Matthew 12:1-21 Finding True Rest

Intro:

Al Pagliosotto’s death

Just got done with 3 weeks of vacation

It was the first time I have taken that much time in 9 years

I had several people ask me what I had planned for that time

My response was simple, yet shocking

I would reply… nothing

The look on their faces were priceless

The first look was “Really?”

The second look was “I would love to do nothing on vacation.”

God had shown me earlier in the year I needed an extended break

He also impressed on my heart that it was supposed to be a time of rest

Generally our family takes long road trips on vacation

It is anything but restful

Driving thousands of miles, arranging accomodations for a family of six, and then planning activities takes months of work leading up to the vacation

There comes a time when our bodies need a rest

We can either choose to do it or God will arrange it for us

Today we are going to look at finding true rest

At issue is the sabbath, which means rest

The Pharisees had made a blessing into a burden

Jesus reclaims that

Read Matthew 12:1-5

Transition:

Sabbath observance was the heart of the Jewish legalistic system, and when Jesus violated the traditions as to how that day should be honored, He struck a raw nerve.

The English Sabbath transliterates the Hebrew shabbat, which has the basic meaning of ceasing, rest, and inactivity.

At the end of creation “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:3).

In honor of that day, the Lord declared it to be a special time of rest and remembrance for His people and incorporated its observance into the requirements of the Ten Commandments

Most Jews had little idea of the original purpose of the Sabbath or of how God intended it to be honored.

Instead of being a day of rest it had become a day of incredible burden.

Because of the thousands of man-made restrictions regarding it, the Sabbath was more tiresome than the six days devoted to one’s occupation.

It was harder to “rest” than to earn a living.

Jesus pushes back on that and shows us how to find true rest

I. Find Your Rest in Jesus vs. 1-8

If you want to find true rest you need to look to the Lord of the Sabbath

vs. 1 Harvesting on the Sabbath

Farmers weren’t allowed to harvest the corners of their fields

These were left for the poor people

It was a provision in the law

As Jesus is walking with his disciples on the Sabbath they began to pluck grains of wheat

This shows us two things

First, they were hungry

A last resort for hungry people was to take the head of a wheat stalk and rub them between their hands and eat the flour

Second, they were poor

Only the poor people would’ve been in a field plucking grain on a Sabbath

Jesus use this situation to right a wrong

The Sabbath had lost its meaning

He wanted to reassert it’s purpose and meaning

The Sabbath is a time to cease from work and worship the one who has provided

The disciples were not reaping on the Sabbath, which was forbidden by Mosaic law (Ex. 34:21), but simply satisfying their hunger according to the provision of Deuteronomy 23.

Rabbinic tradition, however, had ridiculously interpreted the rubbing of grain together in the hands as a form of threshing; and they regarded blowing away the chaff as a form of winnowing.

The issue here is thus not that the disciples took someone’s grain but that they picked it on the sabbath; later rabbinic law specifically designated this as one of thirty-nine kinds of work forbidden on the sabbath.

vs. 2 Hypocrisy

I find vs. 2 funny and hypocritical

You weren’t allowed to walk over 3,000 feet on the sabbath

Jesus is breaking this by walking through a grain field on top of plucking wheat

But how did the pharisee’s know this unless they were breaking their own laws

They were following Jesus around looking for ways they He broke their regulations

They were just as guilty as they claimed the disciples were

The charge that Jesus’ disciples were doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath was itself sinful, because it put human tradition on a par with God’s own Word.

One section alone of the Talmud, the major compilation of Jewish tradition, has twenty-four chapters listing Sabbath laws.

One law specified that the basic limit for travel was 3,000 feet from one’s house

Under Sabbath regulations, a Jew could not carry a load heavier than a dried fig; but if an object weighed half that amount he could carry it twice.

Eating restrictions were among the most detailed and extensive.

You could eat nothing larger than an olive;

Nothing could be bought or sold, and clothing could not be dyed or washed.

A letter could not be dispatched, even if by the hand of a Gentile.

No fire could be lit or extinguished—including fire for a lamp

Baths could not be taken for fear some of the water might spill onto the floor and “wash” it.

Chairs could not be moved because dragging them might make a furrow in the ground

False teeth could not be worn because they exceeded the weight limit for burdens.

vs. 3-8 Rebuttal

Jesus gives a rebuttal

What about David? He ate food only meant for priests on the sabbath

vs. 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here

To the Jews nothing was greater than the temple and the sabbath

For Jesus to claim he is greater was blasphemy in their eyes

If you are going to find true rest you need to find it in the one who is greater than any ritual or routine

He is the one who lifts the burden of sin, gives us peace that passes all understanding, and fills us with living water

All the sacrifice and regulations in the world will never become a replacement for the mercy of Jesus

He is the Lord of the Sabbath

That is why we come to worship Him

We are looking to reconnect through our worship, the Word of God, the Spirit working in our hearts

That is why Sunday mornings are important

It tells our heart that Jesus is important and we are taking time to worship him

Over the last month I have heard several stories of families who used to attend our church and they stopped attending our church and things went south

II. This Rest Will Do You Good vs. 9-14

Finding True Rest comes from allowing Jesus to do a good work in your heart

vs. 9-10 Lawful to heal on the Sabbath

Jesus enters a synagogue and encounters a man with a withered hand

The Pharisees ask him if it lawful to heal on the sabbath

Jesus doesn’t answer the issue of healing, but of value

If one of the pharisees sheep fell into a pit they would lift it out

Jesus then ask which is more valuable, the man or the sheep

Jesus catches them in their religion

They would never say the sheep

Because the man if more valuable it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath

vs. 11-14

It would be easy to look at this passage and start to think of the good you can do on the sabbath

We put ourselves in Jesus’ place when we should see ourselves as the man with the withered hand

Jesus wants to do a good work in your life

Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand and it was restored

He became physically healthy

Some people need physical healing, but everyone needs spiritual healing

Everyone of us is born into sin

There is nothing we can do to erase that sin

Only the blood Jesus shed on the cross can cover those sins and make us clean

When we ask Jesus to become Lord of our life that penalty of our sin, death, is removed

We are made new creations in Christ

Peace and love flood our hearts

That is the healing that everyone born, save Jesus, needs

That is the good that Jesus wants to do

You know what? Even Christians need that good done over and over

We continue to sin and need forgiveness

We let other idols and gods supplant Jesus on the throne of our lives and that needs to be corrected

The love that was so strong can often grow dim

III. Comfort for the Weak vs 15-21

The final way that we find true rest is seeing Jesus as the Great Comforter

Jesus was aware of the plot to destroy him

He didn’t run in fear, but withdrew so there wouldn’t be a scene

If he stayed and argued with the Pharisees it would’ve gotten contentious

Remember, he has Peter, James and John

Besides, It wasn’t his time and there was more work to be done

He heals everyone and tells them not to make him known

This also fulfills what Isaiah the prophet foretold

Isaiah 42:1–4 ESV

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.