This morning’s reading from Luke 5:33–39 reminds us that following Jesus means being open to new things. When questioned about why His disciples aren’t fasting like others, Jesus responds with a parable about weddings, wine, and garments. His message is clear: something new is happening, and it can’t be squeezed into old patterns. Just like you can’t patch an old coat with new fabric or pour new wine into old skins, you can’t experience the fullness of Jesus while clinging to old ways. But here’s the challenge—most of us prefer what we know. We like the old wine. Yet Jesus invites us to be stretched, to embrace the new, and to make room for joy and transformation. Let’s not miss what God is doing because we’re too comfortable with what’s familiar.

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Good morning. It’s good to be with you today as we continue our journey through Luke’s Gospel. I hope your week is off to a great start. It’s a busy one around here—school is starting soon for many. We don’t have kids starting school anymore; ours are heading off to college. That’s a weird place to be, especially when we see friends getting their little ones ready for school. It’s just another reminder that getting older is a strange ride.

Today, we’re going to look at two sections from Luke 6 because they fit so well together—Luke 6:1–11.

One Sabbath, while Jesus was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Can you imagine getting to a place where you’re angry because something good happened? Verse 7 is chilling—the scribes and Pharisees watched Jesus, hoping to catch him healing someone so they could accuse him. Imagine disliking someone so much that even their kindness makes you upset. That’s a dangerous place to be.

It’s important to remember who the Pharisees were and why they mattered. After the exile to Babylon, some Jewish leaders realized that they had failed to keep the law back in the Promised Land. They believed that this failure led to God’s punishment. So when they returned, they were determined to keep the law strictly and completely. That was a noble intent. The Pharisees weren’t villains—they were people who wanted to honor God. Their intentions were good.

But much of the law is vague, especially laws like the Sabbath. The command says to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. No work, rest, worship—those are the ideas. But what does that look like practically? That’s where the Pharisees stepped in. They created specific interpretations and rules to clarify what “no work” really meant.

In some ways, that’s like how I cook. My wife is a great cook, but when she asks me to help—well, it’s not pretty. I can handle cereal or maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But recipes that say “a dash of this” or “a pinch of that”? I have no idea what that means. I need clear, exact instructions. That’s what the Pharisees were doing—they were trying to spell it out.

Jesus butted heads with their added rules. He wasn’t rejecting the Sabbath. He was showing what the Sabbath was truly about. He asked, “Is it lawful to do good or harm on the Sabbath? To save life or destroy it?” The Sabbath is meant to be a gift—a day of rest, renewal, and worship. And what better way to honor God than by doing good?

In verse 5, Jesus says, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” That title—Son of Man—is drawn from the book of Daniel. It’s a title for the coming Messiah, the one with divine authority. Jesus is saying that he isn’t just interpreting the Sabbath—he is the Lord of it. He has authority over it. He is God.

So yes, the Sabbath should be honored. But we can’t get so caught up in the rules that we miss the heart behind them. The law points us to God, shows us our need for grace, and leads us to Jesus. It’s possible to keep the letter of the law so well that we completely miss its purpose.

As someone who loves a good to-do list, I get it. I like checkboxes. I like structure. It’s easy to reduce faith to rules and routines. But faithfulness isn’t just about getting everything right. It’s about loving God, loving people, and being open to the Spirit’s leading—even when it disrupts our routines.

The Pharisees were very religious, but they weren’t always faithful. That’s a challenge for us. Religion is good—I’m a pastor. I love rituals and rhythms. But faithfulness must come first. Religion without faithfulness becomes empty. Faithfulness without religion can lack structure. We need both. But when we have to choose, faithfulness matters most.

Let’s be faithful. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it breaks our routines. Even when it makes people look at us sideways. Let’s be faithful.

Thanks for being with us today. Tomorrow, we’ll pick up with Luke 6:12. Have a great day.