Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5[1]
Now
it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the
grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing
them in their hands. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look,
Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
But
He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and
those who were with him: how he entered
the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest and ate the showbread
which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only
for the priests? Or have you not read in
the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and
are blameless? Yet I say to you that in
this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire
mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
And
He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is
also Lord of the Sabbath.[2]”
Now
it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.
And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees
watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find
an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who
had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
Then
He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it
falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of
how much more value then is a man than a sheep?
Then
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to
do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” But they kept silent.
And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness
of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he
stretched it out, and
his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Then
the Pharisees went out, filled with rage, and immediately plotted with the
Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
A
Little Background
The
Old Testament law allowed for passersby to pluck and eat from the grains of
wheat in a farmer’s field, but they could not reap it (Deuteronomy 23:25). The
Pharisees were not disputing the disciples eating the grain, but that by
plucking or picking the grain, they were “working”.
Jesus
was reminding the Pharisees about an event in the life of David found in 1
Samuel 21. When David fled from Saul, he ran to the tabernacle and asked for
bread from the high priest. The bread was from the table of showbread in the
tabernacle. That bread was set aside, made holy, for worship to the Lord. New
fresh bread was to be placed on the altar each day. The high priest gave David
the old bread that had been replaced by the new bread.
Some
Explanation
“Have you not read what David
did when he was hungry...”
The Pharisees were experts in the fine parts of the law—the Old Testament.
Jesus, therefore, used the Old Testament to point out their error. Just as in
the case of David’s need of bread, so also Jesus’ disciples were hungry and
needed food.
”...on the Sabbath the priests
in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless...” The law stated that fresh new
bread was to be placed on the Table of Showbread every day; therefore, the
priest had to “work” on the Sabbath. The Pharisees got around that issue by
stating that because the Temple (also the tabernacle) is holy, work on the
Sabbath related to Temple worship was allowed. When Jesus said, “Yet I say to you that in this place there is
One greater than the temple,” He was again declaring His authority and
superiority over the Sabbath laws and the Temple itself.
“... and immediately plotted with the Herodians
against Him, how they might destroy Him.” The Herodians were one of five
sects of Judaism at the time of Christ. As the name suggests, the Herodians
were Jews who supported Herod. Pharisees were the polar opposite; yet, the two
sects collaborate to destroy Jesus.
Observations
and Insights
The
Pharisees had added burdensome layers to the Sabbath laws, and then made
keeping those Sabbath laws central to Judaism. Colossians and Hebrews gives us
insight on the Sabbath. In Paul’s letter to the Gentile Colossians, he tells
them not to receive judgment from anyone who tries to burden them with keeping the
Sabbath, the Feasts or laws about eating and drinking. All these things from
the Old Testament law were a shadow (a prefigure or picture) of Jesus Christ
and His ministry which was the substance, or the fulfilment of them (Colossians
2:16, 17).
Hebrews
3 and 4 is a rich passage that explains the excellence and superiority of the
Lord Jesus who is Himself our Sabbath rest. God did not command the Sabbath to
bind man to a law to prove his faithfulness to it. Rather the Sabbath was a
gift. In addition to physical rest for the body one day per week, it also
provided rest for the soul. The Sabbath was a day to give thanks to God, and
extol His character. But how does that give rest to our souls? In living life
day in and day out—especially in ancient times when life was often survival—it would
be easy to fall into the belief that life depended on constant work, striving,
and fear. By setting a day apart for worship of God, His people would be
reminded that it is God alone who gives life and prospers us. The Sabbath was a
reminder not to strive in themselves, but to trust the Lord for their salvation
and their survival.
But
the Sabbath was not just one day a week. The feasts were also considered
Sabbaths. Additionally, every seven years was declared a Sabbath year of rest
for the land and cancellation of debt, and after seven cycles of seven years,
an entire year of rest was celebrated as Jubilee. (See here.) During these
times, the Israelites would have to depend on God to sustain them.
Hebrews 3 and 4 explains that entering the
Promised Land was also a rest that God provided for the Israelites. When the
people refused to listen to the good report from Joshua and Caleb who trusted
in God’s promise of victory in Canaan, God was angered by their unbelief. The
Israelites looked at themselves: they were small in size, their army small and
untrained. Though they experienced mighty deliverance from the slavery of
Pharaoh, and saw the Lord perform spectacular miracles for them, they refused
to have faith for His provision in Canaan.
Hebrews
explains that in the same way the Israelites refused their “Sabbath rest” in
Canaan, they also refused their rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is exactly
the problem that the Pharisees were facing from our reading today. Jesus
Himself is Lord of the Sabbath loving mercy over judgment—loving a man by
healing him and giving him true rest.
Good
works, keeping Old Testament laws including Sabbath and feasts, self-esteem,
modern psychological systems, laws/principles/keys/secrets, etc. for better leadership/relationships/self-awareness, etc. —all of these become our own efforts at pleasing
God or striving for self-improvement. Not only are these efforts ineffective,
they are actually a rejection of God’s means of grace through faith in the Lord Jesus.
We have no “rightness” of our own or in our own sef-efforts. We can only rest in Jesus’ righteousness.
[1]
Note:
Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the
four Gospels together into one narrative. I am copying the order or format from
A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels,
George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001. However, I am using the New
King James rather than the HCSB. This order is from the research of Wright and
is open to discussion. Of course, you can also read the passages side by side
separately if you prefer.
[2]
Not
to be confused with Lord Sabaoth which means Lord of Hosts. Sabaoth and Sabbath
are two different Hebrew words. (See Isaiah 5:16, Romans 9:29, James 5:4)
