Based on Luke 6:1-11 (New King James Version)
“Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees said to them, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’ But Jesus answering them said, ‘Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?’ And He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’ Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Arise and stand here.’ And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?’ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
Does God prioritize His own commandments, such that some are more important than others? According to Scripture, the answer is, yes. To begin, we must establish certain facts in order to understand why some things are more pressing to God than others, and why He Himself creates certain events where exceptions can be made. To begin, the first thing we must understand for our own good, and in order to be pleasing to God through Christ, even when we sin out of error, is this: that the most important thing to God is that the foundation of our faith, and therefore of our life, the reason for our existence, must always be the first commandment, as it is written: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” Mark 12:29-30. So quite simply, if the reason we live and do everything we do is not solely because we love God, then even if we keep all the other commandments, including loving our neighbor as ourselves, it does us no good. We are of no use to God if we do not love Him. This was the mistake of religious people back then, and it's the grave mistake of many today, even of many believers.
The Bible is very explicit about this. Everything written leads us to this very fundamental point, to the essential: that we must love God, and that this must be the whole point of our lives. He must be the reason we love our neighbors, the reason we keep the commandments, the reason we love our families, and the reason we even come to love our enemies. He must be the reason we study or work, the reason we grow and ascend, the reason we buy and sell, the reason we do everything in our lives. This is how we make everything we do count in our favor before the God of heaven, even the smallest things. This is what doing God's will is all about. And this is what we must spend our entire lives learning, from the moment we come to the knowledge of salvation. It is written: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body [a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. This love for the Lord is what this passage is talking about. And if a person does not have this love, no matter what they do, to God, they are worthless. That is why He commanded this, which continues being in effect today: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ‘And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Study the whole Word, which is good, but always review this, every day, that our everything, the reason for why we do everything, must be because we love our Lord.
We can see very clearly in the Scriptures that believing is not enough. In fact, there are many believers who have bad intentions, as we see in this passage: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ‘I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” John 8:31-44a. How could these religious people believe in Christ and be children of the devil at the same time? Because we see that faith or belief, if it doesn't have good intentions, if there's no love for the Lord, it is then useless. How many people only seek God so that God may serve them, and nothing else? It is written: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” James 2:19. So, believing is not enough. Doing religious or even good things do not convince God either.
So, what justified the disciples, even when they did not fulfill certain things of the law, was not only their faith in Christ, but also the fact that they were doing things with the permission of the Lord of the Sabbath. When Christ Himself performed miracles on the Sabbath, He did so not because He felt like it, but to do the will of the Father. And the will of the Father is: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6. So, are you living your life based on God’s priorities, loving Him how He deserves to be loved and doing His will? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!