The next five stories belong together since in each of them the Pharisees question Jesus (hence “conflict stories”), and he responds by defending the legitimacy of his behavior. The climax comes in 6:11, where Jesus’s opponents fulminate against him. The drama of the episode is apparent from Luke’s introduction. Pharisees from every area of Palestine were present to investigate Jesus’s teaching (5:17). The Pharisees were a popular religious party that emphasized obedience to both the written and unwritten law. The teachers of the law (or scribes) could come from any branch of the Jewish religion,…