matthew 12-1-21 esv

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 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.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

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.

God's Chosen Servant

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,     my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him,     and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,     nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break,     and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21     and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

What's happening

jesus makes the Pharisees angry by

1) pulling heads of grain and eating which was not unlawful according to deut. 23:24-25

2) jesus heals a man with withered hand

and then tells them not to tell anyone

Jews took sabbath extremely serious!, so serious according to 1 Maccabees 2, jews would refused to defend themselves if enemies would attack on the sabbath. (i know what day i attack on if im the enemy.) Instead they would allow themselves to be slaughtered

in verse 2 and 10, the Pharisees challenge jesus adherence to halakhah means "the path that one walks" and refers to the comprehensive system of Jewish law guiding religious, ethical, and daily life. simply put, it means to walk out the torah in your life (torah being the 1st 5 books of o.t., the law)

The Pharisees added numerous rules and regulations to the Sabbath, significantly expanding upon the biblical commandments. These additions aimed to prevent even unintentional violations and to ensure the sanctity of the day. The Pharisees' contributions to the Sabbath laws are detailed in the Mishnah, which lists 39 primary kinds of labor that were not allowed on that day. These include activities such as sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, and baking.

they were breaking the law according to the Pharisees additions of rules and regulations to the sabbath they had added.

jesus is pointing out there interpretation is wrong.

again Jesus, in whom we believe is the son of God, did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, and give us the true interpret the law. who better to interpret it then jesus, the one who wrote it.

would the Pharisees let David eat the “show bread”? ....probably not....theyd been like....

On the Sabbath, priests were responsible for performing sacred duties, including offering sacrifices and maintaining the sanctuary, which were essential to the worship practices of ancient Israel.

Key Responsibilities of Priests on the Sabbath

Offering Sacrifices: One of the primary duties of the priests was to offer various sacrifices as prescribed in the Law. This included daily offerings as well as special Sabbath offerings. For example, Numbers 28:9-10 outlines the specific sacrifices that were to be made on the Sabbath, emphasizing the importance of these rituals in maintaining the covenant relationship with God.

Maintaining the Sanctuary: The priests were tasked with the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). This included ensuring that the lamps were kept burning, the bread of the Presence was regularly replaced, and the altar of incense was tended to. Exodus 27:20-21 highlights the need for the lamps to be kept burning continually, which was part of their sacred duties.

Preparing the Showbread: According to Leviticus 24:5-9, the priests were required to prepare and offer the showbread on the Sabbath. This involved baking and placing the bread before the Lord, which was a significant ritual that underscored their role as mediators between God and the people.

Teaching the Law: In addition to their ritual duties, priests were responsible for teaching the Israelites about God's laws and statutes. They served as judges in certain disputes and were tasked with instructing the people in matters of ritual purity and holiness.

Jesus is saying that the priests were guiltless despite despite performing their temple duties on sabbath.

jesus is also saying that Him and his disciples were guiltless

Why? jesus said that he is greater than the sabbath.

then Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4 meaning that jesus, humble and gentle did not come present his message with anger or in a critical manner… he didnt come to “bruise the reeds” or trample the weak......again not the messiah they all were expecting.

What's the connection

this is the situation jesus refers to.

1 samuel 21:1-6

Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away

numbers 28:9-10

Sabbath Offerings

9 “On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: 10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

jesus is basically telling the religious leaders that just as the priests were consecrated (guiltless, innocent, blameless, holy) doing their duties on the sabbath, just as David was consecrated, so are the disciples and jesus.

vs. 7 jesus quotes from hosea 6:6 from Septuagint (greek translation of O.T.) to as why they were guiltless

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

Matthew 12:7 “And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

vs 9-12 jesus compares the a sheep to a person, the religous leaders are outraged, which i believe reveals their error.

Q) How can religous leaders be so ignorant of what God truly desires? despite jesus miracles and good that he did? instead they accuse him of breaking the law( which he technically did, but so did david and the priests. even more there so angry they want to kill him.

LESSON FOR TODAY.

THE KIND OF HEART THAT A CHRISTAIN HAS WILL PROVIDE UNIQUE SPIRTUAL INSIGHT ABOUT GOD

jesus was always reconnecting the people to the condition of their hearts.

why are you doing what you do?

why do we read and study bible?

why do we live godly moral lives?

why do we pray?

why do we live a biblical moral christain life?

out of duty/habbit/procedure/formula

again, jesus points us back to our hearts to where everything we do stims from. and god sees the true intent of hearts.

HEART CULTIVATION PRODUCES 3 THINGS.

1) NECESSARY CHARACTERISTICS OF A DISCIPLE AND KINGDOM SPREADER.

FRUIT AND WORKS

2)ABILITY TO TRULY UNDERSTAND GODS WORD

“he who has an ear let him hear” holy spirit reveals gods word to us, illuminates the scriptures

3) ability to recognize Gods activity all around them

pharisees bot only missed who jesus is but also the true meaning of the sabbath.

Q) how could the religous leaders miss and misperceive God in the flesh jesus when he is in their midst doing wonderful things?

A) bc they lack mercy!

sabbath was a means of mercy that God established for Israel after being freed from slavery in Egypt.

a slave who worked all day from morning to dark forced into intense labor. beaten and whipped no rights and god gives them a day of rest bc he wants to extend mercy to his people.

jesus still required his people to meet the needs of others

in mark jesus says that the sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath meaning the Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them

if dad got a call saying we had cows out ( which seemed to be more than normal) you better believe we were out the door to round them back up. or if someone else needed help we would help even on sunday.

and jesus from a stand point of his love and mercy, heals a mans hand on the sabbath.

when jesus said he was lord over the sabbath,he was laying claim to his diety, being the son of God, he wrote this ( H.S. inspired moses to write it) who better to interpret the word of god than God himself!

WHAT ABOUT THE SABBATH TODAY?

THE SPIRIT THAT SHAPES AND INFORMS SABBATH IS MERCY.

THIS IS WHAT JESUS DOES IN HIS 3 YEAR MINISTRY, FEEDS, HEALS,

god desires a merciful heart in his people and could care less of the obedience from unmerciful people.

who is the “unmerciful” today?

when we put a higher standard on our tradition than the word of God

when we have disdain and contempt for Sinful” people

make a point to always show people their faults and wrongs without love and compassion

know the word of God but not the God of the word

the religous leaders were rigid and inflexible in understanding and when God did something outside of their understanding, they immediately dismissed it and condemned it.

lacking mercy will lead to condeming what is not understood

we dont follow a procedure or formula bc you it turns into salvation through works and become blind to the activity of God.

WE WILL KNOW GOD MORE WHEN WE TEND AND CULTIVATE OUR HEARTS! AND BE ABLE TO BETTER DISERN AND UNDERSTAND HIS WORD

ITS IMPORTANT TO BE REAL WITH GOD!

IF YOU LACK MERCY, IT WILL LEAD TO CONDEMING WHAT YOU DONT UNDERSTAND AND BECOMING BLIND TO THE ACTIVITY OF GOD

TELL HIM YOUR CONCERNS, WHY YOUR UPSET, TELL HIM HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HIM.

BUT ALSO, BE READY FOR AN ANSWER.

-MY EXAMPLE

I sometimes puposely wont speak to God bc i dont want to hear his response even though i may have an idea of what his respose may be.

he may be calling or telling you to do something you dont want to do. ex. jonah.

its always for our good, to refine us, to get us to the next level, to teach us, to prepare us,

but sometimes that refining fire burns, his word cuts us deep but in the end it makes us stronger like a muscle you break it down and it groes back stronger.

in a sense, i feel like adam hiding from god in the garden after they sinned. gods calling from adam but he hides, hes calling for me and im ignoring.

our bodies are programed to keep us alive, to keep us from things that hurt us phyically or emotionally. it stores past things that have hurt us so next time its happening we learn to avoid or cope bc we dont wont to feel that pain again.

instead of being real and vulnerable with god, casting all our cares, combatting our fears with his word, god wants to heal us spiritually and emotionally phyically and we have his word to back it up.

but we hold onto it, wont let it go, the trauma and hurt has become part of your identity.

we feel like paul in romans 7 i do what i dont wnat to do and dont do what i want to do.

has god already revealed something but youve been ignoring it?

lets make today the day we change course, we get real with god and let go of the fear, worries and what ifs and allow god to move and heal and take you to the next level.

is it loving your spouse unconditionally

is it praying with your spouse, thats a powerful thing a couple can do

is there past trauma that youve not dealt with that hinders you

is there generatinal tendencies that run in your families that affect you

TALK TO GOD ABOUT IT

tell some of mine. FEELING GREAT THE DAY BEFORE, THEN WAKING UP THE NEXT DAY FEELING DEPPRESSED AND ANXIOUS

david and the psalms 22 sad 23 happy