Matthew 12:1-14 The Sabbath

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. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath." But He said to them...For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."   Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"-so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. [Matthew 12:1‭-‬14 NASB]

Prior to this, Jesus violated the traditions of the Pharisees in order to point out their hypocrisy. For the first time, He shows Himself to be above the Law.

There is much written in the Law about the sabbath. It is one of the Ten Commandments, "“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." [Exodus 20:8 NASB]

Expanding upon it, the Law says, "‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death." [Exodus 31:15 NASB]

Then an incident occurred, "Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation...Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”" [Numbers 15:32-35 NASB]

The Pharisees were actually justified in their accusation against the disciples. Picking the grain in the fields constituted work, and was a direct violation of the Law of Moses.

Jesus responded by reminding them of occasions when the law was broken with God's blessing, But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,  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?  Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? [Matthew 12:3‭-‬5 NASB]

He then makes the remarkable statement about Himself, "But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here." [Matthew 12:6 NASB] The temple was the house of God. It was the place where God resided. The only thing greater than the temple was God Himself. Then He said, "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Jesus further offends by healing the withered hand of a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, being mired in the legalities and letter of the Law, did not see the awesomeness of God restoring a withered hand. They only saw a violation of that which they hold most dear.

As Christians, we know that we are not under the Law, but have the grace of God. So, let us not make the same error as the Pharisees. When a fellow believer thinks differently, worships differently, dresses differently, or listens to different music, let us keep in mind the words of Jesus. "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." [Matthew 12:7 NASB]

Let's not be quick to judge, but rather, to show compassion.