Luke 6:1-11 1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” 6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Honor the Lord of the Sabbath by truly resting in Christ. Let’s say this again: please know that man-made religion kills. This is somewhat of a carry-over from last week and the end of Luke 5. There we saw Jesus condemn any kind of religion of man that seeks to justify himself on the basis of his good deeds or his not doing bad things and his keeping religious rituals. What we always have to hold to is the truth that sinful man is so lost in his sin that he needs a rescue and only this will do. But let me say something a little more here.
It’s real easy to read this and simply condemn the Pharisees and other kinds of religions that are legalistic, that try to get God’s approval by their efforts. It’s easy to do that because that’s what Jesus did. Right? But beloved, look behind or deeper into what Jesus was doing. Jesus was simply attacking whatever it was that kept people out of heaven, that kept people enslaved, that kept people blinded to the grace and glory of God. Do you see? Jesus is against anything that keeps men from worshiping God. Listen, Jesus attacked anything that deceived men into thinking that they were right with God when they really were not.
Now, in his day on earth, what was the dominant religious thinking that did that? Legalism – self-righteousness. Had it been something else, Jesus would have attacked it. The reason I bring this up is we have to be aware of our world today, right now, 21st century, America. What is the main religious idea that keeps people blinded to the glory and grace of Jesus? What’s the main religious idea, the main way people think about God that keeps people under the delusion that God has accepted them when he really hasn’t? It’s cheap grace. It’s the idea that God loves me no matter what and I can do no matter what and I can live how I want to … it’s motto is “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness that to get permission” so just live how you want, and God will rubber stamp your life because the Lord exists to make you happy, wealthy, and wise. And above all, God is all about tolerance and will not condemn nor judge anyone; now, no one says it like that because when you do it sounds wrong, but that’s how people think.
Friends, let me just tell you something: cheap grace is blinding just as many people to the glory of God, spiritually killing, deceiving and sending to hell just as many people as Phariseeism did in Jesus’ day; and it does that because it is a man-made religion; it’s the religion of men; it still has self in the center; it does not have God in the center; it does not really deal with our sin – it preaches forgiveness but not transformation and that is a half-gospel, which is a false gospel masquerading as the real Gospel; it’s a false Christ, a false religion.
And again, there is at least a subtle tip here for us when Jesus appeals to the Scriptures in v3 [“have you not read…]. See, the Pharisees did not. Jesus did. Jesus roots his religion in the Bible. Man does not. Man may use the Bible like a springboard; you just bounce off of it into something else – so verses about forgiveness, and God’s love, and God’s mercy and patience and grace (all of which are true) will be used to the exclusion of many others that speak of God’s judgment, justice, the need to be born-again, the need to repent, the truth that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and what it means to really follow Jesus.
Friend, are you suffering under that delusion? The delusion that everything is OK with you and God because you would never think God would judge you or your sin, just overlooks it, just wants you to be happy no matter what? Let me explain the only way he can be pleased with you so that we are real clear on this – you must truly rest in Jesus. The Bible tells us that there is a rest, an eternal Sabbath rest that we are all invited to enter into – you can call it eternal life. Heb 4 call us to this and speaks there of how Jesus worked for us and because of his work, his obedience, his good deeds, namely his death on the cross and his resurrection, namely those two good deeds, that we can rest forever with God and we don’t have to earn eternal life, earn his acceptance or favor or pleasure; he worked and we rest. So the Bible calls us to rest in Jesus – rely on Him – trust in Christ and not in self.
But the Bible then says strange things like this: Heb 4:11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
What? Strive (Greek: agonize) to enter that rest. “Preacher, You just said Jesus strove for us, he worked for us, he died, and now we rest. But the Bible says, “Strive.” What gives?” Beloved, don’t you know that the striving we do is the striving to rest in Jesus? Don’t you know that it is work to trust in Jesus alone and not fall into legalism? Don’t you know that sin and Satan want you to go to hell and are fighting for your soul and there is a fight to rest in Christ and keep on resting? Don’t you know that it requires effort to believe that Jesus is better than money, or sex, or sports, or safety, or security, or the praise of men … to rest in Jesus more than those things? And beloved, if someone does nothing but rest in those things instead of Jesus, then they are not resting in Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, who purchased their rest for them. Are you striving to rest? Don’t you know resting in Jesus looks like cutting off sin and loving Jesus and following him? Are you resting in Christ or other things? Come to Jesus my friends. Fight unbelief. Fight to believe in Christ. Fight against sin and doubt and legalism to trust in Christ. Get out your sword and kill lust … legalism … worldliness … anger … fear! Fight the good fight of [rest]/faith. Come to Jesus. Stay in Jesus. He is our rest.
