Luke 6:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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?”

NIV: He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.'

NASB: how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?'

CSB: 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? He even gave some to those who were with him."

NLT: He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.'

KJV: 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?

NKJV: 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?”

The Pharisees are criticizing Jesus' disciples for picking and eating grain as they walk through a field on the Sabbath. Jesus reminds them of when David, before he was king, asked for and received the bread of the Presence from the tabernacle. It's an odd comparison when read without sufficient background information.

The Pharisees were a sect of Judaism that followed not only the Mosaic law but also the extra-scriptural oral law: regulations which scribes claimed God gave to Moses but weren't written down. In truth, the oral law was developed by scribes and rabbis who wanted to put a hedge around the Mosaic law so the people wouldn't break it and be sent into exile again (Jeremiah 1:14–16; 2 Kings 25:8–12).

After the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, rabbis wrote out the oral law so the scattered Jews could have a standardized record. These are now known as the Talmud and Mishnah. The section of the Mishnah related to Sabbath rules is the Shabbat. One of the strongest sections on the Sabbath in the Bible (Exodus 31:12–17) directly follows the instructions for the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1—31:11). Scribes took this to mean that those who built and maintained the tabernacle still needed to follow the Sabbath.

This proximity led the scribes to align their rules about the Sabbath with the rules for the construction and maintenance of the tabernacle. The specific regulations they developed relate to things like tanning hides, as for the tabernacle cover; carrying things, like the pieces of the tabernacle; making and sewing fabric, like for the curtains that separate the Holy of Holies; and lighting and extinguishing a fire, like for the altar of incense.

The first part of the regulations, however, have to do with making bread. They include reaping and separating the husk from the kernel. This relates directly to the making of the bread of the Presence.

The disciples' act of plucking grain breaks the manmade rule related to the baking of the bread of the Presence. Yet, David actually ate the bread of the Presence (1 Samuel 21:1–6) which was reserved specifically and exclusively for the priests (Leviticus 24:5–9).

Jesus is indeed lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), but He says something else Luke does not record: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). All of it—the Sabbath, the bread of the Presence, the Mosaic law—was given to keep the Israelites in holy communion with God. For the Jews, it would, indeed, break the Sabbath to harvest grain, grind it, and make bread; that is work. And yet, the Sabbath is meant to be a blessing, not a burden, and if going without food is a burden, then it's okay to make the minimal effort to find food.

Luke 6:1–5 begins another altercation between Jesus and local religious leaders; this is the first related to the Sabbath. The Pharisees added rules to the Sabbath which served more as burdens than ways to honor God. Jesus counters that the Sabbath is for restoration and nurturing, not hardship. In the first occurrence, He defends the disciples as they pick grain heads. Next, He will heal a man with a withered hand (Luke 6:6–11). The purpose of the Sabbath is to refrain from labor, not refrain from good. Matthew 12:1–8 and Mark 2:23–28 also record this interaction.

Luke 6 contains two main sections of teaching and calls to discipleship. Luke 6:1–16 continues the pattern of Luke 5. The two ways in which Jesus sets aside tradition—this time by taking authority over the Sabbath—are paired with His call for the Twelve disciples. Luke 6:17–49 records Jesus' teaching on the ''level place,'' or His ''Sermon on the Plain,'' and a call to a crowd for general discipleship. Much of this material has parallels in Matthew 5 through 7, but it's not clear if the two accounts are of the same event. As a travelling teacher, Christ likely gave the same general message multiple times.

Luke 6 completes Jesus' call for disciples and followers that started in Luke 5. Luke 5:1—6:16 consists of three calls for disciples, each paired with two revolutionary teachings about Jesus' authority that increasingly infuriate the religious leaders. Luke 6:17–49 continues the theme with a general call for followers and a description of their responsibilities. In Luke 7:1—8:3, Jesus interacts with the other: Gentiles, women, and even the dead. This is followed by another general call (Luke 8:4–21), a series of miracles (Luke 8:22—9:17), and a final call for the Twelve to follow Him even more deeply (Luke 9:18–50).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.