Lord Of The Sabbath - Servant Of Mercy - Matthew 12:1-21

2025.05.04.Sermon Notes. Matthew 12.1-21 LORD OF THE SABBATH-SERVANT OF MERCY

William Akehurst, HSWC

SCRIPTURES: Matthew 12:1-21, Mark 2:25-28, 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Hosea 6:6, Mark 2:27,

BIG IDEA: JESUS reveals that God's heart gives priority to mercy over ritual, rest over burden, and compassion over condemnation.

JESUS redefines true Sabbath rest, corrects legalistic distortions, and fulfills the Servant prophecy with a ministry of gentle justice and mercy.

Background:

Conflict Rising

By chapter 12 of Matthew, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders is intensifying. The issue at hand is Sabbath observance, one of the most identity-defining practices of the Jewish people. The Sabbath was both a creation ordinance (Genesis 2:2–3) and a covenantal sign (Exodus 31:13), and so it held deep theological and national importance. However, the Pharisees had added extensive oral traditions that transformed it from a gift of rest into a burden of regulations.

Matthew presents Jesus as the new and greater Moses and as Immanuel, God with us. This passage thus shows both Jesus’ authority and His compassionate mission.

I. MAIN POINT: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (vs. 1–8)

"The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (v. 8)

• Point: Jesus reveals that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (cf. Mark 2:27). He, as Lord of the Sabbath, has authority to define its purpose: rest, mercy, and restoration.

II. Lord of the Sabbath: A Greater Authority (Matthew 12:1–8)

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry…”

• Jesus and His disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath. The Pharisees accuse them of breaking the Law.

A. The Accusation (v. 2)

• The Pharisees accuse the disciples of harvesting (plucking grain) and threshing (rubbing heads of grain)—both forbidden according to rabbinic tradition.

• Jesus does not rebuke His disciples but defends them, signaling His authority to interpret the Law.

NOTE: Matthew just quoted Jesus offering us an easy yoke and a light burden. Now He shows us the kind of heavy burdens and hard yokes the religious leaders put upon the people. When the disciples began to pluck the heads of grain, in the eyes of the religious leaders they were guilty of:

• Reaping.

• Threshing.

• Winnowing.

• Preparing food.

This represented four violations of the Sabbath in one mouthful!

NOTABLE NOTE: At this time, many rabbis filled Judaism with elaborate rituals related to the Sabbath and observance of other laws. Ancient rabbis taught that on the Sabbath a man could not carry something in his right hand or in his left hand, across his chest or on his shoulder; but he could carry something with the back of his hand, with his foot, elbow, or in the ear, on the hair, in the hem of his shirt, or in his shoe or sandal. On the Sabbath one was forbidden to tie a knot – except a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So if a bucket of water had to be raised from a well, one could not tie a rope to the bucket, but a woman could tie her girdle to the bucket and then to the rope.

(SPURGEON) The Pharisees here seem hard at work supervising and accusing the disciples. This was a greater violation of the Sabbath. “Did they not break the Sabbath by setting a watch over them?”

B. The Scriptural Defense (vs. 3–4)

“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry”

Jesus appeals to David eating the bread of the Presence (1 Samuel 21), which was technically unlawful.

PRINCIPLE #1:

Jesus presented is simple and illustrated by David’s experience with the priests and the showbread (1 Samuel 21). Jesus reminded them that human need is more important than observing ceremonial rituals.

The incident with David was a valid defense, because: it was a case of eating, probably on the Sabbath.

1 Samuel 21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

It concerned not only David, but also his followers.

This does not endorse lawbreaking but shows that the human need can outweigh ceremonial regulations.

C. The Temple and the Son of Man (vs. 5–6)

“The priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless”

PRINCIPLE #2:

Jesus presented is also simple. The priests themselves break the Sabbath all the time. Perhaps the Pharisees didn’t understand as much about Sabbath observance as they thought they did.

POINT: The Law was meant to serve life, not hinder it.

Priests “break” the Sabbath by working in the temple, yet are innocent.

Jesus makes a radical claim and declares: "Something greater than the temple is here"