Page 43 - Demo

MATTHEW 
Picking Grain on the Sabbath.
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1* At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the
sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads* of grain and eat them.b 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” 3He said to them,* “Have you not read what Davidc did when he and his companions were hungry, 4how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,d which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? 5* Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent?e 6I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. 7* If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’f you would not have condemned these innocent men. 8* g For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
The Man with a Withered Hand. 9h Moving on from there, he went into their synagogue. 10And behold, there was a man there who had a withered hand. They questioned him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?”* so that they might accuse him. 11* He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable a person is than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees* went out and took counsel against him to put him to death.i
The Chosen Servant.* 15When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many [people] followed him, and he cured them all,* 16but he warned them not to make him known. 17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,j my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not contend* or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
21And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”*
a
12:1
The sabbath, Shabbat, is at the heart of Jewish religious observance. The word “sabbath” means “rest” and recalls the seventh day of creation, when God rested after completing the work
of creation (Genesis 2:2-3). The sabbath is also a day for remembrance: “Remember that you too were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the LORD, your God, has commanded you
to observe the sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:13-15). Jesus comes into con ict with the Pharisees when he argues that to do good, that is, to do God’s work, is lawful, even on the day of rest.
a. [12:1–8] Mk 2:23–28; Lk 6:1–5.
b. [12:1] Dt 23:26.
c. [12:3–4] 1 Sm 21:2–7.
d. [12:4] Lv 24:5–9.
e. [12:5] Lv 24:8; Nm 28:9–10.
f. [12:7] Hos 6:6.
g. [12:8] Jn 5:16–17.
h. [12:9–15] Mk 3:1–6; Lk 6:6–11.
i. [12:14] Jn 5:18.
j. [12:18–21] Is 42:1–4.
* [12:1–14] Matthew here returns to the Marcan order that he left in Mt 9:18. The two stories depend on Mk 2:23–28; 3:1–6, respectively, and are the only places in either gospel that deal explicitly with Jesus’ attitude toward sabbath observance.
* [12:1–2] The picking of the heads of grain is here equated with reaping, which was forbidden on the sabbath (Ex 34:21).
* [12:3–4] See 1 Sm 21:2–7. In the Marcan parallel (Mk 2:25–26) the high priest is called Abiathar, although in 1 Samuel this action is attributed to Ahimelech. The Old Testament story is not about a violation of the sabbath rest; its pertinence to this dispute is that a violation of the law was permissible because of David’s men being without food.
* [12:5–6] This and the following argument (Mt 12:7) are peculiar to Matthew. The temple service seems to be the changing of the showbread on the sabbath (Lv 24:8) and the doubling on the sabbath of the usual daily holocausts (Nm 28:9–10). The argument is that the law itself requires work that breaks the sabbath rest, because of the higher duty of temple service. If temple duties outweigh the sabbath law, how much more does the presence of Jesus, with his proclamation of the kingdom (something greater than the temple), justify the conduct of his disciples.
* [12:7] See note on Mt 9:13.
* [12:8] The ultimate justi cation for the disciples’ violation of the
sabbath rest is that Jesus, the Son of Man, has supreme authority over the law.
* [12:10] Rabbinic tradition later than the gospels allowed relief to be given to a su erer on the sabbath if life was in danger. This may also have been the view of Jesus’ Pharisaic contemporaries. But the case here is not about one in danger of death.
* [12:11] Matthew omits the question posed by Jesus in Mk 3:4 and substitutes one about rescuing a sheep on the sabbath, similar to that in Lk 14:5.
* [12:14] See Mk 3:6. Here the plan to bring about Jesus’ death is attributed to the Pharisees only. This is probably due to the situation of Matthew’s church, when the sole opponents were the Pharisees.
* [12:15–21] Matthew follows Mk 3:7–12 but summarizes his source in two verses (Mt 12:15, 16) that pick up the withdrawal, the healings, and the command for silence. To this he adds a ful llment citation from the rst Servant Song (Is 42:1–4) that does not correspond exactly to either the Hebrew or the LXX of that passage. It is the longest Old Testament citation in this gospel, emphasizing the meekness of Jesus, the Servant of the Lord, and foretelling the extension of his mission to the Gentiles.
* [12:15] Jesus’ knowledge of the Pharisees’ plot and his healing all are peculiar to Matthew.
* [12:19] The servant’s not contending is seen as ful lled in Jesus’ withdrawal from the disputes narrated in Mt 12:1–14.
* [12:21] Except for a minor detail, Matthew here follows the LXX, although the meaning of the Hebrew (“the coastlands will wait for
his teaching”) is similar.
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