Following Rules? Follow Him!
Isn’t it frustrating to speak with a “customer service” agent who is so tied up in the rules that they can’t see the right thing to do? In Matthew 12:1–8, the Pharisees’ desire to discredit Jesus led them to try to use the commandment regarding the Sabbath to accuse His disciples (and therefore Him) of violating the law. Jesus pointed out to them that in their myopic focus on the Sabbath, they were missing the Savior. He is Lord over everything, including the Sabbath. And since He didn’t condemn them, neither should they! May the Lord help us to see past our failures so we can see God’s offerings to us of His mercy and grace. Amen.
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. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-2)
The Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses and Israel instructed them to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy. No work was to be done on the Sabbath by anyone in the household. It was to be a day of rest (see Exodus 20:8-11) and communion with God. The Pharisees interpreted Jesus’ disciples act of picking heads of grain for immediate consumption as them violating the Law pertaining to working on the Sabbath. They used this as another reason to confront Jesus and discredit Him.
He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 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. (Matthew 12:3-4)
Jesus immediately rejected the Pharisees interpretation and stance on the Sabbath commandment. He cited David, who ate the show bread from the temple when he and his men were hungry. David acted to preserve lives, and believed that it took precedence over violating the law that only allowed the priests to eat this consecrated bread.
Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:5-8)
Jesus then cited another example. The priests actually work in the temple on the Sabbath. Jesus indicated that the work that He and the disciples were doing was more important than the work the priests did in the temple. Jesus concluded by quoting Hosea 6:6. God desires authentic relationship with us. He wants a real heart connection and obedience from us. Mere religious formality (perfunctory observance of the Sabbath) has never satisfied God’s law or made us righteous in His sight. His law is meant to help us live a more abundant life, not diminish our lives unmercifully. Jesus proclaimed that He is Lord over everything, including the Sabbath, and He determines what can be done on it. As such if He did not condemn his disciples for gleaning grain to satiate their hunger, then no one should.
Conclusion
It is important for us to be reminded, as Jesus taught, that righteousness and salvation comes from following Him, not trying to meticulously keep the law and a myriad of rules. Righteousness is credited to us by God through our faith in Jesus. And only through our faith in Jesus, are we are saved by God’s grace. The Pharisees were bound up in their attempt to enforce the Mosaic law and discredit Jesus. But Jesus informed them that He was greater than the laws they were trying to follow and enforce. He was Lord over everything, including the Sabbath. He knew what was pleasing to the Father, not them. He did not condemn His disciples and neither should they. He’s still Lord and He still knows His Father’s will. And He tells us to stop trying to follow rules and stop condemning ourselves and others over failure to keep rules. Instead, follow Him and believe in Him. He alone can lead us into righteousness and salvation. If you are condemning yourself or others over failure to be perfect according to the rules…. stop it! Follow Jesus. He’s our Savior and the author and perfecter of our faith.
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings ~ Hosea 6:6
And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micah 6:8
