Matthew 12:1-14 - Wrong Priorities

Introduction

Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 12.

Have you ever worked really hard at something, getting to the end of it and being proud of the hard work you put in, only to find that you prioritized the wrong thing and so were working in the completely wrong direction?

A school or work project

A relationship that you now realize was lost from the beginning

Doing some work on your home or car

Trying to help your body heal from something

Maybe even in seeking salvation through another religion

Or seeking to be free from all religions

It’s a frustrating thing to begin to realize that for all the time, effort, and money spent you were focusing on the wrong thing. How do you respond?

Some will quickly realize the futility and pivot, trying to adjust and salvage the situation

Others will double down, refusing to believe that they prioritized the wrong thing

When I first started working for Chipotle, there was a heavy emphasis by my trainers on cut sizes - the peppers, onions, lettuce, and meats all had to be within a specific size range - so I took that seriously. I had never worked in the restaurant industry before and I had no idea what to focus on so I focused on cut sizes to the extent that I was one of the slowest preppers on the entire staff.

But man oh man were my cut sizes perfect. This went on for a few weeks, but every week my scheduled hours dwindled further and further until I finally asked my manager why I was getting so few shifts. He told me I was slow and he wanted faster workers.

Well that was a shock because I thought I was doing it right the whole time. I thought I should be congratulated for caring so much for food consistency that I took my time to prep well.

But I realized I had the wrong priorities and so I had to shift my priorities to his priorities if I wanted to keep my job.

This morning we continue our study in Matthew 11-13 looking at the different responses to Jesus and we come to the Pharisees, the group that was the primary antagonist throughout Jesus' earthly ministry. The Pharisees were the primary spiritual teachers of Israel in Jesus’ time and were looked upon highly for their wisdom, leadership, and interpretations of the Torah.

In this passage, Jesus confronts them and their priorities, making it clear that their priorities are wrong and they must change them if they have any hope of truly following the God they claim to serve.

Matthew 12:1–14 ESV

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” 9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

The Son over the Sabbath (1-8)

The Reaction of the Pharisees: Accusation!

“Your disciples are breaking the Law and breaking the Sabbath!”

What was the accusation?

The disciples were stealing? No

Travelers were allowed to eat small amounts of grain from fields they passed by

Roads went right through fields so there would often be crops growing all the way up to the path

Sabbath Laws found in the Bible

Remember the sabbath and keep it holy. Rest from your work. (Ex. 20:8-11, Dt 5:12-15)

Do not travel or carry loads, but there was the allowance for 3,300 feet of travel on a day (over half a mile!) (Is. 58:13-14, Jer 17:21-22)

That’s it. That’s the extent of the biblical commands surrounding the sabbath

Sabbath Laws that cannot be found in the Bible

39 of them!

Some examples are no creating, no destroying, no tearing of fabric, no work (no reaping, threshing, winnowing, or preparing food)

The religious leaders recognized that there were very few laws regarding the Sabbath so they took it upon themselves to fill in the gaps!

Matthew Explanation of the Text

a mishnaic tract said, “The rules for the Sabbath are like mountains hanging by a hair, for Scripture is scanty and the rules many (m. Ḥag. 1:8).”

Putting a fence around the Torah - avoid even the appearance of breaking the Sabbath

They added a lot of laws that were aimed at being guard rails for “just in case” situations

Like “lets set these guard rails 100ft from the cliff just in case anyone comes close to falling over!”

But they set these up as laws that everyone had to follow or they had to risk accusation of sinning against God!

Now you may think this is excessive, but it’s actually only gotten worse over the past two thousand years

Sabbath mode on appliances.

You cannot turn on a light because that completes a circuit and that is considered creating a fire

So in sabbath mode all lights are automatically shut off for fridges and stoves

There are no control panel lights and displays, no light turning on when you open the door, no sounds, and the water dispenser is disabled

On ovens, the modern safety feature of an automatic shut off after 12 hours is also disabled, because it is against the Sabbath rules to cook food, but it is not against the rules to keep previously cooked food warm so they need a way to keep it warm for longer than 12 hours

Sabbath Elevators

In Israel, many hotels have multiple elevators with one specifically dedicated to Sabbath observance

This elevator is designed so that no more work than walking is involved, but this means that there is no button pressing

So it just always is moving up and down, stopping at every floor and waiting to allow people to get on or off without pressing any buttons.

As you can imagine, if you are not chained by those laws you probably do not want to get on that elevator, especially if you’re staying on a higher floor.

The pharisees were not accusing Jesus and his disciples of breaking the travel laws, but the work laws.

The disciples are breaking these laws because:

Matthew Explanation of the Text

Plucking the grain was reaping, rubbing it to separate the grain from the husks (Luke tells us that they did this) was threshing, blowing away the husks may well have been interpreted as winnowing, and for good measure they may have seen the whole as preparation of food, which they also regarded as prohibited (all food eaten on the Sabbath had to be prepared on the previous day).

Jesus then gives 2 biblical examples to show that the Pharisees have their priorities mixed up and have unfairly accused innocent people of breaking the law

Two biblical examples

1. David and the Bread of the Presence (1 Sam 21:1-6)

Is that less egregious than the disciples eating some grain?

2. Priests work on the Sabbath! (Num 28:9-10)

All they do is work on the Sabbath!

Are they not following those 39 laws?

Why are the Pharisees giving them the freedom to break those laws and not others?

What’s with the hypocrisy?

The Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus goes on to say that something greater than the temple has come

What was that thing that was greater than the temple?

Jesus himself!

Where the temple required constant sacrifices to cover sin, Jesus is the ultimate once for all sacrifice - eternal in being, unlimited in power to remove sin, and constant in love for his people

Where the temple required strict laws to be followed if you ever hoped for redemption to God, Jesus’ requirements are to love and believe him and his message and he will bring you into the presence of His Father!

And if the Pharisees, the teachers of the Scriptures, would have understood the very Scriptures they claimed to be experts in, they would have understood what was meant in Hosea 6:6 when God says

Hosea 6:6 ESV

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

God’s desire is not all our works! Do we really think we offer him anything he needs by the religious things we do? Do we think God could ever be in our debt? No!

Even in the burnt offerings given by the Jewish people, it’s not like YHWH needed the food for sustenance like the weak pagan gods in the surrounding culture!

He says this all throughout the Old Test and the New!

He does not need you, your possessions, or your works!

But for some reason outside of your own inherent value he wants you!

The King of Heaven wants you to know him and by knowing him loving him because he knows that it is only in him that you will find true fulfillment and rest!

The Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite title to use for himself, he calls himself that more times than anything else. From Dan 7:13-14 where “one like a son of man” was brought before God and given authority over all the world!

This “son of man” is not simply lord over all the world, he is also lord of the Sabbath

Love over Legalism (9-14)

Jesus then shows this truth by going to their synagogue, their church, and he meets a man with a shriveled hand.

And the Pharisees tried to trap him again, asking if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

Was healing considered work?

And Jesus asks them some questions: Matthew 12:11 “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?”

He continues “12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.””

He then healed the man

And what was the pharisees response? Was it joy over the restoration of this man’s body? was it praising God for his mighty works? No!

They started plotting to kill Jesus!

Personal Reflection

Jesus’ Authority

The same as Yahweh’s Authority

“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”

This authority confronts everyone!

It confronted the people of Jesus’ day and it confronts everyone today.

There is no neutrality. Jesus confronts every person with the light of God and forces decision.

He is Lord of the Sabbath (Matt 12:8),

God incarnate (John 1:14),

And he is the only path to salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

He is Lord over every nation,

and the only one in whom we can truly hope

He is Lord over our lives, from the ways we spend our money to the ways we interact with our neighbors to the choices we make with our bodies!

We can either accept or reject it, but we cannot remain neutral.

Jesus’ Authority confronts us.

The Pharisees could not accept Jesus’ absolute claims and so plotted to take his life.

When we cannot accept his claims, we try to either make Jesus non-existent or try to change him to fit our own ideals

The Yoke of Christ vs. the Yoke of the Pharisees

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Which yoke have you taken upon yourself?

It can be really easy to look at all the Sabbath Laws and scoff or feel sadness for the people bound by them, but the reality is that we as humans are always adding laws for people to follow!

It is something that humans have always done and always will do!

We are so bad at allowing for mystery and nuance!

And which extra rules and laws are added all depends on which culture you are a part of!

But we must never bind anyone with chains that Jesus never did.

There are some of us in here today who can not imagine a Christian drinking alcohol in good conscience

According to our current bylaws, we would refuse someone as a deacon of the church on the grounds that they own the land under an Applebees because they serve alcohol.

Now, where is that rule to be found? Does the Bible say that the Apostles said converting Christians shut down their vineyards? No!

The Bible consistently talks about alcohol in twin ways

1. Drunkenness is foolishness and sinful - being bound by a substance is unbecoming of a follower of Jesus - (When I am stressed, am I running to anything other than Christ?)

2. Wine is a blessing from God - an abundance is a blessing, a deprivation is a curse, it has medicinal properties (ALL throughout the Bible this is the primary look at alcohol)

How do these possibly fit together?

It seems like these are opposite one another and so we lean hard on one side or the other completely forgetting that there is a twin truth leaning the opposite way to balance it out!

On the one hand we can lean into the biblical freedom to enjoy alcohol too far in such a way that leads us to a sinful arrogance and dependence on alcohol, leading weaker brothers and sisters into sin.

On the other hand we completely cut it out and expect all Christians to do so, leading to again, a sinful arrogance in thinking that the extra bonds we have placed on ourselves make us more holy than those who are free from those bonds in Christ.

Biblically, the question of alcohol, and so many other things!, is not a question of total freedom or abstinence, but a question of wisdom and faithfulness to God where you are in life

Please hear me clearly, I am not encouraging you to go home and crack a beer open, especially if you have ever been addicted to something. There can be great wisdom and glory brought to God in personal abstinence from alcohol, especially in an area like this that has a long history with alcoholism.

It makes sense why we would hate alcohol in this area, many of us have seen family members bind themselves to it and destroy themselves and their families. Some of us have bound ourselves to it and only through the grace of God were freed. But do our chains mean that all Christians must be bound just like us?

This isn’t a sermon about alcohol so I’m going any further into this, but the point is, if we think we are free from putting manmade laws on people and changing the message of the Bible to match our cultural ideals.

And we’re not alone in this! Our early brothers and sisters dealt with a multitude of problems.

Augustine of Hippo, one of the greatest teachers of all Christendom, lived a life of sexual promiscuity when he was a young man and when he became a Christian he shut it all down completely, advocating for total abstinence from sex for all Christians in order to live a godly life.

He equated sex with sin. And this mindset led to the development of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary and the necessity of celibacy for priests.

But is it true that sex is inherently sinful? No!

It is a gift from God for a husband and wife to enjoy and bond to one another and to be blessed with welcoming new life into their home!

But many early Christians fell into this idea that any sort of pleasure is inherently wicked and preached against their brothers and sisters who did not fit into their cultural narrative!

This getting our priorities wrong is not a new problem!

But Jesus offers a solution

Jesus’ yoke brings freedom and rest. The Pharisee’s yoke brings chains and unbiblical expectations.

Which yoke are you expecting others to take on?

Legalism Kills Love

When we look to have a bunch of rules to follow, to fill in the gaps of the teachings of the bible with extrabiblical content, treating it like it is “gospel truth” we fall into legalism. We get our priorities out of whack as badly as the Pharisees

And legalism kills love

Our care for our man-made rules begins to trump our care for others

And that is anti-Christian

Christ brings freedom from the heavy yoke of extra laws

And bonds us to himself, with his light yoke of love and service to him

And when we start to view people like Jesus did, loving people and desiring their great freedom and blessing, getting our priorities right, we see that not only does legalism kill love, but the inverse is also true

Love kills Legalism

Jesus is the Ultimate Sabbath Rest

Gospel presentation and invitation

Time of Response (Confession)

Scriptural Assurance

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.