We will begin our study on the Sabbath with a review on how our High Priest and King observed the Sabbath. Jesus was constantly correcting the ‘Jews’ in regards to their rabbinical teaching, which were in direct opposition to GOD’s word.
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."
The Pharisees rules prohibited work, as defined by them, from being performed on the Sabbath. In reality, they deemed taking a few heads of grain to eat as the same as harvesting in the field from dawn to dusk. None of the vast myriad of rules created by them have true biblical support. Jesus made this very clear. Their hypocrisy was overwhelming.
12:3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 2:4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?
If David’s circumstances were severe, did not his need supplant the commandment given in regards to the consecrated bread? Jesus said it did.
12:5 "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
What Law did they break?
John 7:22 "For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. 7:23 "If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Which Law takes precedence? The Law of the Sabbath or the Law of circumcision? The Pharisees had no problem with circumcision on the Sabbath, as they did not want to break that Law. But, they attacked everyone else who broke their laws on the Sabbath. You can do good on the Sabbath. They were not judging righteously.
12:6 "But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 12:7 "But if you had known what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.
They were the self-appointed judges of the entire nation of Israel. They routinely condemned those who in GOD’s eyes were innocent.
12:8 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Jesus is the Lord, Master, High Priest of the Sabbath. He alone sets the precedent, standards, and the true meaning of the Sabbath, not the self-righteous Pharisees.
More on Jesus and the Sabbath next time.