Matthew 12

Earlier in this gospel, our Lord gave us a very helpful exposition of the moral law as part of the Sermon on the Mount. In that message it was obvious that Jesus was not casual about the requirements of the Law of God. It was plain from His treatment of several of the Ten Commandments that He believed that the requirements of the Law were more substantial and far-reaching than most observers considered. He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. How is it, then, that Jesus is made to look as if He were light on law when compared to the Pharisees?

The case before us at the beginning of Matthew 12 provides us with a helpful display of the difference between Jesus and His detractors. Both of them claimed to believe in the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” This law commands six days of labor per week and a seventh day of a special spiritual and restorative resting. The Pharisees had become very specific about this and many other divine commands in an effort to make the Law more clearly keepable. In doing this they had taken from the tradition of commentary from rabbis over the generations, and had begun to treat these words as if they were from God Himself. Therefore, they considered the casual plucking of grain for the relief of hunger to be harvesting, and therefore working, and therefore prohibited.

The Lord’s response to this challenge was to direct them back to the Scriptures and then to His own person. David, when he was being harassed by Saul, had recognized that feeding his men took precedence over the matter of restricting the eating of holy bread to the priests. Also, the priests needed to work in the temple on the Sabbath, so everyone would have to acknowledge that the prohibition of work on the Sabbath was not intended by God to be absolute. The temple was more important than Sabbath in a sense. The needs of the temple had to be met, even if that meant working on the Sabbath. Before them now was Temple, Priest, and King. His disciples were an extension of Him, just as David’s companions were an extension of him. Even if one granted the idea that this plucking of grain was working, it was wrong for the Pharisees to miss the duties of mercy, duties that were above the ceremonial requirements of sacrifice. The disciples were guiltless. The Pharisees were guilty for condemning them. This was the word of the Man who knew Himself to be Lord of the Sabbath, an amazing, if subtle, claim of divinity.

He went on to fulfill the Sabbath through His great acts of heavenly restoration. The Pharisees were so far from appreciating the kingdom of heaven that they could not grasp the wonder of what Jesus was doing in restoring the health of the weak. Our Lord did not back down from the truth and beauty of the Law of God for even a moment. Those who were so sure that they were keeping the Law rightly became increasingly determined to kill an innocent man who was bringing true Sabbath wholeness to the oppressed. He was the fulfillment of prophetic Messianic expectations. He was the true Servant of the Lord, who would bring justice and peace even to the Gentiles. A bruised reed He would not break. The true Son of David and His apostolic team would move forward to resurrection victory.

The Pharisees became increasingly desperate over the matter of Jesus, anticipating what would be the major religious conflict in the Jewish world after the ascension of Christ, the conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and Christian Judaism. These two movements had a very different understanding of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as very different opinions concerning the definition, interpretation, and right use of divine Law. In their desperation they once again claimed that Jesus was an emissary of Satan who was casting out demons by the power of the Lord of demons. The silliness of this kind of thinking was easily exposed. It was the Pharisees who were showing their dedication to evil in their careless and foolish words.

Standing before them was One who would show who He was through His resurrection, referred to here cryptically as the sign of Jonah. Christ would come forth from the grave as Jonah came forth from the belly of a great fish. He would go to the grave as a result of His work as our propitiatory sacrifice. Yet the grave would not be able to hold Him. Here was one greater than Jonah, and greater than Solomon. This evil generation and her leaders would have to answer to God for their rejection of the only Savior for sinners.

Jesus was displaying Himself to be the Word of God, coming from the perfection of the Father’s heart of love and justice. Out of the abundance of His heart, God had spoken, and the Word was the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees were a very different word, coming from a lawless source.

The choice between these two movements could not be clearer. The answer for any who would follow God must always be to truly hear and obey His Word. Those who will be moving toward safety are the ones who will do this. There must finally come a time for all of us when we will decide whether we will try to condemn the Lord with His enemies, or whether we will obey Him with His friends. May His mercy so rule in our lives that we will yield to the One who is the glorious and final Word.