The Feast of the Firstfruits fell at Passover, or our Easter time.  This means that the sheaf
of new corn was brought to God on "morrow after the sabbath" (Lev 23:11), or in our language,
on the Sunday = the day after the Saturday Sabbath.  This was precisely the day on which Jesus
rose from the dead.  This helps us to realise that God had planned it all, right from the beginning.
Jesus Christ was the firstfruits.

It is interesting as we we read through the directions regarding the feasts, how the bread (loaves) were unleavened at the Passover, but those presented at Pentecost were leavened. The difference being; the one was hastily prepared at their departure from Egypt, while the other was tribute of gratitude to God for their daily food, which was leavened. The time was taken at Pentecost to prepare to express their thanfulness, while at the Passover, the same time was not available. 

23:15    The counting of Sabbaths from Passover provides us with the ability tow work out when the events of Luke 6:1 took place.  Luke makes reference to the counting of Sabbaths based on this passage.

23:34,39 Notice how there are two sets of details about what should happen on the feast of Tabernacles. The first relates to worship and the second relates to the way Israel were to live in the feast.

23:10    ‘When ye be come into the land …’ we should remember that when Israel were at Sinai the thought that they would be in the wilderness for 40 years was not in their minds at all. In fact they were only a few days journey from Canaan – Deut 1:2

23:1 A ‘convocation’ is simply a gathering or meeting. That it was to be ‘holy’ means that those who came were to be ‘separate’. It might seem strange that an assembly of a lot of people could be separate. God’s call to separation is not to be a lonely affair. Rather it is to be enjoyed with likeminded people.

Psalm 128 For the faithful Jew living a faithful life provided that assurance that Jerusalem would remain inhabited. (5). However they were taken into captivity because of their rebelliousness and as a consequence were not able to see the good of Jerusalem which was overthrown.

Psalm 129 v3 the plowers did plough Jerusalem. Micah 3:12 prophesied this in the days of Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18) and it was fulfilled by the Romans in about 132 AD. The judgement was postponed in Hezekiah's day because he repented at the word of the prophet.

Psalm 130 vs 3-4 show us the way that the atonement works. God does not hold our repented sins against us. We must believe that He has forgiven our sins. If we doubt then we do not accept the implications of the sacrifice of Christ.

Psalm 129 - Jerusalem was repeatedly overthrown because of the faithlessness of Israel. However the true servant of God will continue to pray :5 that Jerusalem's enemies will be confounded because Jerusalem's enemies are God's enemies. This is what it is to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' Psalm 122:6 and 'mourn' Matthew 5:4

130:6 the way that David speaks about waiting for God should be how we are in our expectation of the return of Jesus. We should be like the bride looking for the coming of the bridegroom.

128:5-6 The blessing out of Zion and peace upon Israel will be seen in the kingdom, when Christ returns to sit on the throne of David.

129:3 'the plowers plowed upon my back' is taken up (Micah 3:12) to speak of Judgement that was to come. This was spoken to Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18). Whilst he hearkened to the prophet Israel generally did not - hence the comment by the Psalmist.

130:3 This is a very sobering thought. We should truly appreciate that we are 'justified' by God's grace - if we are willing to believe what he has done for us in Christ.

128:1 Fearing the Lord and walking in His ways are related. It is not possible to have one without the other. The walk demonstrates the fear. It is rather like ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:20)

129 - Because Israel tended to disregard the word of God Jerusalem was never the city of peace. Rather she was despised and cursed by the nations – hence the Psalmists comment about what they did not say about the city. (v8)

130:4 Seems paradoxical doesn’t it? That God should be feared because he forgives sins. One might have thought He would be feared if he did not forgive our sins. The ‘fear’ is not terror, it is respect.

"Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you." Psa 128:1-2

God is a liar, isn't He, writing those words? When I read them, and then look at my own life, that's what I have to conclude. I serve Him, but He doesn't bless me! I do what I can to get to know Him, and where is my happiness? I try not to sin and to be blameless, but where's my health and prosperity? God must be a liar writing these words, I'm forced to conclude it!

The other option is too difficult to face. Let's say that God isn't a liar, for the sake of argument, and that all off this Psalm is true. I would have to conclude that I'm the problem. "Blessed is the man that FEARS THE LORD". Do I truly fear God? If I did, then He'd bless me! I don't feel blessed... I don't have any children for a start (v3) or a wife for that matter! So is it me that's wrong, and not God? Do I possibly not fear God as much as I think I do?

"Unless the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it". (Previous Psalm, v1). That makes me think of Haggai 1:6. The people had been labouring, but in vain. Putting money into a bag full of holes! Bringing in the harvest for God to blow it away! And all because they had been building their own houses, and not the house of God. Yet when they heard the exhortation and started building the house of God, He promised to build their houses for them and bless them from that day forth (2v19).

So I have to ask myself; have I been building my own house, or the house of God? Where have my labours and efforts been directed? When we feel the contents of this Psalm isn't true for us, we have to ask ourselves this question! Are we labouring in vain, thinking we fear God, yet demonstrating by our priorities in life that we actually care less for Him than ourselves? Is God a liar? Of course not! He's true to His word! If we lack blessings, then it is our fault and not His! In fact, our lack of blessings is very often His indicator to us that He is displeased with us and wishes us to examine ourselves (Hag 1:5,7; 2:15,18). If we leave off the building of our own houses in preference for building His, then He will build our house whilst we are at work. After all, "unless the LORD build the house, they labour in vain.."

128:3    ‘Vine’ is an appropriate tree to use as it is a symbol of Israel Hos 10:1

130:1-4 The Psalmist’s despair was because of his recognition of his sin. However he saw the resolution of his problem, not in the offering of animal sacrifices, but in God’s forgiveness even though he was living in the time of the law of Moses.

128:1 A life of worship and pleasing God is not one of simply knowing what he has said. One has to ‘walk’ in His laws. That indicates activity, putting into daily practice the things one has learnt. – Eph 2:10, Hos 14:9

130 Notice the progression in the Psalm. Whilst the Psalmist beings by crying ‘out of the depths’ by the end of the Psalm he is speaking of God’s mercy. Wallowing in self pity sis of no value. The Psalmists solution is, in prayer, to consider the wonderful works of God.

v.1 'second Sabbath after the first'.  This way of numbering Sabbaths is the only time this happens in the gospel records.  Luke is drawing our attention to the time of the year. There is one, and only one, occasion when  Israel were  commanded to count Sabbaths. [Leviticus 23:15] "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day  that ye  brought the  sheaf  of  the  wave  offering;  seven  Sabbaths shall   be complete:" The Passover was kept  and then  on the  [Leviticus 23:10] "morrow after the Sabbath" at the end of the Passover they were to [Leviticus 23:10] "bring a  sheaf of  the firstfruits  of your harvest unto the priest:"  From  that Sabbath  they were  to [Leviticus  23:15]  "count  unto you  from the  morrow after  the Sabbath,  from the  day that  ye brought  the sheaf  of the  wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:"  Thus it can be seen that the event referred to in Luke 6  occurred two weeks after the offering of the wave  sheaf. That is  three weeks after the beginning of the feast of Passover. This detail enables us to precisely locate in time this event  in the ministry of Jesus.

v. 3 Details concerning the shewbread tell us that it was changed on the Sabbath [Leviticus 24:8] Notice that Jesus and his disciples were walking through the corn on the Sabbath. The appeal to the events of [1 Samuel 21:3] must have taken place on the Sabbath day or the shewbread would not have been available for David and his men. The issue in Jesus case is that he is 'lord of the Sabbath' marking that a man's need comes before the letter of the Sabbath law. This is a point which occurs a number of times in the gospels. This event is recorded in three of the gospel records highlighting its importance in laying down a principle. Here, Matthew 12:3, Mark 2:25

KINDNESS

Kindness is one of those attributes that everyone likes in a person. Kindness is also a quality that God wants to see in us. If we are kind we become like God, because God is kind. And if we show kindness toward each other, God will reward us. "Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6 v 35 - 36)

So to help us with our kindness, Jesus gave us 15 simple little rules to teach us how to be kind.

• Love your enemies
• Do good to those who hate you
• Bless those who curse you
• Pray for those who ill treat you
• If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also
• If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic
• Give to everyone who asks you
• If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back
• Do to others as you would have them do to you
• Do good to your enemies
• Lend to your enemies without expecting to get anything back
• Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
• Do not judge
• Do not condemn
• Give a good measure when you give

Let's follow these rules and show ourselves kind

6:2 In interpreting the way the disciples were gathering corn shows a very strict legalistic approach to the Law of Moses. The law made provision –24:7 - for oxen to eat whilst they ground corn. It was this legalistic attitude of the Pharisees which caused them to be unable to recognise Jesus as Christ. How about ourselves with our man made rules and regulations?

In Luke 6:15 we have two opposites. Matthew was a tax collector, working with the Romans. Simon Zelotes was a Zealot, an extreme right-wing “Israel for the Israelis” type of person.  But Jesus knew what He was doing, and used them both as apostles.

6:12-13 We see that the major decision of selecting the twelve was preceded by prayer. This was not merely a formality with Jesus for those twelve had been given to him by God – John 17:12

6:4     The shewbread was changed every sabbath – Lev 24:88  – so we can conclude that David’s escapade also happened on the Sabbath – the day on which the disciples were challenged.

6:16 Notice that Judas is ‘the traitor’ in the description of the call of the disciples – though none of the other disciples realised his intentions even in the upper room. We must be careful that we do not live a life in Christ with secret motives which, whilst hidden from our fellow disciples, are known to God.

6:31 Jesus’ instruction here resolves so many problems. When we don’t know what we ought to do in a difficult situation we simply need to think about what we would like for yourselves. Here is one occasion when being selfish can have benefits. Of course we may not benefit directly but we will benefit by learning how to treat others.

6:31 Jesus’ instruction here resolves so many problems. When we don’t know what we ought to do in a difficult situation we simply need to think about what we would like for yourselves. Here is one occasion when being selfish can have benefits. Of course we may not benefit directly but we will benefit by learning how to treat others.