Lean In // 5 minutes
What are some rules your parents gave you as a kid?
Sample answers could include…
- Don’t run with scissors
- Brush your teeth before you go to bed
- Eat your vegetables
- Measure twice, cut once
- Money doesn’t grow on trees
Look Down // 10 minutes
Read Luke 6:1-11
What are the different views of the Sabbath you learn from Jesus and the Pharisees?
Commentary: As you read the passage, it becomes clear that Jesus and the Pharisees have differing views on the importance of the Sabbath. While the Pharisees believed Jesus and His Disciples were being unlawful on the Sabbath, they were actually in accord with the law. The Disciples could harvest grain as long as a sickle or tool wasn’t used (See Deuteronomy 23:25). Also, when Jesus heals the man on the Sabbath, he understands that God desires mercy over sacrifice (See Hosea 6:6; Proverbs 21:3; Micah 6:8). The point isn’t necessarily about who is being lawful but rather the contrast between what the Pharisees held as important and what Jesus was emphasizing.
Sample answers may include…
Pharisees/Religious—
- Held certain beliefs about the Sabbath
- Rules more important than people
- Using the rules to their advantage
- Blinded by their view of the rules
- Observing requirements of the law
- Focused on sacrifice
Jesus—
- Declared Lordship over the Sabbath
- Valued relationship more than rules
- Leverages his authority to give people the advantage
- Sees the greater purpose of the law
- Fulfilling the requirements through love
- Focused on mercy
Look Out // 10 minutes
Where have you seen people be more concerned with being right than showing compassion?
What does it look like to emphasize relationship more than keeping rules?
Look In // 20 minutes
When was a time someone showed you compassion rather than judgment?
How did it make you feel and what was the impact on the relationship?
Who is someone that you could show compassion rather than judgment?
Leader Note: Encourage your group to identify specific people or groups of people that they could show compassion rather than judgment. Also, help them to consider what some practical steps could be to show compassion rather than judgment.
Live It Out // 5 minutes
What if we were known for showing compassion rather than being right?
What kind of doors of healing might it open for those around us?
Prayer: Pray that God would soften our hearts in places where we emphasize being right or keeping rules more than showing compassion and building relationship. Pray that the Holy Spirit would make us aware of the people we have overlooked, for whatever reason, and that we would see them with eyes of compassion. Pray that your group would follow Jesus’ example of pursuing relationships more than rules.