Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 6-1-18

Jesus Is Lord Of The Sabbath Matthew 12:1-14
formed hand to try and trick Jesus to break the Sabbath law again by healing the man’s hand. Jesus had healed on the Sabbath many times. According to the Phar- isees, if Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, he broke the rule, therefore his power was not from God. However, Jesus defied the Pharisees and healed the deformed
man, making it clear to them and all who witnessed the healing that the rule was ridiculous and petty. Show- ing that God is the God of the people, and not the rules, and that the Pharisees did not care about the man at all. The Plot To Kill Jesus (vs 14)
The Pharisees plotted Jesus’ death because they
were outraged. Jesus over- ruled their authority (Luke 6:11) and had exposed their evil attitudes in front of the crowd inside the synagogue. This, it must be observed, is the first time that mention is made of a design on our Sav- ior’s life.
Nothing sooner leads to utter blindness, and hard- ness of heart, than envy.
The lesson is from the Gospel of Matthew.
The narration is in the mid- dle of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Jesus’ teaching and actions led to him encoun- tering opposition and belief.
After the arrest of John the Baptist, the tide begins to turn against Jesus. The opposition, that is, the leaders of the Jews, step up their criticisms and their plans to destroy Him.
In the 12th chapter of Matthew we discover first the accusation that Jesus and His disciples were violating the Sabbath (1-14).
The Scripture Reads:
Matthew12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain- fields on the Sabbath. His disci- ples 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 compan- ions 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 the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are inno- cent?
6 I tell you that something 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.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,
10 and a man with a shriv- eled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sab- bath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?
12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! There- fore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
The Pharisees, who had established 39 categories of actions forbidden on the Sab- bath. They were quick to point out the traditional ob- servances of the Sabbath, one of them being harvesting, ac- cording to the Law and failed to understand the teaching of Jesus that ‘the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath’. They were too preoccupied with rules, regulations and empty sacrificial offerings that they missed the meaning of the message of Jesus – the mercy and love of God.
Compassion and Discernment Of The Law (v 4-8)
The shewbread was only allowed to be eaten by priests. (1 Samuels 21:1- 6). The loaves given to David were old loaves. God did not punish David, because he needed the food. What Jesus said to the Pharissess was ‘if you condemn me, you must condemn David”, something religious leaders would never do, because the people would be in an uproar.
The Ten Commandments prohibit work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). But be- cause the purpose of the Sab- bath is to rest and worship God, the priest worked by performing sacrifices and conducting worship services. Jesus always emphasized the intent of the law, and the meaning behind the let- ter.....discernment and com- passion in enforcing the laws. However, the Pharisees had lost the spirit of the law and demanded the law be obeyed.
Jesus repeated to the Pharisees words the people had heard over and over again throughout history.
Our heart attitude towards God comes first.
When Jesus said he was Lord of the Sabbath Day, he claimed to be greater than and above the Pharisees in- terpretation of the laws. To them, this was heresy. But because they did not believe, they did not understand that, the Creator is always greater than the creation; and that Jesus had the authority to overrule their laws.
Defying Rules In God’s Power (vs. 10-12)
So Jesus went to their syn- agogue, and the Pharisees pointed to a man with a de-
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
The Accusation (Matthew 12:1-2)
Jesus shows understand- ing and compassion for his disciples who are hungry on the Sabbath. He says that a compassionate response to human need is certainly more important than slavish Sabbath observance.
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