Jesus has just left
Matthew 12:1-8
1 At
that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His
disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.
2 But
when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do
what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."
The Pharisees have just accused the disciples of violating the Sabbath, but what they have really violated is only the Pharisees’ INTERPRETATION of the Sabbath. (You might want to see Deut. 23:24-25) Now Jesus begins a 4 part defense:
Part 1
3 But He said to
them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his
companions,
4 how he entered the
house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him
to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?
Remember, these are the Pharisees, the supposed experts in the Law. The word for read is the word ANAGINOSKO, and it can mean reading in public. Jesus says, “Haven’t you taught this exact passage?” You have to love the sarcasm!
Notice how Jesus speaks to the Pharisees using their frame of reference. They were familiar with this passage; they just misapply it because of their arrogance. One other interesting point – Jesus and the disciples are very close geographically to the exact place where this story happened.
1 Samuel 21:1-6
1 Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling
to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one with
you?"
2 David said to
Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commissioned me with a matter and has
said to me, "Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am
sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the
young men to a certain place.'
David is actually running from King Saul, who has gone crazy. When David tells Ahimelech that the king has commissioned him, he is actually speaking of the Lord. He tells Ahimelech that he is on a holy mission.
3 "Now
therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever
can be found."
4 The priest answered
David and said, "There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is
consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women."
(Sex rendered them ceremonially
unclean. To be purified, they had to
bathe, and then wait until the next day to perform any priestly duties)
5 David answered the
priest and said to him, "Surely women have been kept from us as previously
when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an
ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?"
David is saying, “We were all clean when we went on an ordinary mission, how much more now since we’re on a holy mission!”
6 So the priest gave
him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence
which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place
when it was taken away. (The only day
this was done was on the Sabbath)
Notice the parallels between these two situations. Both groups are on a mission on the Sabbath. Both are in need of food. And both are in the service of the Lord!
Part 2
5 "Or have you
not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the
Sabbath and are innocent?
6 "But I say to
you that something greater than the temple is here.
Again Jesus says the same thing. “Haven’t you read this passage?” Look at this passage where The Lord reveals to Moses about the protocol for the priests and sacrifices:
Numbers 28:1-19
1 Then the LORD spoke
to Moses, saying,
2 "Command the
sons of
Then He gives them the
specific times in verses 3-8
9 "Then on
the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths
of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain
offering, and its drink offering:
10
"This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath in addition to the
continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Then more specifics in
verses 11-17
18 "On the first
day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.
19 "You shall
present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one
ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect.
Maybe it’s just me, but sacrificing two bulls, a ram, and seven male lambs sounds like a lot of work! These priests were actually commanded to work on the Sabbath! Whose service were they in when they worked on the Sabbath? The Lord’s! So Jesus tells the Pharisees that work required in the service and worship of the Lord was permitted on the Sabbath.
Then He reminds them about the temple, which He had already told them was His body. (That’s the passage about tearing down the temple, and raising it up in 3 days) The disciples were permitted to eat out of necessity, because they were serving the Lord and the Temple of His body.
Part 3
7 "But if you
had known what this means, "I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you
would not have condemned the innocent.
Of course the Pharisees had anything but compassion! They were arrogant and judgmental.
Part 4
8
"For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
I think Jesus sounds a little like my father here. Basically He says, “because I said so!” The entire principle of the Sabbath was to give people time to rest, and worship and serve God. Since Jesus is the Son of Man, He is the final authority on what people are permitted to do on the Sabbath!