Breaking the Sabbath & the Mind of Christ
July 10, 2006
Dear Friends
In Matthew 12, Jesus faces the accusation of the Pharisees that his disciples are working on the Sabbath by plucking grains of wheat and rubbing them with their hands. What is truly amazing is the response Jesus gives. Jesus does not argue with them over the legal definition of work. In fact, as we shall see, Jesus seems to be perfectly willing to concede that his disciples did technically break the law. Jesus instead reasserts an ancient principle of God which the Pharisees missed. Jesus’ response is an insight into his mind, the mind of his Father and a mindset we should mimic in our own discipleship.
When faced with the accusation, Jesus cites two Biblical accounts to justify what was taking place. Notice carefully the language. The first instance is David eating the Bread of the Presence. Jesus says “But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry, how he went into the house of God and they ate the loaves of the offering although neither he nor his followers were permitted to eat them, but only the priests?’†(v. 3,4 NJB) Jesus doesn’t suggest that there was some legal loophole which David used to eat the bread, he states that David was not allowed to eat it. Similarly in the next Biblical account, Jesus says “have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the Temple priests break the Sabbath without committing any fault?†Again, Jesus states plainly that the priests break the Sabbath, but even so, are blameless. In other words, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they are right in their assessment of the situation – the Sabbath is being broken – but are missing the point as to why they are blameless.
To be honest, I can sympathize a lot with the Pharisees here. They see the Law being broken, they are technically right in the assessment and they point it out. These are not trumped up charges. God told the children of Israel to stone the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath, so even menial work was condemned. It is reasonable to assume from the passage that the disciples were not being very discreet in what they were doing either. They obviously had the Pharisees watching them. We can infer from this that Jesus had either given his disciples permission to do this or that they had gleaned this idea from something Jesus had said. The Pharisees seem to know this or else why bring it up to the Master.
So what exactly is Jesus trying to tell the Pharisees? The first lesson is summed up in the statement “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.†This quote from Hosea 6:6 is fraught with meaning. The same sentiment is portrayed over and over in the Old Testament. God wanted the Israelite’s hearts. Despite what Hosea 6:6 and others say (Is. 1, for example), God did want their sacrifices too. In fact, He had commanded them. But God wouldn’t accept the sacrifice of a man whose heart wasn’t right. Keeping the technicalities of the Law – Sabbaths, sacrifices, etc. — was worthless to those not transformed in their heart. The Pharisees obviously were in need of a “heart transplant.†While spying on the hungry disciples, the first inclination of these wretched men was to condemn them rather than welcome them into their homes and offer them food. Apparently mercy and kindness were not high on the Pharisees’ checklist of legalistic righteousness.
The second lesson seems to be that there are principles of discipleship that on occasion transcend the laws of God. This is the part of the story which makes recovering legalists like me very nervous. Jesus, while admitting that his disciples technically broke the Law, states that they are blameless for so doing. This closely connects with many New Testament teachings where Godly principles (love, mercy, grace, patience, meekness, etc.) trump outward rules and regulations. In the case in question, the need for the disciples of Jesus to eat while serving their master trumped strict Sabbath adherence. These men, who were carrying the Gospel throughout the Land in lieu of the faulty priesthood they soon would replace, had a greater commission. These men were in support of the Son of God who was, like his examples of David and the priests, both a King and a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
The last lesson comes when Jesus tells the Pharisees that “the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.†More than likely, from this point forward, every time Jesus did anything on the Sabbath, these words would come to the mind of the Pharisees and work them into an evil frenzy. Jesus was master over the Sabbath day. Jesus was not answerable to the Pharisees or to the Sabbath. He wouldn’t play their game or participate in their struggle for power. He would not placate them. This was to become THE issue between Jesus and the Pharisees because of it.
The Pharisees never understood the mind of Christ to their condemnation. Let us not make the same mistake. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.†(Php 2:5) “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.†(1Co 2:16 AV)
Have a great week,
P.S. Many requests have been made to print the TFTW in book form. Since this has been a community effort, I would like to make this book a community effort as well. If there is any particular TFTW that has touched you or that you would like to write a preface for, please contact Kyle Tucker. We will include some of these comments in the book, Lord willing.
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