At that time Jesus went through the grain fields 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.” Matthew 12: 1-8 ESV
Matthew 12: 1-8 Sabbath
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.” Matthew 11: 28-30
So we left off in the last chapter with Jesus invitation to those who labor and are heavy laden, and now you are about to see another clear example of this in the interpretation of the law done by the Scribes regarding the Sabbath. But first, let's get a little more background about the sort of yoke that had been added to with the Rabbinical law (Rabbi means teacher), and this is some of the stuff they taught, much of which centered around the Sabbath:
In the Talmud – in one section of the Talmud, and there are at least two such sections, but in one of them, there are 24 chapters listing all the Sabbath laws. One rabbi spent two and a half years trying to understand one of those chapters. If you just extrapolate that out, you have a lifetime of one man just trying to figure out the stuff he was supposed to do on the Sabbath.
For example, you couldn’t travel more than 3,000 feet from your house unless on Friday you had planted some food 3,000 feet away. Then, when you got there and had food there, that would become “a home” because there was food there, and you could go another 3,000 feet. Wherever there was a narrow street or an alley, if you just put a rope across from the dwelling on this side to the dwelling on this side – a rope or a wire or a board – you created an entrance. And therefore you turned that street into a home and you could go another 3,000 feet. And that’s only two of more than I could count little ways that you could go another 3,000 feet.
Things could be lifted up or put down only from and to certain places. You could lift up something in a public place and put it down in a private place or lift it up in a private place and put it down in a public place, or you could lift it up in a wide place and put it in a legally free place or lift it in a legally free place and put it down in a wide place. And rabbis for years tried to figure out what a wide place was and what a legally free place was. You could never carry a burden that weighed more than a dried fig, or you could carry something that weighed half a dried fig twice.
Forbidden food – there was a long list of things you couldn’t eat on the Sabbath, and forbidden food on that list could be consumed no larger than an olive. If you put half an olive in your mouth and you found out that it was rotten and spit it out, you couldn’t put another half in because your mouth had tasted it as if it was a whole olive. And since your mouth can’t see anyway, you could not put in another good olive half.
If you threw an object in the air and caught it with your other hand, it was a violation of the Sabbath; if you caught it with the same hand, it was okay. If it was right near the Sabbath and you reached out for your food and the Sabbath overtook you, you had to drop your food before you drew your arm back or you’d be carrying a burden on the Sabbath. A tailor, on the Sabbath, couldn’t carry a needle lest he would be tempted to sew something that ripped. A scribe could not carry his pen because he might write. A pupil couldn’t carry his books because he might read. And you couldn’t examine anybody’s clothing, because you might find an insect there and kill it. Wool could not be dyed, nothing could be sold, nothing could be bought, nothing could be washed, a letter could not be sent even if you put it in the hand of a heathen for delivery. No fire could be lit, and that’s why today even conservative and Orthodox Jews have a time switch on their lighting systems so that the lights go on automatically on the Sabbath. No fire could be lit. Cold water could be poured on warm, but warm water couldn’t be poured on cold. An egg could not be boiled, even by laying it in the sun in the sand, which they did commonly.
You couldn’t take a bath for fear it would spill onto the floor and wash the floor as it fell off you. If there was a lit candle, you couldn’t blow it out. Chairs couldn’t be moved because they tended to drag ruts across the ground and that was a violation. A woman couldn’t look in a glass, because she might see a gray hair and pluck it out. And you couldn’t wear jewelry because jewelry weighed more than a dried fig. I suppose you could wear a dried fig, but that wouldn’t be too attractive.
When it came to grain and food, the laws – I’m telling you, they go on and on. You couldn’t put any more grain – you couldn’t carry any more grain in your hand than that which would fit into a lamb’s mouth. You could not leave a radish in salt because it would become a pickle. And this is just a little of it – 24 chapters. The law goes on endlessly about wine, about honey, about milk, about spitting. You could only spit into a rag; you couldn’t spit on the ground, on the Sabbath. Who knows why all these things came to pass? Laws about writing, about getting the dirt off your clothes – very intricate about how to get the dirt off your clothes without violating the Sabbath. You could only carry ink enough for two letters - not two letters to people, but two alphabetical letters. And wax enough only to fill a tiny hole. You could have a wad in your ear if you had an earache, but you couldn’t have a false tooth in, because that was carrying a burden.
Here are the following 39 things that were commonly forbidden: Sewing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, sifting, grinding, sifting with a sieve, kneading, baking, shearing the wool, washing it, beating it, dying it, spinning, putting it in the weaver’s beam, making two threads, weaving two threads, separating two threads, making a knot, undoing a knot, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, catching deer, killing, skinning, salting it, preparing its skin, scraping off its hair, cutting it up, writing two letters, scraping in order to write two letters, building, pulling down, extinguishing fire, lighting fire, beating with a hammer, carrying from one possession to another, and it goes on and on. - J Mac
That was tiring just to read, but entertaining since I am not being asked to do that, but imagine trying to navigate this, trying to live up to it, to earn your way, how exhausting, and how hypocritical of those who would teach such. It's like being "woke" in our day, trying to stay in front of the virtue signaling mob, and tossing aside the truth for political correctness.
…45One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” 46“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “ You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load. 47Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.… Luke 11: 45-47
They began to pluck heads of grain to eat - So they weren't stealing in doing this, but according to the Talmud they were traveling, and maybe breaching the 3,000 feet rule in some way. The actual law, Biblical law, which many of these offshoot cults fail at, allowed for you to pick the heads of grain in your neighbor's field if you were hungry. You were not allowed to reap their field with a scythe and take it home or sell it, but travelers could eat their personal fill. You weren't allowed to reap even your own field on the Sabbath, that was to happen in the other six days of the week, so God's law insured a day of rest, a day of reflection, ceasing from business activities.
…24When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket. 25When you enter your neighbor’s grain field, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain. Deuteronomy 23: 24-25
21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest. 22And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.… Exodus 34: 21-22
But when the Pharisees saw it - The holiness police, the purveyors of self righteousness, salvation by works. All the cults add to the Scripture, receive extrabiblical knowledge, fresh words, nonsense. It is the error of many groups that have Bibles, look for Messiah, speak about God and Jesus, yet these Pharisees don't even recognize when He shows up. It is the same in the Roman Catholic Church, where they both add with their traditions and remove the clear teaching of Scripture and replace it with their traditions, their Pelagianism, a works based religion, where people pray to Mary, say Peter was a eunuch, forbidding their priest to marry. The same problem arises in the Seventh Day Adventist, believing that certain "prophets" received special revelation concerning the Sabbath, and so they become legalist like the Pharisees, like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, all stemming from poor doctrine that they believe was handed down by God to individuals who were actually apostates. It's like the people today who tell you that you're racist because you are hypomelanistic, which is false, but don't worry they have a works system in place by which you can make amends, or pay retribution. It's all self righteousness, it's all in error, they all teach another Christ, preach another gospel, so be aware because these things, no matter how ridiculous they seem, gain traction with the masses.
Your disciples are doing what is not lawful - By the Word of God, the Mosaic law, or by your crazy Rabbinical teachings? Oops, the real Rabbi is hear, and they are about to go to Jesus School, where they never do so well on the exam. Jesus doesn't avoid these confrontations, He stands up for the Word of God, and He gives the whole counsel of God. This is the Word become flesh, dwelling among them, they should be trembling at their thoughts, but no, they don't recognize Him, so their thoughts dribble out of their mouths.
1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3
1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.… 2 Timothy 4: 1-3
Have you not read - He goes above their Talmud, back to God's Word, and this they would consider a dig, it would cut their egos, and that is the real source of their religion, it's about them, about self esteem and the praise of men, having nothing to do with the glory of God. "I'm a Scribe, of course I have read, I am well read, and I am a published author."
David, when he was hungry - David is their hero king, and many of them understand that the Messiah will come from the line of David, and He has, but again, they are blind. Here is a link to that story:
Not lawful for him to eat - The men were famished, but the law stated that the shew bread, bread of the presence, was reserved for the priests, and so neither David nor his men qualified to eat it on most occasions. But there is a condition here, they were hungry and they were being hunted, famished, on the run, and without means to help themselves. A beautiful picture of the gospel, blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness. It wasn't to be theirs by normal means, by qualifications, but only by mercy. So Christ gives them an even greater precedence in this picture from the OT, and it is no small thing, not easily reconciled. If they say, "well, David was anointed to be king", ah but not a good answer, remember Uzziah, what happened when he crossed the line separating church and state? He wanted to do that which was reserved for the priests, and God gave him a case of leprosy that stuck with him to his grave. Remember Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, they were priests even, but offered strange fire which led to their immediate reprimand, death by fire from God. The Scribes and Pharisees were well read, they knew these things.
Sabbath law, He says, first of all, was never intended to restrict deeds of necessity. Secondly, it was never meant to restrict service to God. And thirdly, it was never meant to restrict acts of mercy. The Sabbath was to bring rest, not hardship. The Sabbath was to reflect what the other nine commandments reflected: Love toward God and love toward your fellow man. And that’s what the Ten Commandments are all about. The first of the commandments talk about our love to God through loyalty, faithfulness, reverence, and holiness. The second group in the Ten Commandments talks about love toward our fellow man through respect and purity and unselfishness, truthfulness, and contentment. - J Mac
The priest in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless - The priest work on the Sabbath, they handle the sacrifices, their duty requires for them to work on the Sabbath, to do good, but if you want to go strictly by the letter of the law, leaning on your own understanding, then how do you explain this? Preachers preach on Sunday, a day many Christians would view as their Sabbath day. Jesus is making them think, trying to get them to the Spirit of the law, for God wants those who worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Their added traditions have actually made a mockery of God's law and the Sabbath a torture rather than a day of entering God's rest.
13Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.” 14 Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: 15Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”… Mark 7: 13-15
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here - This is so OG, and in just these few words He has condensed all of Holy Scripture, the law, the prophets, the gospel. He has just drawn a line that is hard to ignore, some of them are probably wondering if He really just said this, some have ears that are burning and others are now intent upon His life. The temple is the place where God dwells with His people, the ark of the covenant was God's foot stool here on earth. It is the place where the finite meets the eternal, where the fallen come to learn about the Holy, Holy, Holy. How can You say that You are greater than God's earthly dwelling place, the house prepared to receive His presence, where He tabernacles with His people? It's a tingling moment for the few that come to believe, but for those who are perishing, it is blasphemy.
…18On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?” 19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”…
…21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 23While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.… John 2: 18-23
…18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.… Colossians 1: 18-20
I desire mercy and not sacrifice - Jesus is taking them back to the Scriptures that they have read, but have clearly not understood. The disciples were doing this, eating the grain, which was lawful, and doing it as they followed their Master, the One Who was greater than the temple. Who is greater than the place of God's presence? God's presence.
And thirdly, He says the law cannot stand in the way of showing mercy. Verse 7, “If you had known what this meaneth, ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” You’re condemning these disciples and they’re guiltless, and you wouldn’t have done it if you knew what God really wanted. If you knew that He wanted mercy, not ritual. The word sacrifice, I believe, embodies the whole ceremonial system. That ceremonial Sabbath system was only a shadow. It was only a shell. What God really wants is a merciful heart. And God is merciful, and if His people hunger, He wants them to be fed. It’s a beautiful, beautiful lesson the Lord gives, isn’t it? People think Christianity is rigid, hard. No. God has given us standards but does not want those standards to overrule meeting our needs, serving Him, showing mercy. Kindness, self-sacrifice, mercy, that’s what God wants. - J Mac
…5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning. 6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.… Hosea 6: 5-7
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath - One bomb after another, more truth than they can handle. He has already told them that He is greater than the temple, but lest we miss that or misconstrue it, let this stand to clear it up. The Son of Man is a Messianic designation, and to be Lord over God's holy day, the day in which He rested from His work, looked upon all that He had created, and said, it is good, well, if Jesus is not God then He is guilty of the worse sort of blasphemy.
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… Colossians 1: 15-17
If all things were created through Him, and all created things were created for Him, then He could not have been created, but must be the eternally begotten of the Father, the Word become flesh.
…2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.… John 1: 2-4
…9The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.… John 1: 9-11
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