ON THE SABBATH
MATTHEW 12:1-2 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. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
Question: What were the Pharisees doing in a grainfield on the Sabbath?
Answer: Apparently, it's not okay to pick some heads of grain on the Sabbath, but perfectly acceptable to harass people on the Sabbath!
WHAT IS UNLAWFUL
There are no laws in the Word of God prohibiting what the disciples were doing (In fact, Deuteronomy 23:25 says that it is perfectly okay to do this - unless you have a sickle in your hand).
But the Pharisees were known for making up their own laws about how to keep the Sabbath holy.
SABBATH RULES
The Jewish Talmud devotes 24 full chapters to what Jews could and could do on the Sabbath. The rabbis developed a list of 39 categories of work that a Jew should not do on the sabbath, which include: sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, cleansing crops, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying a knot, loosening a knot, sewing two stitches, ripping out to sew two stitches, hunting a gazelle, slaughtering, flaying, salting a hide, curing a skin, scraping a skin, cutting up a skin, writing two letters, erasing to write two letters, building, pulling down, putting out a fire, lighting a fire, striking with a hammer, and carrying objects from one domain into another (Sabbath 7:2). (The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 10, "Work, Sabbath," KTAV Publishing House Inc., New York, 1969)
Examples:
• Not allowed to walk more than one kilometer from their town.
• Not allowed to carry a load.
• Not allowed to light a fire.
• Not allowed to drag a chair because it might create a groove in the dirt floor and a bird may accidently drop a seed into it (which would be ploughing and sowing.
“The Mishna says: ‘He that reapeth corn on the Sabbath to the quantity of a fig is guilty; and plucking corn is reaping.’
• Rubbing the grain out was threshing.
• Even to walk on the grass on the Sabbath was forbidden because it was a species of threshing.
• Another Talmudic passage says: ‘In case a woman rolls wheat to remove the husks, it is considered sifting;
• if she rubs the head of wheat, it is regarded as threshing;
• if she cleans off the side-adherences, it is sifting out fruit;
• if she throws them up in her hand, it is winnowing’ [Jer. Shabt, page 10a].
A book entitled, Shemirath Shabbath: A Guide to the Practical Observance of Shabbath, by Rav Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth... goes into great detail concerning the interpretation and application of the Sabbath for contemporary Judaism.
• Cooking in most all forms (boiling, roasting, baking, frying, etc.) is forbidden on the Sabbath, in particular when the temperature is raised above 45 degrees centigrade (113 Fahrenheit).
• If the hot water tap is accidentally left on, it cannot be turned off on the Sabbath.
• Escaping gas can be turned off, but not in the normal way. One must turn off the tap of a gas burner with the back of the hand or the elbow.
• The preparation of food is greatly affected by the Sabbath. One cannot squeeze a lemon into a glass of ice tea, but one can squeeze lemon on a piece of fish.
• That one cannot light a fire on the Sabbath is taught in the Old Testament law (cf. Exod. 35:3). Strict Judaism views this to prohibit turn electric lights on or off on the Sabbath. The problem can be solved, however, but using a timer, which automatically handles this task.
• An air conditioner cannot be turned on by a Jew on the Sabbath, although a Gentile might be persuaded to do so.
When the Pharisees accused the disciples of doing what was unlawful on the Sabbath, they were NOT referring to God's Law, but THEIR OWN man-made laws.
THE ACCUSATION:
The Disciples were:
1. They were REAPING
2. They were THRESHING
3. They were WINNOWING
4. They were PREPARING food
MATT 12:3-8 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 on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one 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.”
JESUS' DEFENSE
Exhibit A: DAVID. David wasn't punished for eating what was unlawful.
1. David was anointed by God (like Jesus)
2. David’s life was being threaten by The ruling authority of the day (Like Jesus)
3. David’s MIGHTY MEN was a motley crew of untrained, outcasts and outlaws (Much like the disciples)
Exhibit B: THE PRIESTS. The Priests work on the Sabbath.
Exhibit C: THE TEMPLE. The Temple represents the presence of God.
Exhibit D: THE PROPHETS. Four times in the Old Testaments the prophets write, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’.
Exhibit A: THE SON OF MAN. The Son of Man is the Owner of the Sabbath... has authority over the Sabbath.
THE POINT:
1. Jesus is the King of Kings.
2. Jesus is the Great High priest.
3. Jesus is the presence of God.
4. Jesus is full of mercy & compassion.
5. Jesus is the LORD of the Sabbath.
MATTHEW 12:9-10 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
NOTE: Jesus went into THEIR synagogue. Jesus goes to them (Their turf). Not to pick a fight - but to reveal himself to them. To seek and save the lost.
But they weren’t looking for a Messiah. They were looking for a loophole (a reason to dismiss Him).
It’s ironic that they wanted to accuse the Lord for healing someone, when we are more likely to accuse Him for not healing someone.
MATTHEW 12:11-12 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
JESUS’ DEFENSE:
The essence of the Law: Love God & Love your neighbor
The Greatest Commandment: LOVE! ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40
Paul writes in Romans 13:9-10 “The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
MATTHEW 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
THEY were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.
Jesus was looking for a way to demonstrate His love, His power, His will - in such a way that they would see that HE IS the King of kings... the Lord of Lords
MATTHEW 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
KILL JESUS
WHY???
What “WORK” did Jesus do? Did he touch the man? Did he spit on the ground and make mud?
All He did was say 4 words, “STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND”.
He Spoke!
Is that a work?
Is it illegal to even speak on the Sabbath?
Can it even be proven that Jesus is the one who healed the man? (Maybe it was just a coincidence that the man's hand was healed when Jesus asked him to stretch it out).
No. Everybody knew that Jesus was responsible for the healing.
Everybody knew that Jesus had awesome power and that He was always using it to help people.
The question is: What do you do about it?
The Pharisees: They went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Why The Hate?
- was it because He healed someone on the Sabbath?
- was it because He showed compassion to a man in need?
- was it because He knew the Scriptures better than they did?
- was it because He spoke with authority?
- was it because He demonstrated authority?
Why did they hate Jesus?
Why do so many people TODAY hate God? Hate Jesus? Hate the Church?
ANSWER: Because Jesus is NOT the Messiah that they think He should be. He is not submitting to the rules that THEY MADE UP!
APPLICATION
1. The Pharisees represent RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
The Church gets a bad wrap because we are “Religious People”
We invites sinners to come to church. AND THEY DO!
Some discover a relationship with God that radically transforms them.
Some just become religious.
BUT...
2. Everybody is RELIGIOUS
Some are religious Atheists.
Some are religious about sleeping in on Sunday mornings.
Some are religious Secularists.
Some are religious about the environment.
Some are religious about their sexual orientation.
Some are religious about their politics.
ALL of us have made our own rules. Maybe not about the Sabbath. But about Worship. About Sex. About Money. About what we believe is Right or Wrong.
And Jesus is NOT the Messiah that we think He should be. He doesn’t fit the laws we have made up!
So - we kill him. (Or, at least, dismiss Him. disown Him... reject Him... ignore Him...)
3. Are you A PHARISEE?
Jesus is LORD of the Sabbath.
Jesus is LORD of Heaven and Earth.
Jesus is LORD of All.
Is Jesus LORD of you?
