Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath - Matthew 12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples 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 companions 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 innocent? 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.”
Reflection: There are a couple of things to learn as Jesus expounds what the Sabbath really means and again upbraids the Pharisees for their extreme and unhelpful interpretation of the 4th commandment. First, Jesus doesn't overturn the Sabbath, meaning it still has relevance for today. Like many of the other Old Testament laws Jesus was re-interpreting the Law and it's true meaning. The basis of the Sabbath was to give man rest from work. It also created time for worship of God and other things that re-create us. The bottom line as Jesus says is, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath." That is why Jesus points to the example of when David was in the house of The Lord and ate the consecrated bread because they were hungry.
Again we see the Pharisees used the laws to control people when the Law was meant to set people free. So while not abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus re-purposes it to give life, wholeness and bring us closer to God's love and mercy. And we see today the relevance of taking time for Sabbath rest. People are overly worked, overly saturated with media, overly connected with just about everything but this principle of taking time out for oneself, their relationship with God and those they love.
What would it be like for you to have a day for nothing but rest? What could it do for your body, mind and soul? Most people find a new creativity and new way of looking at problems and opportunities. And finally, a new place in our hearts for mercy. A merciful heart comes from a full rested heart. A heart that has been replenished by God's love and mercy through Jesus Christ. The bible calls this "abiding" and says that all of our fruit bearing potential comes as we remain/abide in His love through Christ.
And then John says something quite stunning. He says that apart from him we can do nothing! Apart from resting in His presence we can do nothing.
Jesus we thank you that we can come unto you when we are weary and burdened and you will give us true rest for our souls. I know we need it. I know I need it. Thanks for the offer! Amen.
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples 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 companions 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 innocent? 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.”
Reflection: There are a couple of things to learn as Jesus expounds what the Sabbath really means and again upbraids the Pharisees for their extreme and unhelpful interpretation of the 4th commandment. First, Jesus doesn't overturn the Sabbath, meaning it still has relevance for today. Like many of the other Old Testament laws Jesus was re-interpreting the Law and it's true meaning. The basis of the Sabbath was to give man rest from work. It also created time for worship of God and other things that re-create us. The bottom line as Jesus says is, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath." That is why Jesus points to the example of when David was in the house of The Lord and ate the consecrated bread because they were hungry.
Again we see the Pharisees used the laws to control people when the Law was meant to set people free. So while not abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus re-purposes it to give life, wholeness and bring us closer to God's love and mercy. And we see today the relevance of taking time for Sabbath rest. People are overly worked, overly saturated with media, overly connected with just about everything but this principle of taking time out for oneself, their relationship with God and those they love.
What would it be like for you to have a day for nothing but rest? What could it do for your body, mind and soul? Most people find a new creativity and new way of looking at problems and opportunities. And finally, a new place in our hearts for mercy. A merciful heart comes from a full rested heart. A heart that has been replenished by God's love and mercy through Jesus Christ. The bible calls this "abiding" and says that all of our fruit bearing potential comes as we remain/abide in His love through Christ.
And then John says something quite stunning. He says that apart from him we can do nothing! Apart from resting in His presence we can do nothing.
Jesus we thank you that we can come unto you when we are weary and burdened and you will give us true rest for our souls. I know we need it. I know I need it. Thanks for the offer! Amen.
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