Matthew 12:1-8
The King of the
Sabbath
Would you open your Bibles to...
Mar 2:27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Pray
Intro
√ King of the Sabbath
You’ll remember that Matthew chapters 11 & 12 record for us the beginning conflicts that Jesus had with the religious leaders.
The heart of the conflict is Jesus’ authority as it regards the keeping of the Sabbath (used 8 times in vs. 1-14.)
What is and is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
Very important to Matthew’s audience because the Sabbath is
the outward sign of the
eternal covenant that God made with
Jesus’ interpretation of the Sabbath puts Him at odds with the religious leaders who held a very different view of the Law and how it should be practiced.
As we saw in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is more concerned with honoring the Spirit of the Law, while the Pharisees were more concerned with the Letter of the Law.
So, who is correct in their interpretation?
Jesus proves His interpretation of the Sabbath law represents the heart of the Father by appealing to the Scripture for examples and illustrations that back up His practice.
Great model for all of us to follow!
Remember, traditions must always surrender to the authority of the Word.
Ap. Are we bound to the Jewish Sabbath?
Jesus’ teaching reminds us that the Spirit in which the Sabbath was given was for the benefit of people!
The Sabbath was to be a day of rest, not stress!
A day of blessing for all people whether Jew, or Gentile, slave or free, male and female…
…God gave the Sabbath for us to enjoy.
While the New Testament Church is not bound to the Jewish Sabbath, there is blessing for us when we set aside time each week for the Lord.
Keeping the Sabbath (vs. 1-2)
Matt. 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Matt. 12:2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
√ Keeping the Sabbath
Folks, understand that the Sabbath was cherished by the Jewish people as a sacred institution.
For you Bible students know that the Sabbath was given to
the people of
Sabbath instituted ~ Exodus 20:8-11
It was to be a special
sign given by God to the children of
Exo 31:13 "Speak
also to the children of
Exo 31:14 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Exo 31:15 'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Exo 31:16 'Therefore
the children of
Exo 31:17 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.' "
Bible scholars, what does the text actually say…
Who gave the Sabbath? = God
To whom did He give it? =
Why did He give it? = Sign of their covenant
Interestingly, we have no record anywhere in scripture or otherwise, that God ever gave the Sabbath to any other nation.
Not to the Edomites, the Egyptians, etc.
It was a special sign between God and
…not the
In fact, of the 10 Commandments the Sabbath commandment is the only one not required of Christians by Jesus or the apostles!
Ex. 1st Church counsel ~ Acts 15
No requirement to “keep the Sabbath” or any other of the Old Testament Laws.
√ Sabbath Law
As we read the Sabbath made certain demands upon the people.
Ex. No work on the Sabbath
Don’t kindle a fire
Don’t carry a burden
...the Jewish religious leaders then developed hundreds of rules regulating a person’s behavior on the Sabbath as the interpreted what God meant by…
“Do not work”
Ex. Modern Judaism ~ “don’t kindle a fire”
A light bulb; by turning it on one causes the filament with the bulb to burn, thus kindling a fire.
So, the solution - you can turn a light OFF on the Sabbath, but not ON.
So they leave their lights on!
The point is that what had begun as a simple set of instructions became a crushing burden to the Jewish people!
The Sabbath had become a symbol of religious bondage!
Because the Jew was no longer free to worship God because he/she was so concerned with upholding all of the Man-made traditions.
√ Along comes the King!
In our text this morning the question of the Pharisees regards the disciples doing “work” on the Sabbath.
"Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" ~ vs. 2
What work? The disciples plucked the grain, crushed it in their palms and ate it. To the Pharisees way of thinking the…
Picking of the grain = reaping
Rubbing the head of the grain in their palms = threshing
Blowing the chaff from their hands = winnowing
So, the Pharisees deemed this action to be “work” and therefore a violation of the Sabbath.
Their contention is that Jesus’ disciples are not keeping the Sabbath.
Once again the question of the Pharisees gives Jesus an opportunity to correct our wrong understanding of God and His expectations of us.
King of the Sabbath (vs. 3-8)
Matt. 12:3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Matt. 12:4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
Matt. 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
Matt. 12:6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
Matt. 12:7 But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Matt. 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
√ King of the Sabbath
Jesus responds to their question (accusation) by giving them three illustrations from the Word…
…that prove that their interpretation of the Sabbath Law is incorrect and His is right.
1) David ~ the prototype of the King
The incident that Jesus refers to is recorded in I Sam. 21 when David was fleeing from Saul.
He and his men came to the city of Nob tired and hungry.
The only food available was the Showbread that had been removed from the Tabernacle.
Technically only the priests could eat that bread
(Lev. 24:5-9)
However, David and his men were allowed to eat it!
Jesus’ argument is reasonable…
If a hungry king and his men were permitted to eat the holy bread from the Tabernacle...
Then, it was right for the King of the Sabbath to permit His men to eat the grain from His fields!
More so in that David broke a actual law given by Moses (Lev. 24:5-9)…
…but the disciples had only violated a man-made tradition.
Ap. God is surely more concerned with meeting the needs of people than He is with upholding religious traditions and the technical Letter of the Law.
Ex. Blood transfusions
The Jehovah Witnesses wrongly and ignorantly prohibit their people from receiving blood transfusions, based upon an wrong interpretation of Acts 15:29…
…even when it’s a matter of life and death!
Like the Pharisees, they’ve violated the Spirit of the Law so that they might hold to their interpretation of the Law and as result put their people in peril.
Beware that you don’t buy into these kinds of false doctrines that place the Letter of the Law above the Spirit in which God gave it.
2) The priests ~ the servants of the King
The second illustration that Jesus uses to prove His point is that the Law requires the priests who minister in the Temple to break the Sabbath Law!
Ex. Sabbath offerings ~ Num. 28:9-10; 18-19
When the priests offered Sabbath sacrifices in the Temple they…
Worked
Kindled a fire
Cooked
…all on the Sabbath!
Yet, they were considered blameless before the Lord!
The reason, I think we have a clue in vs. 5-6…
Matt. 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
I would suggest that the priests are considered blameless because their work is done in the Temple where God’s presence dwelt.
That is, what would normally be considered a violation of the Law, working on the Sabbath…
…is sanctified by the presence of God’s Spirit in the Temple
So, if the priests were blameless because of the presence of God’s Spirit in the Temple…
…how much more are the disciples guiltless because they are in the presence of, and under the covering of the King Himself!
Note how Jesus applies that logic in vs. 6-7!
Matt. 12:6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
Matt. 12:7 But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Jesus is greater than the Temple because He is God!
Therefore, His presence sanctifies the disciples as they do the work of the Kingdom…
…so to eat the grain from the field is no more a violation of the Law than the priests who work in the Temple.
That’s why He can say that they are guiltless.
3) The King
Jesus final point, and the most powerful, is that because He is the King of the Sabbath He has the authority to interpret the Law as He sees fit.
Matt. 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The point is that if Jesus doesn’t consider what the disciples were doing as “work”…
…then it isn’t a violation of the Law!
He made the rules, He gets to tell us what they mean and how to apply them!
The Pharisee’s problem was that they missed God’s intention (the Spirit of) in giving the Law, that’s why He tells them…
“But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the guiltless.” ~ vs. 7
For the spirit in which God gave the Law always has Man’s best interest in mind.
Thus, human need takes priority over ceremonial regulations.
That is to say…
…Man’s needs (like hunger) supersede the legal requirements of the law.
Ap. Put it into our modern thought.
Federal law prohibits you and me from housing a minor without parental permission.
The law was designed to protect runaways from the street predators who would give them food and shelter - but then demand “favors” in return.
So what do you do if a runaway teen shows up on your doorstep this winter? And the local shelters are full!
Turn them away for fear of breaking the law!?
No, the spirit of the law was to provide protection for kids in troubled situations.
It wasn’t designed to leave kids in the snow when the local shelter is full.
Are you breaking the law? Technically, yes.
Will you get prosecuted? Unlikely.
Why, because the spirit of the law is to protect kids not arrest good Samaritans.
The King’s plan for your Sabbath
√ The King’s plan for your Sabbath
Let’s apply this to our own spiritual life. The Pharisees question was in regard to religious practice, or expression.
Specifically - the keeping of the Sabbath.
Their confusion, as we’ve seen, concerned their own traditions for honoring the Sabbath day.
Now understand that their traditions grew out of a desire to honor God by making sure they didn’t break the Sabbath law.
However, their traditions soon replaced any real relationship with God and all they were left with was a form of godliness - but with no substance.
Tradition for the sake of tradition is valueless.
Ex. The Thanksgiving ham.
Which brings up a good question…
…what was the Sabbath supposed to be anyway?
Jesus gives us a clue in Mark 2:27...
Mar 2:27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
God’s plan, or shall we say, the King’s plan for us is to experience His “3 R’s”…
Rest
Relationship
Renewal
…as we honor Him.
1) Rest
We find the first purpose of the Sabbath by defining the word.
“Sabbath” means…
“repose”, “cessation, as in from work.”
Originally it was to call to mind the time when God created the world and rested on the 7th day from His creative work.
By way of example, not that God needed a breather, God wanted His people to rest from their labor on the 7th day.
So, the first purpose of the Sabbath was so that His people would rest.
√ Why?
Because our sin tainted human nature is driven by an insatiable desire for more stuff!
The tendency of Mankind is to use every free moment to work for more stuff.
But God knows that the things we strive so hard to obtain will never satisfy our souls.
That’s why Jesus said...
Mat 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Note that the context of Matthew 6 is in regards to our pursuit of material possessions.
Ap. We need a “Sabbath” day
A day to rest so that we won’t spend every free moment of our life trying to get...
More clothes (like we need them!)
A cooler car - or truck!
A bigger house
$$$ to pay off our credit cards!!
2) Relationship
The Sabbath day was to also be a day of relationship. A day when people and God got together - free from the distractions of the daily grind.
A day when people set aside time to develop a more intimate relationship with God through...
Worship
Study of His thoughts (Word)
Fellowship
Communion
Ex. The key ingredient to any successful relationship is time spent together.
Marriage counseling will often require couples to keep a log of the time they spend together. And to rate that time!
Couples find that when they spend quality time together that their relationship improves!
In the same way the Sabbath was more than just a time to rest (sleep all day!).
It was a time to develop your relationship with God.
Can you imagine if people got together with their spouse the way they attend church!?
“How ya doin honey!”
Wouldn’t be a very healthy marriage!
3) Renewal
The Sabbath was to be a day when people were renewed to a right mind!
It’s so easy to get our perspective and our priorities all mixed up during the week.
The demands of...
Job
Family
Life
...can cause one to lose focus on what’s really important in life.
Taking a day each week to set aside to the Lord allows Him to bring renewal of our mind through the ministry of His Word and His Spirit.
To renew our priorities; to renew our perspective.
Ap. Let’s get personal.
It’s God’s desire that we meet together regularly - to gather in His presence that we might...
Experience His rest
Develop relationship
Renew our mind
...but all done in the freedom we have in Christ.
That is to say, church attendance should never become a lifeless tradition.
We don’t come to church because we have too - rather because we want too. Big difference.
Close
√ King of the Sabbath
Jesus is the King of the Sabbath and wants to spend that day with you, a day of…
Rest
Relationship
Renewal