1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-8)
We saw at one point the Pharisees approached Jesus’ disciples to criticize Jesus (9:11). Now they approach Jesus to criticize His disciples. The critical heart is never satisfied, rarely approaches the right person, and always finds something to criticize.
In this case, the disciples are walking through a grainfield and they pluck a few heads of grain to eat…on the Sabbath. Uh oh. Big no-no. Pharisaic tradition put a big regulation on “reaping” on the Sabbath and “removing all or part of a plant from its source of growth” was considered reaping.
The Pharisees had taken the command to rest on the Sabbath and turned it into the most burdensome, legalistic command among all the Ten Commandments. You were better off beating someone to a pulp (especially if they were a Samaritan or a Roman) than breaking one of the thousands of regulations surrounding the Sabbath. That’s what legalism does…it majors on the minors. It strains at the gnat and swallows the camel. We get bent out of shape about the minor things…don’t touch that, don’t eat that, don’t do that on that day…and ignore the self-righteous, critical, bitter heart that is developing within us. We put conformity over compassion, rules over relationship, laws over love, minor traditions over the Great Commandment.
Jesus answers the Pharisees with a few biblical category busters.
“Remember David the King? He ate consecrated bread when he was running for his life. Remember the priests? They work on the Sabbath. Remember the prophet Hosea? He condemned all the rituals of Israel because they had forgotten that God desires mercy over sacrifice.”
“Prophet, priest, and king all show that the Sabbath is made for man not man for the Sabbath. And I am the Prophet, Priest, and King. The Messiah. The Lord of the Sabbath.”
This story comes on the heels of Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30. Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus is our Sabbath rest. He delivers us from all the guilt, rituals, compulsion, perfectionism, legalism, and self-righteousness that plague religion. And He invites us into a relationship with Himself. He invites us into His rest. It is only our pride, stubbornness, critical heart, and unbelief that keep us from experiencing it.
Lord, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for Your rest. May I experience it more today as I seek to follow You.
