Is it OK?

Recently I was meditating on some scripture and an argument of Jesus caught my attention once again. It has been a while as far as I can remember the last time I was "handled" by this passage of scripture. It is one of those passages that seem to present a conundrum. We all know that obeying the laws of God are vitally essential to life and the pursuit of being wholly holy. They are the bedrock and foundation of a growing relationship with God and of course deeply vital to managing and growing relationships with each other. The only thing the law falls short of is providing salvation but it does manage to point us to Christ who is our salvation.

Anyway, the passage is found in Lk 6:1-5 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5 Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

So what exactly is Jesus saying here? Each week twelve consecrated loaves of bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, would be placed on a table in the house of God, the tabernacle. This bread was called the bread of the Presence (or showbread). At the end of the week, the bread would be replaced with fresh loaves, and the old loaves would be eaten by the priests. On one occasion, the high priest gave this consecrated bread to David and his men to eat as they were fleeing from Saul (and lied about this fact). The priest understood that their need was more important than ceremonial regulations. Although the priests were the only ones allowed to eat this bread, God did not punish David because his need for food was more important than the priestly regulations that he had clearly laid out. Instead, he was emphasizing discernment and compassion in enforcing the laws, something the self-righteous Pharisees did not comprehend. People's needs are more important.

So, does this mean that this story, although stemming from the commandment concerning the Sabbath, simply gives us the freedom to interpret the laws of God, (ceremonial, civil, temple, priestly and moral) with careful discernment that in some ways may mean that we end up disobeying them?

For example....

Is it ok to lie if it is going to save a life?

Is it ok to steal if one is starving?

Is it ok to kill if one's family is being threatened?

Is it ok to remarry if one is dying from loneliness?

Is it ok to disrespect your parents if they are cruel and abusive?

Is it ok to skip a "Sabbath" rest if your livelihood depends on it?

I love it when these types of passages create some good old fashioned thought.
Hope you enjoy this as much as I have.