey and eager to serve. I surrender all areas of my life to you and bring myself under your authority. Take control of everything Lord and let your will be done in my life as it is in heaven.

In Jesus name,

Amen