“The Second Sabbath After the First”

    “And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Luke 6:1-5).

    There is a phrase used in the opening verse of this sixth chapter of Luke that is found nowhere else in the Bible. It is a phrase which has been the subject of much debate for hundreds of years. The phrase is “The second sabbath after the first.”

    Some of the great theologians of the past tell us that this phrase refers to the sabbath following the cutting of the first sheaf of harvest during the Jews’ passover week. Others say the phrase refers to the three great sabbaths kept by the Jews every year (The Feast of Passover, The Feast of Pentecost, The Feast of Tabernacles), and that this sabbath was the sabbath kept during the Feast of Pentecost.

    Certainly, this phrase refers to a sabbath day commonly known to the Jews living at the time as “the second sabbath after the first”, or (more literally) “the second first sabbath.” But who cares which one it was?

    What is more important is this: why did God the Holy Spirit inspire and direct Luke to these particular words here? That I am interested in knowing; and the answer is very simple. The Lord of the sabbath had come to fulfil and forever abolish the first, carnal, ceremonial sabbath of the law, that he might establish that blessed, second sabbath of the gospel, that he might forever be the Sabbath Rest of his people. Christ is our Sabbath.

    First, the Spirit of God here sets before us a glaring example of a deadly sin. We are told that on a certain sabbath day our Lord Jesus and his disciples walked through the corn fields. As they did, the disciples, being hungry, picked some ears of the grain, rubbed it in their hands, and had a snack.

    Immediately, the Pharisees charged the Lord’s disciples with what they thought was a very serious crime. These men had broken the fourth commandment of the law. They had done work on the sabbath day! However, the deadly sin revealed here is not seen in the action of the disciples, but in the action of the Pharisees.

    The most deadly sin of all is the sin of self-righteousness. Our Lord warns us in many ways and repeatedly to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. That leaven which corrupts and destroys everything it touches is self-righteousness and hypocrisy. Self-righteousness and hypocrisy attach great importance to outward things in religion, things other people see, applaud and reward; but it neglects inward, spiritual heart worship.

    These Pharisees were sticklers for sabbath keeping, but notorious for covetousness (Luke 16:14). They strained the tiniest gnat from their ceremonial religious cup regarding some things, and swallowed the camel in other matters. They were quick to censor, criticize, and condemn others.

    God hates the spirit of the Pharisee! God Almighty hates self-righteousness. Nothing is more abhorrent to him than the stench of self-righteousness (Isaiah 65:1-5; Luke 18:9-14; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 23:23).

    And nothing is more likely to keep a sinner from Christ than self-righteousness (Romans 9:30-10:4). Religion without Christ is the most damning thing in this world. Every act, practice, profession and pretence of religion without Christ is eating and drinking damnation to your soul, not discerning the Lord’s body, not understanding the gospel.

    Second, the Lord Jesus Christ is set before us in this passage as a defending Saviour. No sooner did the Pharisees accuse the disciples of evil than the Lord Jesus took up their cause and defended them against their accusers. He answered the cavils of their enemies. He did not leave his followers to answer for and defend themselves. He answered for them and defended them.

    What a blessed, encouraging, delightful picture this is of our Saviour’s unceasing work on our behalf! We read in the Book of God of one who is called “the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them day and night” (Revelation 12:10). He is Satan, the prince of darkness. How often we accommodate our accuser, giving him many grounds for his accusations! How many charges he might justly lay against us! But he, who is our Saviour, ever pleads our cause, both in heaven and on earth, and defends us. Christ is our Rock, our Salvation, our Refuge, our Defence and our Defender (1 John 2:1, 2; Romans 8:28-35).

    When my adversary, the devil, accuses me of some evil by the lips of a man on earth, I respond, “Let Christ answer for me.” When the fiend of hell accuses me of horrid evils in my own mind and conscience, as he often does, I respond, “Let Christ answer for me.” In the day of judgment should that wicked one be allowed to appear, point his accusing finger, and attempt to have my crimes charged against me, I will yet respond, “Let Christ answer for me.”

    Third, the Spirit of God points us to a delightful sabbath. I read one commentator’s explanation of this passage, and could hardly believe what he put on paper. I knew he was inclined toward legality; but I was still surprised by what he wrote. As he attempted to protect sabbath observance, he said, “We must not interpret the Lord’s words in this passage as an indication that the fourth commandment is no longer to bind Christians.”

    The Lord Jesus Christ did not come here to bind his people with the rigours of legal bondage. He came here to set his people free. He who is our Saviour is both the Lord of the sabbath and our Sabbath (Luke 6:5). The Word of God speaks clearly.

    “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).

    “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16, 17).

    Christ, as the Lord of the sabbath, is the one who established it. He is the one for whom it was established. He is the one to whom it pointed, the one typified by it. Christ is the one who fulfilled it. Having fulfilled it, he abolished it forever (Romans 10:4; Colossians 2:16, 17).

    We rejoice to keep the gospel sabbath of faith; but the pretentious practice of observing a carnal, legal sabbath day is specifically prohibited in Colossians 2:16. We keep that which is here called, “the second Sabbath after the first”, the blessed sabbath of rest in Christ. Coming to him, we cease from our own works and rest in him (Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:9-11). The penalty of not keeping this sabbath is death, eternal death. That is the penalty God places upon all the works men do for salvation (John 3:36).

    I heard the voice of Jesus say,

    “Come unto me and rest;

    Lay down, thou weary one lay down,

    Thy head upon my breast.”

    I came to Jesus as I was,

    Weary, and worn, and sad;

    I found in him a resting place,

    And he has made me glad!

    Horatius Bonar