1. How does Jesus justify his disciples picking grain on the sabbath?

2. What exactly is Jesus claiming about himself in v. 3-8?

3. How does Jesus destroy the trap that the Pharisees lay out for him in v. 10?

4. Why would Matthew include the quote from Isaiah 42 in v. 18-21? Jesus never goes to the gentiles?

5. What do we learn about Jesus in this passage? How does that affect our faith and practice?

Hey everyone, welcome to this week's session. If you are not already doing round robin (passing around who leads the group) it is seriously time to start on that. Additionally do not be afraid to mix things up here and there. 

1. How does Jesus justify his disciples picking grain on the sabbath?

   • Jesus responds with the story of how David and his companions at the consecrated bread, but it was allowed because He was David. Then He mentions how the priests are allowed to work on the sabbath. Essentially Jesus argues that His authority is greather than that of David, and even that of the temple!

2. What exactly is Jesus claiming about himself in v. 3-8?

   • Jesus is greater than David and the temple! In all reality Jesus is of course greater than both, He is God incarnate. This isn't revolutionary to us, but would have been to His audience. 

3. How does Jesus destroy the trap that the Pharisees lay out for him in v. 10?

   • Jesus uses flawless logic to work right around thier trap. They wanted to catch Him in something they knew was not legal on the sabbath. Yet Jesus argued that they had already made provisions for helping a standed animal, specifically to avoid animal suffering. Therefore it stands to reason that avoiding human suffering is an even higher precedence. 

4. Why would Matthew include the quote from Isaiah 42 in v. 18-21? Jesus never goes to the gentiles?

   • Matthew shows us two stories of the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, rejecting Jesus quite definitively (they are not plotting to kill Him). The Jews are rejecting Him, and so the message will eventually be brought to the gentiles in acts. This is the great reversal of things, and the acceptance among the gentiles serves to humble the Jews. 

5. What do we learn about Jesus in this passage? How does that affect our faith and practice?

   • Jesus is far greater than the systems that were set up previously. He isn't just some prophet, but rather he is greater than David, which is the only person in the OT refered to as a "man after God's own heart." Not only that but Jesus is even greater than the very dwelling place of God (which of course He is, He is God). 

Hey everyone, welcome to session 20. This week we are going through some arguments between Jesus and the Pharisees, truly beginning the conflict that will lead to Calvary. Matthew has just finished talking about how Jesus’ yoke is light compared to that of the Pharisees. He follows that up with an immediate example here in chapter 12.

Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew cuts to Jesus and the disciples in a field during the Sabbath. They had gotten hungry and did the equivalent of grabbing an apple off a tree (in this instance it was grain). Now the Pharisees take issue with this, and understandably so. To go into a field to harvest was indeed illegal on the sabbath. To their point Jesus never actually denies that they are breaking the Sabbath laws.

Jesus gives two arguments to justify their behavior. First is a rather odd precedent. He references 1 Sam 21:1-5, the story of how David, being on the run, eats the consecrated bread. This bit from Samuel doesn't identify the day of the week, but it would have been customary to change the bread on Sabbath days. (France, 206) 

Jesus brings up this story not because it justifies them picking grain, but because it highlights an interesting precedent. David was allowed this despite it being forbidden specifically because he was David. Thus Jesus is implying Himself to be equal to, if not greater than David. 

Now, of course, Jesus doesn't just stop there. Instead, Jesus goes on to speak about the priests working in the temple on the sabbath. This is a very interesting argument to make here because the Pharisees cannot deny this. The priests are expected to go in and do work on the sabbath, being the only group that is truly except from the sabbath laws, and to deny that reality would be to put the entirety of the temple system into question. Thus it's logical that the importance of the temple, the place in which they are to worship God, takes precedence over the sabbath. Thus is Jesus' argument, that He Himself is greater than the temple. Just as the priests are allowed to serve the temple on the sabbath, so should Jesus' disciples be allowed to accompany and serve Him on the sabbath. 

Let's take a moment to realize what Jesus is claiming here. Jesus is claiming to not only be on par with David, but He is even claiming to be greater than the temple, the dwelling place of God. Now, if we come with the assumption that Jesus is God incarnate, then this is a very true statement. Of course Jesus is greater than God's dwelling place, He is God. Yet to his Pharisaical audience, this would most certainly help to further that accusation of blasphemy they leveled against him just a short while ago. 

Jesus continues on to quote Hosea 6:6, which is to suggest the truth that God cares far more about the big picture ideas like justice, mercy, compassion, and grace, over the finer details of the law. God is much more concerned that our hearts are in alignment to Him than He is with us dogmatically holding to rigid traditions and laws. This is to suggest that Jesus' disciples here are innocent, not because of the strict adherence to law, but by the virtue that they are acting on Christ's authority. 

The Last STraw

Jesus ups the ante even more by proceeding into a synagogue. There he finds a man with a withered hand and some Pharisees looking to trap Him. Jesus, by this point, has become well known for his miraculous healings. So they ask Jesus if it is lawful for Him to heal on the sabbath. 

Now this question has some interesting quandaries to it. First is that the implied answer is no, it's not lawful. The man was injured, yes, but it was not life threatening. He could very well have gotten healed the next day. Jesus, however, points not to the exceptions in the law for life threatening injury, but rather to exceptions that were made to avoid animal suffering. He mentions that it was permitted to rescue livestock on the sabbath in order to avoid that animal enduring unnecessary suffering. (France, 208) Jesus thus resounding replies that a man is far greater than an animal, and therefore the ending of unnecessary human suffering is even more justifiable, even if it's on the sabbath!

Jesus heals this man, and thus we get verse 14, which is the start on Jesus' journey to the cross. It is here that the Pharisees begin plotting Jesus' death.

Matthew caps this section off with another positive. Just as before, where we had two stories of rejection with an invitation/acceptance of Jesus, we have now seen the Pharisees reject Jesus twice, and Matthew inserts a bit from Isaiah 42 to give an invitation. The first half of this quote has already been fulfilled at this point in Matthew. It was in Jesus' baptism that the Father declared Jesus to be His Son in whom He is well pleased, and in that same event we also see the Spirit descend onto Him as well.  This servant, Jesus, will not fight, nor will he cry out. This term "cry out" would be specifically against injustice, (France, 210)  which Jesus will face at the hands of the Pharisees. 

In these last two verses we get quite the proclamation. Jesus will not break off a battered reed or put out a flickering candle. Jesus will not abandon the weak and vulnerable. Instead He will bring about justice, the first will be made last and the last first. It will be in his name that we gentiles still hope, and Matthew is very intentional here to use a passage that speaks of the gentile acceptance of Jesus because He just included two stories of very Jewish Jews rejecting Him. 

Bibliography

France, R. T. Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.

Turner, David, and Darrell L. Bock. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.