Matthew 12, Part One

Plucking grain on the Sabbath (vs. 1-8)—The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders, especially the Pharisees, will begin to escalate from now on with the climax being Christ’s stirring denunciation of them in chapter 23. This chapter contains four such confrontations between Jesus and His opponents.

This passage regarding the disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath has created a lot of difference of opinion on what it means, and some dangerous differences in my view. Quickly the story. Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grain field, plucking some of the heads to eat. The Pharisees condemned them for violating the Sabbath. Jesus then rebukes the Pharisees and reminds them what David did at one point—eating the showbread of the tabernacle, something “which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests” (v. 4). And how about the priests who work on the Sabbath? Jesus asked. Are they wrong? “But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless” (v. 7). Besides, “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (v. 8).

It seems pretty straight-forward until you look at it a bit. First of all, what Jesus’ disciples were doing was not wrong; they weren’t violating the Sabbath commandment not to work on that day. They were being condemned by a Pharisaic ritual that had nothing to do with the law of the Sabbath. And, of course, Jesus never sinned, so the plucking of grain to eat was innocent; and so Christ affirms in verse 7. But, what David did was wrong, and Jesus said so—it was “not lawful for him to eat.” So what Jesus is doing in this passage is rebuking the Pharisees. Why are you condemning Me for something innocent, yet you don’t condemn David when he openly violated the Law? The inconsistency and hypocrisy of the Pharisees is the point here. And then, what about the priests who work on the Sabbath? The Pharisees probably had no idea what to do with that. And on top of all of that, “the Son of Man is Lord of Sabbath.” He created it, so He can do what He wishes. But that does not mean that Jesus ever violated the Sabbath or encouraged others to do so. He’s announcing His deity here.

Some have claimed, and I don’t like it, that David was guiltless for eating the showbread, because there is a “higher law,” i.e., survival, that over-rode God’s command. I’ve got a serious problem with that. Are we going to let man decide when God’s law can be violated by a “higher law”? Who defines that “higher law”? In that case, every individual would then become a law unto himself, and we have opened the door to situation ethics, where again, man decides, on his own, what’s right or wrong in a given circumstance, passing judgment on what God said. I’ve got a REAL serious problem with that. And besides, where was David’s faith? Did he not believe God would provide for him without him having to eat something that wasn’t lawful for him to eat? It is important to remember that David’s actions did violate God’s law; Jesus’ disciples’ actions did not. So those two cases are not parallel. Jesus’ teaching here is not a condoning of David’s unauthorized actions, it was a denunciation of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Jesus heals on the Sabbath (vs. 9-13)—And the Pharisees don’t like this, either. But Jesus asks them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” (vs. 11-12). Truth of the matter, neither one of those things (healing or rescuing sheep) constitutes “work,” but Jesus again is simply showing the inconsistency and hard-heartedness of the Pharisees. The Law of Moses was not to be violated, to be sure. But the Pharisees were more concerned with protecting their traditions—which they interpreted to be part of the Law—than they were with love, mercy, and compassion.

The Pharisees plot to kill Jesus (vs. 14-21)—Jesus knew of their plans, and removed Himself from harm’s way. It wasn’t time yet for the final conflict. Matthew indicates this is all part of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (vs. 18-21).

Matthew 12, including blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, to be continued….