Author: Bill Hall

Luke 6:4 “how 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?”

   Jesus always excelled at reminding the Jewish leaders of the actual pages of Scripture. It challenged their traditions on a fundamental level. They couldn’t resist the plain truths, yet they had interpreted so much to satisfy their designs.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the purity of Your word! We can see in it the truth that it is untainted by man. Though You used men to write the words, we see that Your Spirit has guided the whole work. The blessing is therefore great to us. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:3 “But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:”

   The Lord Jesus, on several occasions, challenged the Jews to spend more time in the Scriptures. Was this due to a mass ignorance of Biblical knowledge? Yes and no. The Jewish leaders especially would be very familiar with some portions, such as the law. The memorization of large portions of the law was not uncommon. But, like many throughout history, they tended to major on certain passages and concepts. This left other passages and concepts to fade into obscurity. And, it is this filtering of the Scriptures that has led to all kinds of erroneous dogma.

Heavenly Father, what a mercy is Your Word! May we always embrace the whole of Scripture, loving it every part. To know You is a pursuit we must not limit by a narrow view of Scriptural concepts. We would serve You with a full understanding of our marching orders. Without it, we stand in danger of service without knowledge. We will praise You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:2 “And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

   The Pharisees were very strict observers of the law. To them the slightest infraction was to be considered a sin. And, they determined how that such infractions were measured and interpreted. Thus their piety was also pretension to a great degree.

Heavenly Father, give us Your mercy in allowing us to bring glory to You all of our days. In our humanity it is easy for us to do things as we see fit. But, we would serve Your purposes. We will live to love Your Name and bring You glory in Your congregation. You alone are God! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:1 “Now 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.”

   This was likely Shavuot, or Pentecost, at the time of the harvest of wheat. The only allowance for the gathering of the grains of wheat was made for the priests, who must make the show-bread. This immediately explains two things. First, it explains why this would be seen as wrong by the Pharisees. Second, it explains why it would be seen as right by the disciples.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the Bread from Heaven, the Lord Jesus! You have put Him above and before all things. Your wisdom and power are so complete! We stand in awe every hour. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:39 “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”

   Wine is a complicated subject. There are persons who spend their whole lives, and a portion of their fortunes, studying wine. This is why Jesus used this illustration. Like other subjects such as sports, politics, tech product offerings, and the like, wine can be a source of debate, discussion, and strongly held opinions.
   Religion is no different. The Jewish leaders preferred their dusty old traditions to the new and very common-sense teaching of Christ. A good example of the difference is the Sermon on the Mount. There Jesus takes the law and draws it out to some intensely practical implications that the traditionalists would have never considered. He once again calls upon persons to examine their heart motives, rather than just their automatic in-bred loyalties.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness in providing us with Your truth! We can see Your mercy and grace in every page. Give to us eyes to see wonderful things in Your word. Only by Your grace can we know You as we do. We give You the glory oh Lord, for You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:38 “But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

   The new direction the church would now take would be poured into the lives of the disciples. They were the proper vehicles for the truth they would receive. Though we may try to understand this in its fullness, the fact is that the Lord is (and always has been) the best at selecting His means. He does not see as we see. And as a result it will be hard for us to grasp the need for this change. But, really it is not a change, so much as a continued freshness. You can see throughout Scripture that God is a person. He does not change is Who He is, or in His Divine Essence. But, we see changes in His working with us throughout history. He does not still reside on mount Sinai, or behind the curtain in the temple. He is, however, no different than He was then, though those manifestations are now long past.

Heavenly Father, may we see and know what a mercy it is that we understand You at all. To know God, in all Your glory, is to know everything. Any other knowledge will come along behind. It is the chief end of man to know You as You are, rather than as we might perceive You. Thank You for Your revelation of Yourself! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:37 “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.”

   Jesus did not call His group of disciples from among the religious elite of Israel. And why? It was so hard for them to believe. Paul came from that group, but was even himself somewhat unique among them in his zeal. In the past there had been only a certain group of persons privileged to be this close to the Lord. Jesus picked from literally every cross-section of society, however, when He selected His students.

Heavenly Father, we are so glad that You have passed up the strong of this world and have used the weak. It seemed best that way to You, and You are always right. We praise You for using the least to make them the greatest in Your kingdom. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:36 “Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.”

   Jesus is explaining here one of the unique truths we find in Scripture. As time goes on, the plan of God builds upon itself. The Lord moves forward. There are changes in what He is doping with man. And yet, the basic principles stay the same. Here Jesus is helping the Jews begin to understand that there was to be a shift that they would find difficult at first. Indeed, even Jesus’ disciples had difficulty when they came to realize that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews. And that wasn’t the only big change. Jesus is giving them a ‘heads up’ so to speak. They needed to move forward in faith, rather than being stuck in tradition.

Heavenly Father, Your Word is so much deeper than we can imagine. As we read and allow Your Spirit to communicate, You show to us things that we never would have come to know. We cannot ever be thankful enough for Your truth. All of our lives, all of our futures, will be changed forever by Your truth. We give You the praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:35 “”But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

   Jesus was speaking of the time coming very soon when He would ascend to the Father after the resurrection. The early Christian church did practice fasting. And, it has been practiced at various times throughout the history of the church. However, it has not been a mainstream practice in recent years. There are individuals who still keep up the practice as it is something we should do as part of our worship.

Heavenly Father, we want to bring glory to Your Holy Name! Thank You for showing us how to serve You and honor You. We will seek Your glory all of our lives. Thank You for loving us so much! we will serve to show our sincere gratitude. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:34 “And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

   Nobody would imagine that the members of a wedding party would fast. They would be busy with the festivities. In the same way, Jesus’ disciples did not fast at this time because there was something more important to do. They could minister directly to the Lord. It was a special situation, and it precluded fasting. The Jews did not think of this themselves because they did not really believe Jesus was Who He claimed to be.

Heavenly Father, may we honor You at all times! Even when this world doesn’t understand our worship, we will seek to bring glory to You anyway. You are worthy of all the praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.