Matthew Matthew 12:1-8 How to Keep the Sabbath ~ Part 1

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1 Matthew Matthew 12:1-8 How to Keep the Sabbath ~ Part 1 R emember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:9-11). There has been a lot of divisiveness among many groups over the issue of the Sabbath. And much of it centers around the question When did the Sabbath change to Sunday? I hope you realize this is question based on a false premise. But this is only one of the issues. Sabbath worship, contrary to God s intent is the source of a lot of legalistic rhetoric, within Judaism and beyond, into some churches. Consider, first Judaism: It is interesting to note the Jewish approach to keeping the Sabbath and its source in creation. In SHABBOS Rabbi Finkelman notes: The word Sabbath is related to return which is the root of the word Teshuvah, or repentance. This gives us an insight into the role of the. It signifies return to the Ultimate Source, because the Sabbath is our constant reminder that God created heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day He gave us the ability to push away the demanding unforgiving material world and return to the eternal concept that the same God Who created the world created us, and just as the world serves Him always through His constitution, which we call nature, so too, it is our task to serve Him. Our weekday cares stand in the way. They blind us and tear at our energy and attention until we think that they and their demands are the sole reality of our lives. Then the Sabbath comes and says, No, it is not so. God made this world that so entices and consumes you. It is His and so are you. He created it so that you could find it within yourself to see thorough it, and the Sabbath is the day when the blinders are removed from your eyes if only you will not hold onto them so tightly. God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy so that it would make you holy. Let it take hold of you and bring you back to your Heavenly rood, and then you will keep your life-giving Sabbath alive and through it, all the world 1 Unfortunately, as wonderful as these words sound, and as much truth as you can find in them, the Jew has also found some six-hundred plus ways to violate the Sabbath and so it has become more of a burden than a blessing. Here is just one example. The status of a vessel or tool is dependent upon the use to which it is put. Identical leather pouches can be used to carry gold coins or children s marbles. If the former, the pouch is a wallet; if the latter, it is a toy. The laws of the Sabbath empty this concept. One of the forbidden labors is carrying from domain to domain. Such carry constitutes a punishable offense, however only if an item of significance is moved. The Talmud gives examples of such measurements: if the amount transported is too small to be considered of reasonable value, the carrier is not considered to have violated the Scriptural prohibition. 2 1 Finkelman, Rabbi Shimon, Shabbos, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, NY, 1991, p Ibid., p. 20.

2 As I already noted, the problem exists within the believing community as well. In his book The Ten Commandments Playing by the Rules, Stuart Briscoe speaks of Sabbath keeping. My childhood home was Sabbatarian. We went to Sunday morning church, Sunday afternoon church, and Sunday evening church. In between those services, we played no games and could not play outside; instead we prayed or read or took part in quiet family conversations. Once my parents got a radio, they never switched it on the Lord s day. Neither would they dream of going to a restaurant on a Sunday; that would require someone else to work. 3 It s important to note Briscoe s common usage, calling Sunday the Sabbath. This was never the case. The Sabbath was and always will be from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Christianity generally doesn t keep the Sabbath, but it should keep the Sabbatical Principle. VIII Rising Opposition to the Kingdom 11:1-13:52 D. A Dispute Over the Sabbath 12: Reaping on the Sabbath Verses Healing on the Sabbath Verses 9-14 Introduction: Between Jesus and the local religious leaders, the Sabbath became a sticking point, a way to challenge Him, hopefully discredit Him, to show Him as a Sabbath breaker. Unfortunately for them, they had lost God s intent for the Sabbath and they were challenging the Lord of the Sabbath. They couldn t win. We ll see this attack on two fronts, first the disciples and thereby Jesus indirectly. Then they go after Him directly. As I was preparing this lesson, I had intended to cover the entire section in one session, but as I got about two thirds of the way through the first eight verses I realized they were going to take the whole time, so we ll look at the second incident next week. Then Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. (Luke 6:5). 1. Reaping on the Sabbath: Verses 1-2: There is still a lot of confusion regarding the Sabbath. One Sabbatarian group, like the rabbi we quoted earlier, states the following: The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. 4 And just as this group doesn t get God s intent, neither did those of Jesus day. Sabbath keeping became a tool in attacks against Jesus. The first one relates to the concept of reaping on the Sabbath. Notice what the disciples where doing here. They were simply grabbing a handful of grain as they walked by and rubbing off the husks. They were getting a snack because they were seriously hungry. Stern explains the background and context by noting: 3 Briscoe, Stuart, The Ten Commandments, Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, IL, 1986, p ) 388 (

3 At issue behind this seemingly minor matter is whether the Pharisaic tradition which evolved into what rabbinic Judaism calls the Oral Torah, later committed to writing in the Mishna, Gemara and other works is God s revelation to man and binding on all Jews. The question is explored further at 18:18-20&N and Mk 7:5-13&N. According to the Oral Torah as we have it now in the Mishna (Shabbat 7:2) thirty-nine categories of m lakhah (work) are prohibited on Shabbat, while the Tabernacle was being built. One of these was reaping, another threshing. At v. 1 we are told the talmidim were reaping; in the parallel passage at Lk 6:1 they were also rubbing the heads of grain together in their hands, which would be defined as threshing. This is the content of the accusation the P rushim were making against them and by implication against Yeshua, responsible as their teacher for their behavior. 5 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels (Luke 6:1). What is important to understand is, while this seems trivial, it reflects the way the Pharisees taught and lived. They took these matters seriously. Certainly keeping the Sabbath wasn t trivial. The Sabbath, and its related regulations, was given to the Jews as a unique sign of their relationship to God. Unfortunately, as Stern notes, the Pharisees requirements did not come from scripture but from tradition. Where God intended the Sabbath for man, the Pharisees were turning men into slaves of the Sabbath. It is always interesting when people judge us based on their interpretation of scripture or traditions. Now the issue isn t the standards per se as much as the sense of spiritual superiority these standards provide. Some people feel superior because they ve never been to a movie, had a drink, read a novel, you fill in the blank. Somehow their list of things Christians don t do comes from God and therefore if we don t follow it we aren t godly. Examples anyone? This is exactly the problem here. If the disciples didn t meet the Pharisees standards of righteousness, they weren t godly, and by implication, neither was Christ. The question we must ask then is, what was the Law as opposed to tradition? If you enter your neighbor s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain (Deuteronomy 23:25). Which is just what the disciples did. And, the law allowed for those in need to glean. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. Naomi said to her, Go ahead, my daughter. So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech (Ruth 2:2-3). So, were the disciples violating the Law? Obviously not. But, they were violating Pharisaical interpretation of the Law. And Jesus didn t allow their erroneous approach to go unchallenged. As an aside, the Pharisaical interpretation wasn t the only position of the day. So, Jesus, using a counter-question approach challenges their thinking by pointing to King David. 5 Stern, David H., Jewish New Testament Commentary, Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., Clarksville, MD, ) 389 (

4 Verses 3-5: Keep in mind, what the disciples did was by no means violating God s law. On the other hand, what David did was a violation. He ate the Bread of the Presence. Let s look at the relevant passages. First the Law, then David s actions. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times (Exodus 25:30). Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Set them in two rows, six in each row, on the table of pure gold before the LORD. Along each row put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be an offering made to the LORD by fire. This bread is to be set out before the LORD regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of their regular share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire (Leviticus 24:5-9). David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, Why are you alone? Why is no one with you? David answered Ahimelech the priest, The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find. But the priest answered David, I don t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here provided the men have kept themselves from women. David replied, Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men s things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today! So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away (1 Samuel 21:1-6). So David in the Temple itself was allowed to violate the Law out of necessity. The priests too violated the Law. They did it by working on the Sabbath. Offerings in the temple were doubled on the Sabbath day, so the priests had more work to do than on weekdays. They broke the Sabbath rules, but the temple worship of God took precedence over the regulations about the day. 6 Sound familiar? Those who serve God do so on the day of rest. Which by the way gives more support to a Sabbatic principle rather than a demand for a specific day. (Saturday night anyone?) Pastors, for whom Sunday is a work day, need to take another day in the week. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering (Numbers 28:10). Now we have seen two examples. The two show intent more than the letter is the basis of obedience to God s word. And Jesus next words are highly incendiary. 6 Ibid. ) 390 (

5 Verses 6-8: In verse six Jesus calls Himself greater than the Temple. Some argue He s speaking of the Kingdom, or the love command, or service. While these things are vital, they certainly don t rise to the level of Jesus Himself. And this is even more obvious in light of verse eight where He calls Himself Lord of the Sabbath. Comfort notes: (Jesus ) presence took priority over the temple and all the regulations pertaining to it. Therefore, Jesus argument was thus; The ordinary rules for the observance of the Sabbath give way before the requirements of the temple; but even the temple itself must give way to One whose presence demands greater authority. 7 How could Jesus call Himself Lord of the Sabbath? His listeners may well have considered His words blasphemy. But as Lord of the Sabbath, He has the right to speak for God. We have seen a number of theologians refer back to creation as the foundation for the keeping of the Sabbath. Let s look at the passage in Genesis and then John. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (Genesis 2:2-3). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3). If the foundation for Sabbath keeping was creation, then Jesus as Creator God has the authority to define how it should be kept. Jesus identifies Himself with the Father quoting Hosea. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6). As in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus point is heart attitude outweighs form, whereas the religious often stress form over the heart. It reminds me of the pastor who in counseling approach said if a client didn t get it together in four weeks after being shown what they needed to do, he d dump them. Conclusion: The blue laws are gone. And only some of you are probably old enough to remember them. There was certainly something to be said a nationwide recognition of the Sabbath, though the laws were tied to Sunday. National recognition of our biblical roots was certainly preferable to what we see today. But it was still the same problem. Sabbath keeping wasn t about God it was about men. What is sad about all this is God gave the Sabbath to be a blessing, but it became a burden. What was worse was the Lord of the Sabbath was in their presence, but the Pharisees were set on bring Him down. This is what happens when the focus shifts from God s blessings to 7 Comfort, Philip W., NT editor, New Commentary on the Whole Bible, New Testament Vol., Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL, ) 391 (

6 men s work, then gifts become burdens. They become a way of establishing an hierarchy of superiority, of the power of one group over another. This is what the Pharisees where doing. They missed the most important point. Which was the law and the prophets all pointed to Christ. The final purpose of all was to show we can t please God but have to depend on Him for our salvation. This is why we need Him as our savior. This is why Jesus said to the them, You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). And often elements of the church have fallen into the same trap. While they recognize salvation comes as a gift of God, they then come up with all the ways believers have to keep the law to keep their salvation. But as we look to the Lord of the Sabbath we find we are not in bondage to men s expectations. Rather we are called to the commands of love. The most important (commandment), answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31). A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34). This is the distinction between the Pharisees and Jesus. They were motivated by religiosity. Their self-worth came from their authority through their handling of the word. He was motivated by love and mercy. And it was that difference that impacted the Pharisees approach to life and their ever increasing hostility to Jesus. How have you seen these two approaches worked out in your church experiences? We need to consider our expectations of the Christian walk in light of these truths so we don t find ourselves falling into the trap of losing sight of the Lord of the Sabbath while living in bondage to what God intends as blessings. So next time we ll look at an even more blatant example of the hostility that comes from obeying God s commands to love over a legalistic approach to keeping His commands. In closing, Parker, in his comments on Deuteronomy, demonstrates how in the midst of the Law, one finds God s love. The Gospel Full of Love. God is ever putting lines of mercy amid all the black print of the law. It would seem as if wherever God could find a place at which He might utter some word of pity or compassion He filled up that place with an utterance of His solicitude for the welfare of man. Loving words always look beautiful; perhaps they look most beautiful when surrounded by contrastive words of stern righteousness, of unyielding law, of severe prohibition. So these Gospel words are full of ) 392 (

7 charm, here in Deuteronomy. They are ever presenting hope to man. Blessed be God for the singing angel. When we quench his song we quench ourselves. So let us remember, wherever there is a sinner, there is an offered Savior; wherever there is abounding sin, there is superabounding grace. ~ JOSEPH PARKER. ) 393 (

8 Matthew Matthew 12:1-8 How to Keep the Sabbath ~ Part 1 VIII Rising Opposition to the Kingdom 11:1-13:52 D. A Dispute Over the Sabbath 12: Reaping on the Sabbath Verses Healing on the Sabbath Verses 9-14 Introduction: (Exodus 20:9-11; Luke 6:5) 1. Reaping on the Sabbath: Verses 1-2: (Luke 6:1; Deuteronomy 23:25; Ruth 2:2-3)

9 Verses 3-5: (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus 24:5-9; 1 Samuel 21:1-6; Numbers 28:10) Verses 6-8: (Genesis 2:2-3; John 1:1-3; Hosea 6:6) Conclusion: (John 5:39; Mark 12:29-31; John 13:34) Personal Application: This week meditate on how you have grown up with the Word. Is there anywhere in your life where you may be walking by tradition rather that love? If yes, what needs to change? If no, praise the Lord! Prayer for the Week: Lord, may I walk in Your love, seeking Your direction through prayer, Your Word, and godly counsel. Amen.