Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 6:5
And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Luk 6:5
That the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath
A spiritual man Lord of the Sabbath
When is a son of man lord of the Sabbath-day?
To whom may the Sabbath safely become a shadow? I reply, he that has the mind of Christ may exercise discretionary lordship over the Sabbath-day. He who is in possession of the substance may let the shadow go. A man in health has done with the prescriptions of the physician. But for an unspiritual man to regulate his hours and amount of rest by his desires, is just as preposterous as for an unhealthy man to rule his appetites by his sensations. Win the mind of Christ–be like Him–and then in the reality of rest in God, the Sabbath form of rest will be superseded. Remain apart from Christ, and then you are under the law again–the fourth commandment is as necessary for you as it was for the Israelite; the prescriptive regimen which may discipline your soul to a sounder state. It is at his peril that the worldly man departs from the rule of the day of rest. Nothing can make us free from the law but the Spirit. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Jesus and the two ideals
I. THE TITLE HE GIVES HIMSELF. Son of Man. We find Him both humbled and exalted as the Son of Man. As the Son of Man He hath not where to lay His head; and as the Son of Man He claims authority to forgive sin, and is Lord even of the Sabbath-day. He applied this phrase to Himself in all the different aspects of His great life. In Him, as the Son of Man, humanity is again in its Sonship of God.
II. THE CLAIM HE MAKES ON HIS OWN BEHALF, as Lord even of the Sabbath-day. The perfection of God and the perfection of man, as depicted in the Bible, are two distinct, and, out of their own spheres, incompatible ideals. These two ideals seem to have met in the Christ. He is humble and self-assertive, receptive and full. Authority and obedience meet in Him and blend. (J. Ogrnore Davies.)
The Sabbath, a saving economy
Sunday is Gods special present to the working man; and one of its chief objects is to prolong his life, and to preserve efficient his working tone. In the vital system it acts like a compensation pond; it replenishes the spirits, the elasticity and vigour which the last six days have drained away, and supplies the force which is to fill the six days succeeding. In the economy of life it answers the same purpose as, in the economy of income, is answered by a savings-bank. The frugal man who puts asides a pound to-day, and another pound next month, and who, in a quiet way, is always putting by his stated pound from time to time, when he grows old and frail gets not only the same pounds back again, but a good many pounds besides. And the conscientious man who husbands one day of existence every week–who, instead of allowing the Sunday to be trampled and torn in the hurry and scramble of life, treasures it devoutly up–will find that the Lord of the Sabbath keeps it for him, and in length of days and a hale old age gives it back with usury. The savings-bank of human existence is the weekly Sunday. (North British Review.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
5. Lord alsorather “even”(as in Mt 12:8).
of the sabbathas nakeda claim to all the authority of Him who gave the law at MountSinai as could possibly be made; that is, “I have saidenough to vindicate the men ye carp at on My account: but in thisplace is the Lord of the law, and they have His sanction.”(See Mr 2:28.)
Lu6:6-11. WITHERED HANDHEALED.
(See on Mt12:9-15 and Mr 3:1-7.)
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said unto them,…. He adds this at the close of the instances he gave, at the end of his vindication of his disciples, and discourse with the Pharisees, as a full answer to their cavils;
that the son of man is Lord also of the sabbath; and may do what he will, and suffer his disciples to do whatever he pleases on that day;
[See comments on Mt 12:8].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Lord of the Sabbath. See on Mt 12:6.
6 – 11. Compare Mt 12:9 – 14; Mr 3:1 – 6.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And he said unto them,” (kai elegen autois) “And he affirmed then to them,” to the “certain Pharisees,” Luk 5:2. Temporary obligations give way to eternal laws, as shadows yield to substance, and blueprints give way to the architectural structure.
2) “That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (kuriois estin tou sabbatou ho huios tou anthropou) “That the heir-Son of man (of humanity) is (exists as) Lord of the sabbath,” at hand, and of all sabbaths, of all rest, Mat 12:8; 1) Son of man is His racial name; 2) Son of David is His Jewish name, and 3) Son of God is His Divine name; Luk 19:10; Luk 1:32; Joh 3:16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And he said to them, “The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.” ’
And this was because as the Son of Man He was Lord of the Sabbath, that is, He was the overall authority who could make declarations of what was lawful to be done on the Sabbath Day. It was basically a claim to be the heaven appointed and heaven enthroned Messiah, thus setting Him up before God as having a higher authority than the Scribes, the Jewish teachers and arbiters of the Law.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 6:5. Lord also of the sabbath. Lord even, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Ver. 5. See Mat 12:3-4 Mar 2:24 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 6:5 . : in Lk. this important logion about the Son of Man’s Lordship over the Sabbath is simply an external annex to what goes before = and He said: instead of arising out of and crowning the argument, as in Mt., and partly in Mk., though the latter uses the same phrase in introducing the logion peculiar to him about the Sabbath being made for man. If Lk. had Mk. before him, how could he omit so important a word? Perhaps because it involved a controversial antithesis not easily intelligible to Gentiles, and because the Lordship of the Son of Man covered all in his view. How did he and his readers understand that Lordship?
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the Son of man. See App-98.
also of the sabbath = of the sabbath also.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 11:5-8, Mar 2:27, Mar 9:7, Rev 1:10
Reciprocal: Jer 17:22 – neither do Mat 12:8 – General Mar 2:28 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
God and his Son are one in purpose and were together in giving the law. Therefore Jesus had the right to apply his own law as he saw fit.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 6:5. In one of the old manuscripts, this verse is placed after Luk 6:10, and instead of it here words to this effect: Observing on the same day one laboring on the Sabbath, He said to him: if thou knowest what thou doest, thou art blessed; if thou knowest not, thou art cursed and a transgressor of the law. But it is improbable that any one would have been thus laboring, or that our Lord would thus create needless opposition and misunderstanding.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 5
Is Lord also of the Sabbath; that is, as David, the anointed king of Israel, was Lord of the sacred preparations of the tabernacle.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Jesus’ second point was that the Son of Man (cf. Luk 5:24), because of who He is, has the right to violate the Sabbath. Jesus was not violating the Sabbath by doing what He did, but He had the right to do so. This was another claim to divine authority, an emphasis that we have seen running through this part of Luke’s Gospel. God is greater than the laws He has imposed, and He can change them when He chooses to do so.
"David did not allow cultic regulations to stand in the way of fulfilling his divine calling of becoming king of Israel. Jesus has a similar mission which makes him ’Lord of the Sabbath,’ one who is authorized to decide when Sabbath regulations must be set aside to fulfill a greater divine purpose." [Note: Tannehill, 1:174-75.]
This incident elevates the readers’ appreciation of Jesus’ authority to new heights in Luke.