091. XXII. The Second Sabbath After The First

XXII. THE SECOND SABBATH AFTER THE FIRST

Luke 6:1-2.—“And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first (ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρωτω) that he went through the corn-fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said,” &c. This transaction occurred on the first Sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread; on which day the wave sheaf was offered, as the first-fruits of the harvest; [Leviticus 23:10-12.] and from which day the fifty days were reckoned to the Pentecost. Is it not, therefore, very natural that this conversation should have taken place at this time, and that St. Luke should have especially given the date of the conversation, as well as the conversation itself?

It being the first Sabbath after the day when the first-fruits of the corn were cut, accords perfectly with the fact that the disciples should be walking through fields of standing corn at that season. The Rite which had just then been celebrated, an epoch in the church, as well as an epoch in the year, naturally turned the minds of all the parties here concerned to the subject of corn—the Pharisees, to find cause for cavil in it—Jesus, to find cause for instruction in it—St. Luke, to find cause for especially naming the second Sabbath after the first, as the period of the incident. And yet, be it observed, no connection is pointed out between the time and the transaction, either in the conversation itself, or in the Evangelist’s history of it. That is, there is coincidence without design in both.