January
17th Matthew
12 Christ is Lord of the Sabbath
1:
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his
disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and
to eat. 2: But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold,
thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3: But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he
was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4: How he entered into
the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for
him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the
priests? 5: Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath
days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are
blameless? 6: But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater
than the temple. 7: But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will
have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the
guiltless. 8: For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Christ
heals a withered hand
9:
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10:
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they
asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that
they might accuse him. 11: And he said unto them, What man shall
there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a
pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12: How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is
lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13: Then saith he to the man,
Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was
restored whole, like as the other. 14: Then the Pharisees went out,
and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
Christ
withdrew
15:
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great
multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16: And charged them
that they should not make him known: 17: That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18: Behold my
servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well
pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to
the Gentiles. 19: He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man
hear his voice in the streets. 20: A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment
unto victory. 21: And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
The
Lord led the disciples to a corn field in which they were allowed to
eat the corn because it was left for the poor, and they were poor.
The disciples ate the ears of corn but they are criticised for
‘reaping’ corn on the Sabbath day. The Jews had made thousands of
extra laws but this rule would make the poor go away hungry. Christ
allows them to eat. Christ justified the principle by quoting David
who ate forbidden bread from the Tabernacle. Then Christ explains
that as LORD of the Sabbath he is able not only to establish the law
but he is also able to set the exceptions. Christ accuses the
Pharisees of condemning those who have not sinned. The next crisis is
when Christ enters a Synagogue and finds a man with a withered hand.
Christ is asked a question Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day.
Now works of necessity or works charity were always allowed on the
Sabbath day. Christ illustrates the answer by asking them whether
they would save a sheep from a pit on the Sabbath day. Christ
explains that it is always lawful to do well on the Sabbath day.
Christ healed the man with the withered hand. The Religious leaders
had been faced. They had been stood up to, by Christ. So what are
they going to do? Will they give in? Will they say, Hey we were wrong
– sorry? NO. They went out and plotted to destroy Christ. This
shows the type of religion they had. Jesus withdrew to calm down the
situation. Christ withdrew to fulfil the scripture. He shall not
strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name
shall the Gentiles trust. The reed was the thing used by the scribes
to write. When a reed was bruised it was to be broken in two to
prevent the reed from causing faulty writing. Christ’s job was not
to break their job. The flax was used to burn incense in the temple.
However if it is smoking, it means that it is about to go out,
because the oil has run out (Oil is symbolic of the spiritual life)
Will Christ snuff out this offensive smoke? No. He did not come to
end the ministry of the scribes and priests.
- What did Christ mean when he said that he was Lord of the Sabbath?
- What do you think about the clash between Christ and the religious leaders?
- Why didn't Christ just end the opposition to his ministry?
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