Seeds for 08/21/2023 - Matthew 12:1-8
Scripture: At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Observation: Controversy over the Sabbath was a significant sticking point for Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. Important questions included: What is the Sabbath for? and, Who decides? These are the questions Jesus believes are important because they’re the ones He answers when challenged. We’ll address the first question tomorrow, so let’s start with the second one today. Who decides what the Sabbath is for?
The offense in our text is that Jesus’ disciples pick heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath because they were hungry. The Pharisees are offended and quick to point out this wrongdoing to Jesus. If we’re lazy observers, we’ll write them off and miss the insight. Assume for a moment that the Pharisees’ actions and words make sense in context. That’s the most straightforward reading of the text. If we recognize the tension, we’ll better see the significance of Jesus’ response.
First, Jesus points to precedent. In the Hebrew Scriptures themselves, there’s a story of David and his men taking the consecrated bread and eating it. So what His disciples have done is unusual, but not unheard of.
Second, Jesus asserts that there were exceptions for priestly service, perhaps referring to Leviticus 24:8, in which the instruction is to set the bread out every Sabbath, to be eaten by the priests.
Third, He compares Himself with the Temple, claiming that He is greater. If the priests were allowed to “desecrate” the temple by eating the bread there, then Jesus would be “desecrated”—dishonored or profaned—by His disciples picking the heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath day.
This gets us to an answer to the question for today, Who decides what the Sabbath is for? The answer is God, of course. And Jesus asserts that the Son of Man (a messianic term) is “Lord of the Sabbath.” In other words, Jesus the Divine Messiah gets to say what the Sabbath is for, what breaks the Sabbath and what does not.
The key to Jesus’ rebuke is found in the prophet Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6) Character and everyday actions are an essential part of devotion to Him, not only what is presented in the temple.
For Christians, this notion is taught clearly by Paul in Romans 12 and James in James 2, among other places in the New Testament. Yes, our observance of worship is vital, but more ultimate is the transformation into Christlikeness that it ought to bring about.
Application:
When have you been aware of going through the motions in your faith? What helps you get back on track?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, may your Spirit lead me to practical surrender in my practices of devotion, so that my character and my life may be my greatest offerings of praise to you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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