Luke 5:33-6:11 || "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath"

I was introduced to "sabbath" when I first watched the movie/musical “Fiddler on the Roof” as a child. But it held little significance for me until 2007 when I was afforded the opportunity to visit Israel on a Holy Land trip. Our itinerary included visiting with a Messianic-Jewish family (folks raised in Judaism who have come to follow the way of Jesus) on Friday evening to witness and participate in a sabbath meal. Lighting candles. Singing songs. Eating wonderful food. Just…being. This ancient practice instantly blessed me in the present.

Jesus claims, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” If that’s true, what does this mean for a follower of the Lord of the Sabbath today? What is our relationship to rest? Our passage will help us to answer those questions by showing the concept of the sabbath in Jesus’ day, and how His presence radically re-defined the relationship for all of God’s people.