The Lord of the Sabbath

The Pharisees continue to object to Jesus. They are now looking for "violations" on which they can discredit him. The opportunity presents itself when Jesus and his disciples are passing through grainfields and the disciples pick some of the heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees cry foul because, according to their interpretations of Sabbath guidelines, this is considered "work." The issue here is not whether or not they were permitted to pick the grain in someone else's field (Deuteronomy 23:24-25 makes this provision clear); the complaint that the Pharisees raise is it taking place on the Sabbath. Jesus responds by citing the OT example of David, demonstrating that he (the Son of Man and the greater David) has authority over the Sabbath.

This point is corroborated by a second incident on a Sabbath day. When Jesus encounters a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue, he heals him. Luke tells us that the Pharisees are watching closely, looking for reasons to object to Jesus. And this is it. They again consider him doing something unlawful on the Sabbath. But Jesus puts the true law of God into perspective: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or to do evil? To save life? Or to destroy it?" Jesus is exposing their rules and regulations to be what they truly are - not the law of God - but actually a kingdom that stands diametrically opposed and incompatible with the Kingdom of God. This fills the Pharisees with rage and they begin plotting to be rid of Jesus. It is here that we see the clash of kingdoms clearly. (Like the moments in the Star Wars prequels where you begin to see the dark side of Palpatine, and he is revealed to be the Sith Lord that he actually is.) This group of well-respected, religious, pious men are reduced to mustache-twirling schemers hatching murder plots in the shadows.