He are now on the sixth Sabbath, and we are in Luke 14:1-6. It is a very similar to the fifth Sabbath, in that Jesus was going to heal someone on this holy day.
   Jesus had entered into on of the chief Pharisees house to eat some bread. While He ate, the Pharisees were watching Him. This was not just glancing, but the word watching carries the idea of inspecting and just as Sherlock Holmes would have checked out all the clues to the murder case, the Pharisees were looking for anything to catch Jesus and trap Him. A certain man had dropsy, a very painful condition. So Jesus asks the Pharisees if it is lawful to heal the man on the Sabbath. They said nothing, and Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way. Jesus then asks a hard question, if you had an animal that was in a terrible situation would you help it out? Especially if that animal was part of your livelihood? The obvious answer is that you would do everything you could, even on the Sabbath, to have that animal back. They do not even answer Him, the ones who were looking to trap the Lord, got trapped!
   The point Jesus is making here is simple. Honoring a day for the Lord is a good thing to do, but not at the expense of worshipping God instead of that day. The Pharisees were not focused on the Lord, they were focused on the Sabbath and all the Law. We should be focused on God, and nothing else! What is your focus on? Is it the Lord? or is it other things?

   Today we look at the fifth Sabbath Specific to the Book of Luke.
   Luke 13:10-17 is a scene where Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, as per usual and a lady was there was a woman who was severely handicapped with a spinal problem. She could even stand up straight. Jesus immediately healed her and the ruler of the synagogue, a strict traditionalist, did not show any mercy of love for this woman. He figured she should be on one of the other days, not the Sabbath. The problem, which is not the first we have seen, is that this ruler had no heart for God, only the rules and regulations of the law. He had religion, but no relationship. So Jesus points out this issue to this ruler, and all those who opposed Jesus were ashamed. The people rejoiced over the healings and miracles taking place. Jesus healed that woman physically, and undoubtedly spiritually,  some of the people may have become followers of Jesus that day, some would not have. Jesus did glorious things, and that glory was reserved for the Father.
   On this Sabbath, Jesus healed a woman, it does not matter what day of the week, or any particular moment, Jesus heals. He healed then, and He will heal now, does your heart need healing today? Do you need the Savior? You can be set free from your infirmities, and sin, trust Him today!

   Right after the Third Sabbath we see an account of another Sabbath, it doesn't say how long after, but I think it was a pretty short time between the third and fourth. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and one of the people in the synagogue was a man with a withered hand. It was very possible that this man was a plasterer by trade and this was the result of his work. He would not be able to work, making this very important to his livelihood.
   Then we see the Pharisees and scribes, they were watching Jesus, they didn't listen to Him they were getting ready to pounce. They knew Jesus was a miracle worker, one who had compassion and they recognized that this was a perfect opportunity for Jesus to heal the man and authenticate the message He was teaching. Jesus, however, knew their thoughts, so He had the man stand up, and He asked the Pharisees a very important question, "What is more important saving lives or obeying rules?" Then He healed the man. The Pharisees became upset and started to plot against Jesus.
   Jesus is the Great Physician, and He knows our thoughts. It was during this Sabbath that Jesus healed a man and showed His power to everyone. Instead of rejoicing in the man's healing, they became angry with the Healer, they had lost their focus. Many times we lose our focus and we become angry with God instead of rejoicing for what He is doing. I think of Jonah, who should have been pleased when Nineveh was saved and they repented, instead he was angry with God. Jonah was focused on the judgment of God, not the mercy. The Pharisees were concerned with legalism not freedom. Let's examine ourselves, are we focusing on some rules, or regulations, traditions, legalism, or are we focused on the Lord Jess

As I have studied the Seven Sabbaths Unique to Luke, I find that some of these are in the other Gospels to some degree or another, but these seven specific cases have special meaning to Luke. The gospel of Luke was written to show that Jesus was human, it was a look at Jesus not just from His Divine side, but His human side. It is in Luke we see some of the human frailties in Jesus. So as we continue in this mini-series recognize that these are specific to Luke, and are described in Luke, but a few are written in the other Gospels. I trust that these have been encouraging. :)
   - Assistant Pastor Rick Mitton

   We have seen two of the Sabbaths that are Unique to the Book of Luke. Now to look at the Third.
   We are in Luke 6:1-5 and we see Jesus in a corn field with His Disciples. They went into some corn fields and plucked the ears of corn and ate it. They rubbed the ears in their hands. This was not the kind of corn we would generally have, but it was grain. And the processing for a quick meal was to rub it with your hands and the chaff would fall to the ground leaving the grain in your hand to eat. So as they did this, some of the Pharisees (uh oh) ask them why they did that on the Sabbath, knowing it was illegal to work on the Sabbath. Jesus tells the Pharisees that David had done the same without backlash, or any worry about a broken Sabbath Law, but that it was out of necessity. Jesus then exclaims that He is the Lord of the Sabbath!
   To call yourself Lord of the Sabbath is a direct reference to the Deity of Christ. To be the master or lord of the Sabbath means you have control over what is done on the Sabbath, said on the Sabbath, or allowed on the Sabbath. Jesus here is telling the Pharisees that they are not the Lords of the Sabbath, they dont make the rules, He does. And He is not just the master over the Sabbath but the other days too. He was there at Creation (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1; Genesis 1:1), and He was there when the Sabbath was instituted.
   Jesus should not be just the Lord of the Sabbath but over our whole lives. Is Jesus the Lord of your life?
   - Assistant Pastor Rick Mitton