1 Now on the second Sabbath after the first, Jesus was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”

3 Jesus, answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he, and those who were with him; 4 how he entered into God’s house, and took and ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” 5 He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

6 It also happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up, and stand in the middle.” He arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” 10 He looked around at them all, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored as sound as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.

Luke 6:1-11 - World English Bible

These verses from Luke form a set of Sabbath controversies. We've discussed 6:1-5 already and concluded that Jesus asserted status as the correct interpreter of the Law. In 6:6-11, he extended that theme into the realm of healing.

The Pharisees objected on the same grounds as before; they restricted the activity on the Sabbath they considered “work.” In 6:1, the disciples plucked wheat and rubbed it with their hands to separate the chaff from the grain so they could eat it. Now, the Master himself healed in 6:10. In the earlier controversy, the objection was explicit; now it was implicit. That did not stop Jesus from exposing their thinking to make his point. YHWH created the Sabbath for the good of humanity, not to enslave his people. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or harm? To save a life or to kill?” Obviously, he chose life. In doing so, he reasserted his place as “lord of the Sabbath.”

This enraged his opponents, but the controversies overshadow the underlying theme, rivalry. Luke placed three fights between Jesus and his opponents back to back: 1) the subject of fasting (5:33-39), 2) plucking of grain (6:1-5) and 3) healing on the Sabbath (6:6-11). The author began with practice, then questions on the Law. While the plucking of grain could be questioned, healing on the Sabbath had no restriction; in the minds of the Pharisees, it might have violated the spirit of the Law on the subject of work, but did not break the letter, even remotely. Luke arranged this trio of debates in order to heighten the tension between the Pharisees and the followers of Jesus; he also implicitly pointed out the superiority of Jesus' interpretation of the Law over that of his opponents.

How do you help people on the Sabbath?