Matthew 12:1–8
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5“Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6“But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Focused Thinking:
Jesus and His disciples’ orientation to the Sabbath VERSUS the Pharisees’ orientation.
- Jesus had a relational interpretation of the Sabbath.
- The Pharisees had a legal interpretation of the Sabbath.
- The Pharisees were always looking for a way to find something wrong with Jesus and the Sabbath was one of their favorite subjects.
Jesus—“His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.”
Pharisees—“But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”
Reaping grain was forbidden on the Sabbath (Ex 34:21). The disciples, however, were picking grain because they were hungry, not because they wanted to harvest the grain for a profit. Thus, they were not breaking God’s law.
The Pharisees, however, had established thirty-nine categories of actions forbidden on the Sabbath, based on their own interpretations of God’s law and on Jewish customs.
How did Jesus respond?
“Have you not read…”
“What David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?”
When Jesus compared Himself and His disciples to David and his men, Jesus was saying, in effect, “If you condemn Me, you must also condemn David.” Jesus was not condoning disobedience to God’s laws. Instead, He was emphasizing discernment and compassion in enforcing the ceremonial laws, something the self-righteous Pharisees did not comprehend.
“Or have you not read in the Law…”
“That on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?”
The Ten Commandments prohibit work on the Sabbath (Ex 20:8–11). That was the “letter” of the law. But because the purpose of the Sabbath is to rest and to worship God, the priests had to perform sacrifices and conduct worship services—in short, they had to “work.” Their “Sabbath work” was serving and worshiping God, which God allowed. Thus, even though they technically break the Ssabbath, God holds them guiltless.
Jesus always emphasized the intent of the law, the meaning behind the letter. The Pharisees had lost the spirit of the law and were rigidly demanding that the letter (and their interpretation of it) be obeyed.
Jesus gave them two biblical examples.
“But this I say to you…”
“That something greater than the temple is here.”
Just as the priestly duties in the temple surpass Sabbath regulations about work, so Jesus’ ministry transcends the temple. The Pharisees were so concerned about religious rituals that they missed the whole purpose of the temple—to bring people to God. And because Jesus Christ is even greater than the temple, how much better can He bring people to God. Our love and worship of God are far more important than the created instruments of worship. If we become more concerned with the means and methods of worship than with the One we worship, we will miss the true purpose for worship—to glorify God.
What an amazing statement! What an authoritative statement!
There is a part of me that enjoys watching the way Jesus interacts with the Pharisees. The Pharisees are trying to trip up the One who is the WORD. They were trying to trip Jesus up, but He was always tripping them up.
“But if you had know what this means…”
“I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
The Old Testament statement “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” means that rituals and obedience to the law are valuable only if carried out with an attitude of love for God. If a person’s heart is far from God, ritual and law keeping are no more than empty mockery. God did not want the Israelites’ rituals; He wanted their hearts. Jesus challenged the Pharisees to apply the prophets’ words to themselves.
God’s mercy takes precedence over legal restrictions. If only the Pharisees had known and had understood the words of the prophets, they would have understood the love and compassion behind God’s laws. Their condemnation would then have been only to those who deserved it, not to those who were truly innocent of disobedience.
Jesus makes a bold statement about His relationship to the Sabbath.
8“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus’ fourth answer to the Pharisees’ accusation (12:2) focused on who He was. When Jesus said that He (again, calling himself Son of Man) was Lord of the Sabbath, He was claiming to be greater than the law and above the law.
To the Pharisees, this was heresy. They did not realize that Jesus, the divine Son of God, had created the Sabbath. The Creator is always greater than the creation; thus, Jesus had the authority to overrule their traditions and regulations.
Personal Application:
Plain and Simple, I may lead my family to honor the Sabbath.
- Keep the purpose in mind.
- Maintain perspective.
- Don’t turn it into a legal experience instead of a relational experience.
Interactive Prayer: Prayed offline
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