Religion versus following Jesus.

Reflections on Luke 6:

Why do your disciples eat grain when it is not lawful to eat this on a sabbath?

1) human tradition is a hard, unchanging thing - not questioning the assumptions of human tradition and comparing these with scripture leads to a hard spirit and mind that cannot receive God and a relationship with Him.

2) Religion supposes that the denial of legitimate human need, the exertion of effort to reach God and the working which produces self sorrow, agony and pain accomlishes the works of God. Hunger on a sabbath = holy? nothing can be further from true holiness and grace and the character of God. He has given His life to us, we receiving this in awesome wonder, receive a heart change from within and freely respond in every area of our lives, how different is God's approach and a human approach to reglion?

3) a faith relationship with Christ (who is the fulfillment of God's rest and complete plan for man) and heart obedience to Him, trusting in Him, trumps ceremonial law/old legal tradition of relating to God through old covenant relations as as specifed in Moses. 'bread of the presence not lawful but for priests to eat'. David managed to overcome even the mosaic priestly law through a love relationship with Christ. As strict as the law was, David managed to 'transgress' many of these : wearing the Ephod, ministering before the ark of the presence etc. as He transcended his calling of King to King-priest, as He was favoured by God, a picture of the King Priesthood of Christ, not arising from Levi. He obtained a new coventental priesthood through intimacy with Christ.

Notice Jesus does not set aside moral law but only the ceremonial aspect of this, He in fact upholds the moral law and enhances it in the sermon on the mount.

4) The way in which He challenges the pharisee challenging Him is gentle but firm, pointing to scriptures to help them to see that the way that they have been thinking is wrong all this while, indirectly saying, check the scripture, pray and ask God why these things are so, when you have come around to God's point of view of God wantng to bless, feed, commune and fellowship with man, when you have come around to a view of God's love, then come and believe in the Lord of the Sabbath, Me. Not an outright contradiciton to their ways (not this time) but dropping hints and signs and scriptures for them to investigate and dig deeper and pray over to come to Christ.

5) We cannot stipulate a formula to get to God except for faith and obedience to Him. The pharisees supposed that humanly not breaking the law will bring them closer to God, they extrapolated rules and regulations for every area of life to earn Gods favour. from moral law, extrapolated extra-biblical tradition for man to keep. With human mind trying to think on and add to clear revelation of the word, a clear no-no. Man complicates God's simple ways.

They thought by keeping their man made implications and rules that they would reach and please God. its like saying you must read an hour of the bible per day, not do this this this this this, and God will bless you. Discipline becomes over glorified, where important, and it has its place, nothing must ecipse Christ - and the good news of the grace of God, His person,  His character, obedience from the heart, faith etc. Christ and His grace central, everything else having its place. Discipline and human thinking become false idols.

Only faith and falling in love with Jesus can change the heart and that aspect of spiritual growth is uncontrollable, fully dependant on God's grace and the growth of faith.

6) trying to produce spirituality through outward control on behavior is folly to the max. it will only produce frustration, bitterness, anger and spiritual intimidation- outward control through fear of missing out on God, but no inward motivation to follow Christ and His ways and no power for a heart change.

God motivates through blessing not fear. He blesses us in Christ with righteousness so that we may obtain and bless ourselves even more in Him. In the overflow of blessing we bless the world.

7) The fear of the lord, reverence and love for His name keeps us from wanting to do evil but does not motivate us to draw nearer to God. Love motivates us to draw nearer to God, gives us confidence and boldness in His presence. We must have both, the fear of the lord to reverence Him and keep Holy though the grace He gives to us and taste His love to pursue His love and heart even more.