Scripture: At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:1-8 ESV
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Observation: Recapping Friday’s Daily Focus, Jesus prays aloud to the Father, thanking him for hiding “these things” (the Gospel) from the supposed wise and learned while revealing them to “little children” (referring to the vulnerable and overlooked). He then tells the crowd that the Father has handed him “all things” (i.e., authority over all creation) and describes the relational intimacy and knowledge between his Father, him, and his disciples:
- Only the Father truly knows the Son.
- Only the Son directly knows the Father.
- His disciples know the Father if the Son reveals the Father to them.
Having outlined the foundation of their intimate, trusting relationship, Jesus invites his followers to draw near to him and find rest for their weary souls. But this requires that they yoke with him, a familiar metaphor of joining forces in labor as two oxen are yoked to plow or pull a cart. But unlike the yoke of Israel’s religious leaders, who have expanded the law to where its weight of obedience exhausts the people, Jesus’ yoke of obedience is easy, and his kingdom-building burden is light.
In today’s reading, the Pharisees confront Jesus about his disciples not observing an appropriate Sabbath rest. Under the Mosaic Law, which required farmers to leave the edges of their grain fields unharvested for the sojourner and foreigner, Jesus’ disciples lawfully gleaned some heads of grain while en route to the next village of their Galilean ministry. The issue for the religious leaders centered on a perceived violation of the Sabbath. And once again, Jesus unnerves the gatekeepers of the law based on two counterpoints and a declaration of authority.
Reasoning that their revered ancestor, David, ate consecrated bread and that the law makes allowance for priests to profane the Sabbath to fulfill their priestly duties, Jesus (the Son of David) then makes his seemingly heretical statement of authority:
- He exceeds the sanctity of their temple (because he is the last temple of worship).
- He (the Son of Man) is the Lord of the Sabbath.
So Jesus admonishes these self-righteous religious leaders by appealing to the 8th-century BCE prophet, Hosea, who declared Yahweh’s denouncement of Israel and Judah, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6 ESV).
Etymological note: The Hebrew word hesed, translated as “steadfast love,” includes the understanding of “mercy,” for our Lord expresses his steadfast love with mercy.
Takeaway: By exposing their callous hearts, Jesus refutes these prideful and legalistic priests, who repeatedly abuse the law’s intent. They are all about observing the law, at least those elements they presume they have mastered. But they lack an understanding of God’s mercy. Still, if they had possessed authentic knowledge of Yahweh founded in a loving relationship with him, like their colleague Nicodemus, they would see that their longed-for Messiah stands before them. Sadly, their thorough knowledge and observance of the law have proven worthless in transforming their hearts and minds, which is where its application should begin before holding others accountable.
Our takeaway? How do we avoid this trap? Education is a worthy pursuit, but only if it is inculcated into every aspect of our lives with humility and grace. Unfortunately, the church has a sordid history of highly educated leaders who have strayed from our faith’s basic tenets or misapplied its praxis, whether to control others or pursue worldly passions.
Our part? The challenge for all of us is to discern our true motives, for we will deceive ourselves unless we submit to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit with a teachable heart that desires to honor and please our Savior. Still, showing mercy does not mean we wink away sins that Scripture rebukes, for that would be unloving. But it is also unloving to harshly or unsympathetically call out others about their struggle with sin, particularly if we have not removed the “plank from our eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). Moreover, to truly show mercy, we must offer a different kind of sacrifice to God: our time and resources to help other sinners like us find freedom in Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath, who is greater than the temple. In him, we find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, who, by his sacrificial love for us manifested in his substitutionary death, invoked your mercy and loving-kindness toward us. Still, we sometimes struggle to receive his and your grace and compassion, and pay it forward to others. So, please help us to learn what it means to offer a different kind of sacrifice to you based on your mercy and grace that flow through us to others. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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