In the last lesson Jesus had a conflict with religious leaders incredibly because He had the audacity to heal a paralytic man on the Sabbath. Now we’ll look at two more incidents that happened on the same day. We’ll look at the account in Matthew 12:1-8, it’s also found in Mark 2:23-28 and Luke 6:1-5. This is Matthew 12:1-2, “And at that time Jesus went through the fields of standing grain and it was on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick some ripe heads of grain and eat them. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, Look! Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath.”
As we go through these lessons, we’ll see Jesus continually clash with religious leaders over the rituals and rules they had added to their self-righteous religion. Jesus understood the original intent of the Sabbath was a welcomed day of rest and remembrance of the goodness of God. And He refused to obey the man-made non-essentials that had made the Sabbath a joyless burden. In fact, no laws were broken here. This is Deuteronomy 23:24-25. “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but you cannot carry any out in a basket. And when you go through your neighbor’s field of standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you cannot put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.” The provision allowed anyone to satisfy their hunger, but to do more than that would be considered stealing.
This brings us to the red letters. But He answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him — how he went into the house of God and ate the loaves of showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for the men who were with him, but only for the priests.” (Verses 3 and 4) The commandment concerning the showbread is found in Leviticus 24:5-9. It was a weekly offering of bread to the Lord and a provision for the priests, who were allowed to eat the bread from the previous week. The account of David and his men eating the showbread is found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6 where David is on the run from Saul, who is trying to kill him. Here again is another example of Jesus knowing the Old Testament in detail, but the religious leaders showing their ignorance of it or their contempt of it by putting more importance on their rules than on the Scriptures.
This next verse will require some explanation. “Or have you never read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and yet are blameless?” (Verse 5) This is a reference to Numbers 28:9-10 that required the priests in the temple to prepare an offering of two lambs for a burnt offering every sabbath day. This necessarily involved killing the two lambs, flaying them, cutting them in pieces, cutting the wood for the altar, arranging the wood in the proper order, laying the sacrifice on the prepared altar and kindling the fire. All of these things were part of the exacting process of preparing this offering. None of them could be done beforehand — they had to be done in the temple, on the Sabbath. So, again, the Pharisees could find fault when they saw someone breaking their rules, but were ignorant of the Law they pretended to follow. They were so obsessed with the requirements of their religion, they were blinded to any truth.
Now we’re ready to see the end of this. “But I tell you, Something greater than the temple is here! And if you had only understood what this saying means, I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Verses 6-8) Of course, in this Jesus is referring to Himself. He surpasses all that the temple represents in every way as the fulfillment and completion of the Law, the ritual system and all that it taught those looking forward in time to the coming Messiah.
So, what does Jesus mean, “I desire mercy rather than sacrifice.” This is a quote of Hosea 6:6. The words translated “mercy” in the Old Testament (chesed) and the New Testament (eleos) have basically the same meaning, an immediate regard for others marked by compassion, understanding and forgiveness (not the condemnation or assignment of guilt over perceived violation of religious rules shown by these Pharisees). In other words, if your religion makes you so superior and self-righteous that you continually find fault in the actions of others, your religion is false and your self-righteousness is worthless.
How frustrating must it have been for these Pharisees to have Jesus constantly quoting the Old Testament and pointing out their ignorance and false spirituality. When you follow the chronology or sequence of events on this day, the Pharisees were silent here. They had no response to what Jesus just said to them.
It’s also important to consider the content and context of verse 8, “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” “Lord” here is kurios, a word that had both a general meaning in the New Testament of lord, master, owner or sir, conveying a meaning of authority or respect. But it also came to have the meaning of “Lord” (God), assuming the Old Testament meaning of Jehovah (always rendered “Lord” in English translations of the Hebrew Old Testament). Here the context is clear: Jesus is not saying He is merely the master or owner of the Sabbath; He’s saying that as God He has the authority to decide what is proper or not. Jesus will claim the title of Lord for Himself in some passages we’ll see soon (compare Matthew 7:21-22).
Continuing in the same passage, this is verses 9 and 10. “And going on from there, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. And still looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Again, it is astonishing that these Pharisees would continue to pursue Jesus. However, I think at this point Jesus is purposely antagonizing them. He had just called Himself “Lord even of the Sabbath”, meaning He was Lord over more than just the Sabbath. Jesus knew they would become more agitated when He assumed the title of God.
Then to their question of healing on the Sabbath, Jesus said to them in verses 11 and 12, “What man is there among you, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and pull it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
I’ve pointed this out before, it bears repeating here. The Pharisees asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Some would answer with a question, “So, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” In other words, “I don’t know. You decide. What do you think?” Jesus never did that. He was asked a direct question and He gives a direct, correct answer. “So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
And true to His word, this is verse 13, “Then He said to the man, Reach out your hand. And the man reached it out and it was immediately restored, as sound as the other one.” This reminds me of what we saw in the last lesson. Remember, this is early in the second year of His public ministry and Jesus is bold and unapologetic in His response to those who would oppose Him. Yet again, in the face of what they had just witnessed, the Pharisees are even more determined to destroy Him. “But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might kill Him.” (Verse 14)
What follows is an example of Jesus’ love and desire to minister to people in need. Remember, there is no break here, what follows is still on the same day, the Sabbath. “But since He was aware of this (their determination to kill Him), Jesus went away from there. And many people followed Him, and He healed all that were sick. And He strictly warned them not to make His identity known.” (Verses 15 and 16)
I think by now we can be certain that Jesus was not afraid of those who might oppose Him or even wanted to destroy Him. This warning in verse 16 was to allow Him to continue ministering to the people absent the interference of the religious leaders, who were feared by the people, because of the power they held over them in both civil and religious matters. It was also a result of Jesus’ desire to limit any further confrontation, as we will see in what follows.
And what follows to the end of this passage (verses 18-21) is Matthew quoting Isaiah 42:1-4 through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a prophetic passage that perfectly describes what Jesus just said and did in response to those Pharisees that were pursuing Him and actually wanting to kill Him.
18. Look, this is My Servant Whom I have chosen, My Beloved, in Whom I am well pleased; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
19. He will not quarrel or cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20. A damaged reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench, til He brings justice to victory.
21. And in His name will the (Gentile) nations put their hope. (Verses 18-21)
So, let’s look at this passage from Isaiah in some detail, as it’s very revealing and helps us understand how Jesus consistently dealt with opposition and even the threat of violence during His public ministry. In verse 18 the Father is voicing His approval of the Son in six
ways. He’s God’s (faithful, loyal) Servant, where “servant” is from pais, a word that usually implies relationship. In other words, the Father is not just commending Jesus for being a faithful servant, He’s a faithful Son.
Then Jesus is “chosen”, an interesting term here. Hairetizo is used nowhere else in the New Testament, only here and literally means, to choose by reason of suitability. Jesus is the Son of God and the only One appropriate to fulfill the purpose of God in His plan of redemption.
He’s “beloved” from agapetos, used to describe a love strengthened as a result of close relationship, sometimes rendered, dearly beloved or well beloved.
The Father “is well pleased” in the Son. This is eudokeo, and describes how someone feels towards another when they know the good intentions or purpose of that person — a pleasing or pleasurable feeling. Lastly, He has the Spirit without measure and will be a righteous judge - possessing the ability as God to always make the right decisions.
Verse 19 is simply saying Jesus will not be political. He’s not going to actively resist the corrupt religious establishment or organize a rebellion against the cruel and demanding Romans.
The next verse requires some explanation, but is important to the meaning of this passage and how it specifically applies to Jesus. The first part of verse 20 is “a damaged reed He will not break”. This refers to a musical instrument fashioned from a jointed stalk of a tall marsh grass common in Palestine. It could easily be damaged; but the preference was to try to repair a damaged reed, rather than throwing it away and taking the time and effort to make a new one.
The last part is “and a dimly burning wick He will not quench”. When an oil lamp is about to run out of oil, the wick will begin to smoke and the flame will give less light. The obvious solution is not to quench the flame, but add more oil to the lamp. Both of these phrases illustrate Jesus’ attitude towards His detractors. He could have easily used His power to retaliate or even destroy those who opposed Him as they did earlier in this passage. But instead, He directly and calmly told them the truth, quoting scripture and pointing out why they were wrong, though it was obviously futile. But He never acted out in any way. Remember the incident in Nazareth when they took Him to the cliff overlooking the city and wanted to push Him over on to the rocks forty feet below. He simply (and peacefully) made His way through the crowd and walked away (as He will do several more times when the Jews attempt to kill Him).
The last part of the verse “til He brings justice to victory” is just another way of saying, “until what is right and just becomes the overcoming or normal principle that rules everything and everyone” (a reference to the future Millennium). And the last part of this thought is in verse 21, when justice prevails, the nations of the world will have complete confidence (elpis) in His name (anoma).