Setting the Record Straight — The Persistent Prowling of the Pious Pharisees

The Interrogation of the Instructor — (Vs. 1-8)

Vs 1-2

I want to stop right here and use this as an opportunity to do some explaining on what is happening.

Jesus and His disciples were traveling and apparently where they were traveling was near a corn or grain field. The reason I say or a grain field is because every other version you read this in, even the NKJV says, “as they traveled through the grain fields.”

And when you read Luke's gospel account we can understand that it may indeed have been speaking more along the lines of wheat instead of corn.

Luke 6:1 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

Now, you and I both know that if this was a ripe ear of corn I don’t think you’d be rubbing in your hands, you’d simply peel back the husk and start taking a bite right?

But if indeed this was wheat, you’d get you a handful and then rub the seeds in your hand to remove the husks, thus leaving only the grains of wheat to munch on.

Either way and whatever it was that they were eating, that’s not the main point. The main point is that there were some creepers around.

These creepers were the Pharisees!

Now, we don’t know if they were on a main road or if they were walking through a field taking a short cut…if that were the case this only adds to the creepiness!

But the Bible says the disciples were hungry and as they walked by the filed of grain they each grab a handful and begin to eat.

Now, one might say… “Well, Preacher they were stealing!”

Actually, they weren’t!

This was something the law specifically spoke about and gave permission for.

In...

Deuteronomy 23:25 NLT

25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.

So, passersby were permitted to grab a handful for a snack they just weren’t able to take some for the road if you will.

But we still have the fact that there just so happened to be these pestering Pharisees who see the act take place!

Have you ever seen someone who has such an infatuation with someone and wanting to see them fail that they follow their every move just lying in wait to catch them doing something wrong?

The first person that comes to my mind is Donald Trump!

The Washington establishment, and mainly once specific party, hates this man so much, are infatuated with him so much, I’d even go as far as to say fear him so much, that 2 years after he was President they are still searching for ways to bury him!

And they haven’t found anything noteworthy on the man yet!

That’s how I view these Pharisees!

They were so scared of Jesus’ authoritative teaching, so scared that He might actually be the Messiah, that at every turn someone was watching, waiting, seeking for some reason to try and bury Him!

They were literally stalking the Savior of the world!

And so here we have the disciples and Jesus and they’ve grabbed them a snack along the way and these prowling Pharisees see it and they try to call Jesus out on it.

Now, it wasn’t so much the fact that the disciples grabbed themselves a snack that was the problem...(as we’ve already seen, that was permitted by the Mosaic law)…the problem was “when” they did it.

Notice what day it was.

It was the Sabbath day!

The Sabbath day was a Holy day, a sacred day, a day set aside for rest and remembrance.

Exodus 20:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

This was the original law as it was given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The problem was, the Pharisees had taken the law of God and added to it so much so, that it had become a burden instead of a blessing.

Speak about this morning and the blessing of coming to Church.

William Barclay writes — The Sabbath law was very complicated and very detailed. The commandment forbids work on the Sabbath day; but the interpreters of the law were not satisfied with that simple prohibition. Work had to be defined.

So thirty-nine basic actions were laid down, which were forbidden on the Sabbath, and among them were reaping, winnowing and threshing, and preparing a meal.

The interpreters were not even prepared to leave the matter there. Each item in the list of forbidden works had to be carefully defined. For instance, it was forbidden to carry a burden. But what is a burden? A burden is anything which weighs as much as two dried figs. Even the suggestion of work was forbidden; even anything which might symbolically be regarded as work was prohibited. Later the great Jewish teacher, Maimonides, was to say: ‘To pluck ears is a kind of reaping.’

By their conduct, the disciples were guilty of far more than one breach of the law. By plucking the corn they were guilty of reaping; by rubbing it in their hands they were guilty of threshing; by separating the grain and the chaff they were guilty of winnowing; and by the whole process they were guilty of preparing a meal on the Sabbath day, for everything which was to be eaten on the Sabbath had to be prepared the day before.

The orthodox Jews took this Sabbath law with intense seriousness. Chapter 50 of The Book of Jubilee concerns the keeping of the Sabbath.

Whoever lies with his wife, or plans to do anything on the Sabbath, or plans to set out on a journey (even the contemplation of work is forbidden), or plans to buy or sell, or draws water, or lifts a burden, is condemned.

Anyone who does any work on the Sabbath (whether the work is in the house or in any other place), or goes on a journey, or tills a farm, anyone who lights a fire or rides any beast, or travels by ship at sea, anyone who strikes or kills anything, anyone who catches an animal, a bird or a fish, anyone who fasts or who makes war on a Sabbath—those who do these things shall die.

To keep these commandments was to keep the law of God; to break them was to break the law of God.

As you can see, the Pharisees had made the law of God burdensome to the people!

That’s why I find it so interesting that this story comes on the heels of chapter 11 where Jesus tells the people...

Matthew 11:28–30 KJV 1900

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John Phillips — The rabbis had heartlessly heaped on the longsuffering people, who were almost wholly dependent on them for Biblical teaching, a thousand requirements over and above the law.

Content with the outward form—whether it had to do with the sabbath, the sanctuary, or the sacrifices—the rabbis had conveyed false ideas about God.

Their God was meticulous, a stickler for details. But the true God—the One who instituted the sabbath, provided the sacrificial system, and once abode in their sanctuary—was merciful.

The rabbis and Pharisees had missed the point and that was why they criticized the disciples, who were guiltless.

You see, Jesus, over and over and over again throughout His ministry, tries to get these persistent, pessimistic, Pharisees to understand that they are the ones in the wrong but their hearts were so hardened that they could not see the truth!

And we see that play out here in the next few verses.

Vs. 3-8

Jesus poses a question to the Pharisees here that was more than just a question. This specific question which (which John Phillips says He asked on 6 different occasions) was meant to strike right at the root of the problem which was their Pharisaical pride!

“You claim to be righteous and holy people. You put on your I’m so holy shows in the public eye. You brag about your knowledge of the law…well it’s one thing to know the law but something totally different to understand the law!”

And then He gives two different illustrations and one passage of scripture from the Old Testament to prove His point.

I like what my Holman study Bible said about it...

Holman CSB study Bible — Jesus taught that the Sabbath law was overridden by priorities such as (1) genuine human need (which we see in the illustration given of David), (2) worship (which we see in Jesus illustration of the priests and their priestly duties), (3) acts of kindness (which we see in the scripture Jesus quotes).

Hosea 6:6 KJV 1900

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Tony Evans — Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6 to show that the Lord is a God of mercy, not judgmentalism. He’s not impressed if you know your Bible but have a heart of stone.

Now, there’s a couple other things I want to point out real quick before moving on here.

Look back at Verses 5-6.

Don’t you just love the confidence of Jesus here?

He says, “in this place is one greater than the temple!”

Listen, the temple was where God’s people went to worship Him and it was a sanctified place but Jesus in essence is saying here, “I’m greater than the temple!”

“You may have a man you call the High Priest but I am He!”

The only thing greater than the temple of God was God Himself so what Jesus was trying to explain these ole boys in not so many words is that He was God, Amen!

And then, in Verse 8, after quoting Hosea, He says, “The Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

Son of man was one of Jesus favorite titles for Himself and basically tells these folks here… “you can create all the laws you want but I created the Sabbath, therefore I’m still in charge of the Sabbath!”

So, things didn’t go so well here for the Pharisees in their Interrogation of the Instructor.

Now, let’s look on down at The Healing of the Handicapped.

The Healing of the Handicapped — (Vs. 9-13)

Matthew’s gospel tells us that when Jesus departed He went into their synagogue. Mark and Luke tell us this was a different Sabbath but all agree that the healing of the handicapped’s hand took place on a Sabbath day.

Once again, we see here the Pharisees trying to trip up Jesus.

I want to create for you a picture here this morning.

Here we are, more than likely a decent amount of people, Luke’s gospel actually tells us that Jesus was teaching this specific day so that tells us that there had to be some people there He’s teaching to, right?

Luke 6:6–7 KJV 1900

6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

So here’s Jesus teaching, here’s an innocent bystander who just happens to have a withered hand, and here’s the Pharisees and then you also have the crowd.

We don’t know what Jesus is teaching but at some point, trying to once again trap and trip Jesus up, the Pharisees ask, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?”

Now, from my studying, healing on the Sabbath was only permitted if the person’s life were in danger. Otherwise, they Orthodox Jews considered healing of any kind on the Sabbath work and therefore it was a condemnable offense.

The study Bible which I referenced earlier said...

Many rabbis permitted healing on the Sabbath only when a life was at risk. Otherwise, it was illegal to tie a bandage, set a bone, or administer medicine. Some rabbis even banned prayer for the sick on the Sabbath.

I hope you are seeing the theme here…how the Pharisees took the law to the extremes.

So, what does Jesus do?

“You want to go toe to toe?

Ok, let’s go.”

This is what I love about Jesus more than anything. He never backed down from a challenge when it came to the Word of God.

Why would He?

I mean after all, from cover to cover it was written about Him anyways, right?

Who better to know a Book than the one the Book was written about!

So, they try to use the law to defeat Jesus’ teachings, in turn, Jesus uses the law to prove His teachings!

The law permitted the rescuing of an animal on the Sabbath day if the animal was in danger and so Jesus asks the Pharisees, “who here if you had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath wouldn’t rescue it?”

I love what Chuck Swindoll says right here...

I doubt any hands went up. They knew it was a rhetorical question. And there wasn’t a man among them who would let the poor sheep bleat all night and all day waiting to be rescued. Compassion toward the sheep and the valuing of its life would compel them to action. The rescuing of a sheep from danger wouldn’t have been considered labor for the sake of profit but action for the sake of life. Surely that wouldn’t be a violation of the Sabbath, would it?Perhaps the indecisive ones in the crowd, having been bullied for years by the nitpicking Pharisees, turned to their religious experts to see how they would respond. Of course, their teachers didn’t answer. So Jesus went on, arguing from the lesser to the greater: “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (12:12).

Can you imagine being a part of this crowd?

Jesus on one side, the Pharisees on the other, and this poor handicapped fellow, of no fault of his own, trapped in the middle and here you are sitting on the sidelines seeing the questions unfold!

The denseness of anticipation for the next question or the next answer or the next act, was so thick that it could be cut with a knife!

The Pharisees, whom you feel have been looking down on your for years are now being put in their place!

Their question has been answered with a question to which they have now answer!

The excitement of the moment is almost unbearable!

Jesus has posed them with a question and they know the answer but can’t give the answer because it would in turn condemn their own way of thinking!

Jesus has basically said, “if you’d rescue that sheep on the Sabbath, then essentially you have been well doing on the Sabbath and if you can do something good on the Sabbath for a sheep, how much of more value is a man? And if a man as we all know is of a way more greater value than a sheep, and he stands in need, then why in the world wouldn’t you do well to him also?”

In essence He’s saying, “to know to do good and do it not, that is sin!”

“Here stands a man in need and I have the power to do good to him and whether it’s the Sabbath or not, if I have the means and do it not then I’m in the wrong!”

At this point, everybody in the crowd is sitting there on the sidelines biting their fingernails waiting on a response from the Pharisees!

What will they say next?

Silence fills the room and continues, and continues, and continues!

Because the reality of the situation is…they have no valid response and they know it!

But their pride is too great to admit they are wrong so they just stand there in awkward silence waiting to see what Jesus next move will be!

After letting them soak it up for a minute or two and undoubtedly seeing the seething looks being cast upon Him…Jesus puts the nail in the coffin and goes for the knock out!

I can just see Him meeting the Pharisees eye to eye and without a moment’s hesitation He says...

“STRETCH FORTH THINE HAND!”

The man stretches forth his handicapped hand and it is restored whole!

Fully restored!

And you know what I love most about this story…Jesus simply spoke and the man was healed!

In this very moment, He gave these Pharisees a taste of the creative power that lie within Him!

Only one other had ever spoke and brought things into being and that was God! Now the Son of Man reveals His true divinity!

“Just because I’m bound in this flesh doesn’t mean I’m bound by this world! I’m Lord of the Sabbath, I am greater than the temple, I am God in the flesh!”

You can just hear the gasps from crowd of onlookers and the handicapped man, who was handicapped no more, was probably in awe and amazement as his hand that hadn’t worked in who knows how long was now restored as his other one!

A miracle had been performed by the speaking of a Word by the Word, Amen!

This undoubtedly tore these Pharisees up!

Look what happens next!

The Plotting of the Pharisees — (Vs. 14)

While everyone else is inside celebrating the victory, the Pharisees had had enough!

They immediately began to plot our Lord’s demise!

The plan to kill the Son of Man had been hatched and now it was only a matter of time before they would find a way to put that plan into action and see the Son of God’s demise all because they had been bested by Him at their own little game!

Anyone ever heard the term sore loser?

The Pharisees were the chief of sore losers!

So much so, that Marks gospel even says that the Pharisees began to conspire with the Herodians.

These were Jewish supporters of Herod Antipas and up until the time of Jesus, stood in stark opposition with the Pharisees.

But somehow the Pharisees found a way to set aside their disdain for the Herodians long enough to come together and accomplish a common goal…the ridding of this man named Jesus!

They employed the old proverb some of you may have heard...

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

So, we see the plotting of the destruction of Jesus taking place right after the healing of the handicapped and then we see the Satisfying of the Savior to close us out.

The Satisfying of the Savior — (Vs. 15-21)

He Satisfied the Sick — (Vs. 15-16)

He Satisfied the Scriptures — (Vs. 17)

He Satisfied the Father — (18-19)

He Sacrificed Himself for You and I — (Vs. 20-21)

Matthew 12:21 NLT

21 And his name will be the hope of all the world.”

Closing

Man has always had a problem with keeping his dirty hands out of things. As if God’s laws weren’t enough, the Pharisees thought they could add more legalistic ideologies to an already perfect law making it impossible for a common person to follow.

This is best described as legalism! And the Pharisees were pros at it!

Jesus wasn’t breaking God’s laws. He was breaking man’s laws. The traditions of men…which in turn became the pride of men because it was man made!

And rest assured, when you hurt someone’s pride, you had better watch out because they’ll be out to get you which is exactly what happened here!

What I want to leave you with today is this… Man is no different in 2023 than he was in A.D. 33.

We still think we have to add something to salvation. In A.D. 33 it was sacrifices, and works and the following of legalistic laws. In 2023 it’s works, goodness, and for some religions still the following of legalistic rituals!

As it was in A.D. 33, so it is still today in 2023…listen friend, Jesus is the only way to salvation and there’s nothing that you can add nor needs to be added to the perfect blood of Jesus Christ!

His precious blood poured out in Calvary’s hill was, is, and always will be the sufficient sacrifice for mankind’s sin and the only thing any of us can do to achieve salvation is to simply believe that!

That God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins, in our place, and that in His death, burial and resurrection, He defeated death, hell and the grave.

He is risen.

He is alive.

And He sits at the right hand of God making intercession for all who would call upon His name and His blood still saves today!

Dear friend if you will believe that, you too shall be saved!

Matthew 12:21 NLT

21 And his name will be the hope of all the world.”