Luke 6:1-11
“Notice what you notice.” Right away in today’s first verse, my NKJV reads Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grain fields, citing “some manuscripts” as their source for this particular translation. The other two translations that I looked at said simply “On a Sabbath…”. Still, (in the NKJV wording) it is unusual for Luke to be so chronologically specific, essentially placing Jesus still in the nearby area. Small matter, but intriguing.
Of more interest is today’s final verse, But they were filled with rage and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus (NKJV). Other translations use fury or folly instead of rage. Here we have Luke reflecting more emotion on the part of the Pharisees than either of the other two writers. All three have the Pharisees, scribes, Herodians plotting about destroying Jesus, or what they might do with Him. But the thought of rage when a withered man’s hand had been restored… That’s “over the top”. I suspect that their reaction was more intense, in part, because this event happened in a Synagogue on the Sabbath.
Still, why this enormous fixation on the Sabbath? Especially with a small item like plucking grain… Unfortunately, it won’t be the last time that we see Jesus confronted about His Sabbath behavior.
Slava Bohu!