Matthew 12:1-21

Do open your Bibles to Matthew 12.

Matthew 12, which in the Church Bibles is on page 817.

!

The one point is don't miss the point.

Don't miss the point.

Last Sunday we looked at Matthew's Gospel

and we looked at Matthew 12.

Come to me, all of you, while weary and heavy laden.

Take my yoke upon you.

Learn from me.

And with this gracious invitation you get this incredible promise, don't you?

And I will give you rest, Jesus says.

I'll give you rest and you will find rest for your souls

because I'm gentle and I'm humble in heart.

And Jesus says, my yoke living for me

has a sense in which it is easy and my burden is light.

Well, chapter 12 begins in this way.

It says, at that time Jesus went through the grain fields

on the Sabbath.

And his disciples were hungry

and began to eat.

They began to collect

herds of corn and eat.

When the disciples saw it,

when the Pharisees saw it,

and the religious leaders,

they said to him,

look, your disciples are doing

what is not lawful for them to do

on the Sabbath.

It's a really interesting problem.

And the Sabbath was

extremely

and enormously

significant for Jewish people.

For the Jews of that day.

And so it should be.

The Sabbath day had been given by God

and it's way, way, way back

in the days of Moses.

It was to be a weekly reminder.

A weekly text.

Every week.

A day

which spoke of

the reason why

you and I had been created.

It was to tell the people of Israel

that they were not to live

their whole of their lives

for work.

Work wasn't the big thing.

They had to work, of course,

each day.

But they would take one day

to remind them

that God had made them.

And that God has chosen them.

And that God has redeemed them.

And God had promised

to bring them into rest.

It was the most wonderful promises

on the Sabbath day.

And the end of suffering.

And the end of pain.

The end of hardship.

Sometimes,

in the Old Testament,

it was expressed

as rest from your enemies.

Deliverance from.

The end of war.

No more hostility.

No more conflict.

It was to be a day of peace

and a day of rest.

Of peace with God

and rest with God.

And those who believed God

believed that

He would bring His people

to that promised rest.

It was a weekly foretaste

of what was to come.

And the Sabbath day.

Sabbath is

the Hebrew word for rest.

The Sabbath day

was a weekly reminder

that this is where

the world is heading.

This is what the whole

of creation is for.

The goal of creation.

The goal of redemption.

A world at rest.

Where everything was heading.

And it was not about

human achievement.

It was not that humans

were going to work for it.

It wasn't development.

It wasn't progress.

But it was God's rest.

And that's where it was heading.

And so it's no wonder

that Jewish people

and Christian people

throughout the ages

have taken the Sabbath day

very, very seriously.

But we come to

the beginning of Matthew 12

with the end of Matthew 11

still ringing in our ears

and we're forced,

I think, to ask

how does Jesus

promise

all who come to rest

relate to the Jewish Sabbath?

And the Sabbath day?

And all that is sad for?

Are they connected at all?

So here in Matthew 12, verse 1

Matthew 12:1

we see Jesus and His disciples

after they've just heard

that invitation

to come to Jesus

and find rest.

And we see Jesus and His disciples

on a Sabbath day

and they're walking

through cornfields

and they feel a little bit peckish.

Perhaps they knew

Deuteronomy 23, verse 25

Deuteronomy 23:25

but it may well be

that this was familiar

to them.

Because it says

in that verse

Deuteronomy 23, 25

if you find yourself

walking through

a neighbour's cornfield

it's quite okay

for you to pick

a few corns

by hand

as long as you don't

take a side to it

or kind of drive

your combine harvester

into their field

it's fine if you're

just walking through it

to grab some

grains of corn.

Whether or not

they realise Deuteronomy 23, 25

we don't know

but they pick some corn

and they munch away.

Well there are some

Pharisees nearby

and they saw

what Jesus did

and their mood

is very swift

let me miss you

and the Pharisees

saw it

they said to him

look

your disciples

are doing

what is not

lawful to do

on the Sabbath.

Now by unlawful

they meant

that there was

a direct law

from God

that explicitly

forbade

picking an ear

of corn

on the Sabbath day.

But of course

when we go back

and look at actually

what the Bible says

the law of God

does not say that.

You shall do

no work

on the Sabbath day

yes

and the purpose

of the Sabbath day

was to rest

and that God

promised rest

for which the whole

world was being made

and into which

God is going to

bring his people

but the Pharisees

they're concerned

is a long

long way

from that.

What happened

was that the

Jewish traditions

had developed

and a whole lot

of things

had been added

onto God's law

that a good Jew

must not do

on the Sabbath day.

Not only must you

not do any work

but you must not

do anything

vaguely approaching

work

even if it looked

like work

you must not do it.

And picking

an ear of corn

when you think

of it

well to them

it was harvesting.

And harvesting

will not certainly

work.

Now I don't want

to caricature it

I think it's

very easy

to caricature

the Pharisees

they were sincere

they had a reputation

they were serious

about life

and about the Bible

and about their traditions

and they wanted

to be very

very careful

ever so careful

not to break

God's law

and still

they created

a whole lot

of other laws

to put around

God's law

and so you would

never even get

close to breaking

God's law

but I wonder

if you begin

to see something

that it would

be hilarious

if it wasn't

so tragic

in this passage.

Notice

carefully

how Jesus responds

from what we've

seen

in Matthew's Gospel

I wonder how

you'd expect

him to respond

he might have

said

it might be

look here

fellas

there's nothing

in the law

about picking

ears of corn

on the Sabbath

day

stop being

ridiculous

what they're

doing is not

lawful

what are you

talking about

he could have

said something

like that

in fact

anyone could have

said something

like that

but Jesus

said something

far far more

radical

than that

he said

something

that only

Jesus

could say

look at

verse 3

he said

to them

have you

not

read

remember

when Jesus

speaks

he requires

you and I

to think

about what

he says

sometimes

it's not

obvious

but the

pieces fall

into place

so Jesus

said to

them

in verse

3

have you

not

read

what David

did when

he was

hungry

and those

who were

with him

how he

entered

the house

of God

and he

ate the

bread

of the

presence

which was

not lawful

for him

to eat

nor for

those who

were with

him

but only

for the

priest

Jesus

is not

only one

not to

mince words

or play

games

he is

faced with

the highly

respected

religious

leaders

the scholars

of the

scriptures

the theologians

of the day

and if anyone

knows their

bible

the Pharisees

know their

bible

scrupulously

and Jesus

responds to

their accusation

have you not

read

of all

the people

to say

that to

read your

bible

he says

to them

and he

refers to

that to

what he

says in

1 Samuel

12

where the

great king

David is

on the run

for his

life

from Saul

and David

his family

and his

companions

come to a

little town

called

Nob

where the

tabernacle

was

and they

eat the

consecrated

bread

in the

tabernacle

and only the

priests were

allowed to

eat that

according to

the book

of

Vertigo

and the

assumption

is that

Jesus says

what David

did is

ok

you could

say it

was an

awful

but what

is his

point

how is

he arguing

is this

what Jesus

is saying

is Jesus

saying it's

ok to

break the

letter of

the law

in extreme

circumstances

that's how

some people

do it

if you're

starving

well it's

ok to

disregard

God's

law

I don't

think he

said that

it's not

ok for

you and

I to

break

God's

law

just

because

we

think

we

need

to

on the

other

hand

if David's

companions

were starving

and they

certainly

were very

hungry

that wasn't

true of

Jesus'

companions

were they

the disciples

were not

starving

it's not

as if they

were about

to drop

it's

they're on

a Sunday

afternoon

walk in

a field

and they

feel a bit

packaged

that's all

for what's

his point

what is

the connection

between the

unlawful act

of David

and the

act of

Jesus'

disciples

that the

Pharisees

called

unlawful

it's not

obvious

so think

with me

keep that

question in

mind

but hear

the next

provocative

statement

look at

verse 5

again

or have

you not

read

in the

law

how

on the

Sabbath

the priests

in the

temple

profane

the

Sabbath

and are

guiltless

and are

innocent

that's to

say there

is a law

from God

that says

you shall

not do

any work

on the

Sabbath

but the

priests

they've got

to work

haven't they

the priests

have to do

work

the same

law of

God

required the

priests

to do

work on

the

Sabbath

day

and it

requires

the priests

to make

extra

sacrifices

on the

Sabbath

do you

remember

Numbers 28

last week

and the

priests

have to

double the

amount

of

sacrifices

so if

they were

making

two

lab

offerings

normally

every

day

on

Sabbath

they

made

four

and so

it was a

busy day

it sounds like

work to be

but again

what is the

point

was he saying

that if you look

carefully

it's obvious

that the law

is not absolute

on these matters

but the law

allows for

exceptions

the priests

have to

work on

the

Sabbath

well again

I don't

think that's

the point

it's the

point you

can make

but it's

not the

point that

Jesus

may be

here

Jesus

himself

is not

a

priest

his

disciples

were not

priests

and you

could hardly

compare what

they were

doing

plucking

an ear

of

corn

on a

Sabbath

afternoon

walk

and munching

away to

offering

sacrifices

in the

temple

it's

different

but we

begin to

see the

point of

verse 6

where he

says this

he says

that

I tell

you

something

greater

than the

temple

is here

and by

implication

I take

it

something

greater

than

David

is here

and the

point is

this

that even

in the

Old

Testament

there

were

greater

things

than

the

Lord

greater

things

than the

Lord

considering

the

consecrated

bread

there

were

greater

things

than

the

Lord

concerning

no

work

on

Sabbath

namely

King

David

and the

temple

and not

working

on

Sabbath

not

working

on

Sabbath

was

very

important

but it's

not an

end

of

itself

it points

to

something

greater

that's

the

point

this

morning

and

now

that

something

greater

than

David

is

here

it's

not

entirely

clear

yet

so

Jesus

runs

the

same

argument

by them

again

instead

the

insult

he uses

is not

have you

not

read

but

if

you'd

only

known

look at

verse 7

if

you'd

only

known

what

this

means

what

the

words

mean

if

you'd

only

understood

what

you

read

and

he

quotes

from

Hosea

God

says

in

Hosea

I

desire

mercy

not

sacrifice

if

only

you'd

understood

those

words

you

would

not

have

condemned

the

innocent

now

it's

the same

kind of

point

as

before

the

sacrificial

laws

of the

Old

Testament

are

important

they

are

given

by

God

you

can't

dismiss

them

you

can't

say

they're

nothing

but

just

like

the

Sabbath

day

laws

were

not

themselves

the

reality

these

were

signs

and

symbols

keeping

the

sacrificial

law

keeping

the

Sabbath

law

to

the

letter

or

even

way

beyond

the

letter

as

the

Pharisees

did

and

then

failing

to

understand

what

the

sacrifices

were

all

about

and

failing

to

understand

what

the

Sabbath

day

pointed

you

to

is

to

miss

the

point

and

so

no

matter

how

precisely

you

keep

the

laws

if

you

don't

see

what

they

were

pointing

to

you

miss

the

point

well now

comes the

crunch

where he said a moment

goodly he said

someone something

greater than the

Sabbath

as the

temple is here

look what he says in verse 8

he says for the son of man

is lord of the

Sabbath

he said a moment ago

something greater than the

temple is here

and now he says verse 8

for the son of man is the lord of the

Sabbath

up until this week

I used to think that what Jesus was saying

there

is

I am the one who decides what you can do

and what you can't do on the

Sabbath

that's how it's often interpreted

it's as if Jesus said I'm the boss of the

Sabbath

I can say what is acceptable on

Sabbath day

and I can say what is not acceptable

and that would be a very big claim

for him to make

but I saw this week

that what he was claiming

is even more than that

isn't it absolutely obvious

I don't know why I've not seen it before

is it absolutely obvious

that Jesus was saying

I am the lord of the

Sabbath because

I am the one who will give you

rest

I am the lord of the

Sabbath

because it's when you come to me

when you learn from me

when you take

my yoke upon me

that then you will find rest

for your souls

there is nothing

magnificent

Jesus is the lord of the

Sabbath because he is the one

who gives what the

Sabbath promises

and for centuries

and centuries

and centuries

they have kept

the Sabbath

and it was promising

something

and now

that's something

the lord of the

Sabbath has arrived

the one who is to give them

what the Sabbath promised

is there

I think there's even more here

the son of man

is lord of the

Sabbath

we hear Jesus say

and again I don't think

and we can hear that

without hearing an echo

do you remember

Matthew chapter 9

Matthew 9:6

verse 6

where he said

the son of man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins

and you see

they are

not two things

but one thing

the forgiveness of sins

is at the heart

is at the heart

of the rest

that Jesus gives

as lord of the

Sabbath now

but I wonder if it's

coming as focus for you

can you see the tragedy

do you see how they

missed the point

before their very eyes

was the one who says

come to me

all you are weary

and heavy laden

and I will give you rest

and these Pharisees

they were so taken up

with keeping the Sabbath

with their dues

and with their don'ts

they couldn't hear him

they couldn't hear him

and what you can find

is tragically

in churches like ours

is that

people can be

hugely taken up

with good things

church leaders

can be hugely

taken up

with church order

people

can get

very

very upset

sometimes

about the way

something is done

and the way

something is done

in church life

and often

here

when the streets

I've done the church

it's not what was done

but it was the way

that it was done

and the whole purpose

of the church

goes up in flames

because people

have missed the point

and you can miss

the point this morning

very dramatically

first line

tells us

that going on

from that place

you see Jesus

went into their synagogue

isn't that interesting

look at the first line

whose synagogue is it

their synagogue

their blind religion

which cared so much

about the Sabbath

traditions

that it could not

recognise actually

the law of the Sabbath

it was not theirs

it was theirs

not his

and the synagogue

is the place

of such religion

and there

in their synagogue

on this Sabbath day

there's a man

with a shriveled hand

and like all the

sickness and pain

of this world

this man

was part of a world

that is not yet

at rest

that has not yet

entered into that rest

and so we've got

a rather tight situation

you see

in the synagogue

of the Sabbath

the tradition keepers

we've got a suffering

human being

and into that synagogue

comes the one

who claims to be

the Lord of the Sabbath

and the Sabbath

tradition keepers

want to use

the suffering man

to discredit

the Lord of the Sabbath

do you see the verse 10

and the man was there

with a withered hand

and they asked him

is it lawful

to heal on the Sabbath

so that they might

accuse him

Jesus' response

shows the brutal

emptiness

of a tradition

obsessed religion

look at verse 11

he said to them

which one of you

is a sheep

that falls into a

pitch on the Sabbath

will not take hold

of it and lift it out

of how much more

value is a man

than a sheep

of course

it's

appropriate

in his rights

to do good

on the Sabbath

and to make

that point

with utter

finality

the Lord of the

Sabbath

proceeds to give

the poor man

a taste of

real Sabbath rest

that he'd never

found in there

a synagogue

and Jesus did

good on the Sabbath

so verse 13

he says to the man

stretch out your hand

and the man

stretched it out

and it was restored

healthy like the other

how dare he

how dare he

what a flagrant

disregard

for sin

in our tradition

are you not

poor

as they say

at this irregular

action

the Pharisees

were

and they viewed

it as wicked

so look at verse

14

the Pharisees

went out

and conspired

against him

how to destroy

him

but what happened

then

in verse 15

Jesus is aware

of this

he withdrew

from there

and many

followed him

and he healed

them all

he withdrew

from there

that is the

synagogue

and I take it

he's withdrawing

in more than

one sense

isn't he

it's not just

leaving

and we read

in verse 15

that many

followed him

there was a

separation

that took

place

there were

the Pharisees

and those

who stayed

with them

stayed

with that

religion

and their

Sabbath

rules

in their

synagogue

and there

were those

who followed

Jesus

the Lord

of the

Sabbath

and we're

told that

those who

followed him

in verse 15

he healed

he healed

them of

their sins

and their

sorrows

and their

sicknesses

he warned

them not

to tell

me what

those who

came to

him

he gave

rest

rest

from sickness

and pain

and suffering

over the

time being

they were

told to

keep quiet

and then we

come to

Matthew's

really important

comment at

the end of

the section

which helps

us understand

the significance

of what we've

just heard

about

Matthew of

course is

writing from

the future

he's writing

looking back

on this

after Jesus'

death

his resurrection

and his

ascension

and from that

point looking

back he says

we're sent

to this was

to fulfil

what was spoken

by the prophet

Isaiah

and he

quotes

Isaiah

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

chapter 42

and God

is the

speaker

here

and in

verse 4

18

God says

behold my

servant

whom I've

chosen

my beloved

with whom

my soul

is well

pleased

and what

you've just

heard is the

fulfilment of

those words

the one that

you've just

heard about

is the

chosen

loved

servant

of God

whom I

will put

my spirit

on him

God

says

that was

the mark

of God's

king

in the

old testament

times

God put

his spirit

on the

king

and the

one you've

just heard

about

the one

who you've

just read

about

he is the

fulfilment

of these

words

he is the

king

God's

king

and he

will

proclaim

justice

to the

nations

you see

he's not

just

the lord

of

the

Jews

or rather

better

because he

is the

lord of

the

sabbath

because he

is the

lord of

the

Jewish

sabbath

he is

the

lord of

the

sabbath

of all

creation

justice

and righteousness

and true

judgment

for the

nations

of the

world

it's rest

he's describing

at last

that's his

message

Jesus came

to bring

rest

but he

does not

bring it

in by

bullying

doesn't

bring it

in by

worldly

power

but in

verse 19

do you see

he will

not

quarrel

or cry

out

no one

will hear

his voice

in the

streets

and a

bruised

reed

he will

not

break

and a

swoldering

wick

he will

not

snuff

out

until he

brings

justice

to

victory

do you

remember

last week

I am

gentle

and

lowly

in heart

and those

who come

to Jesus

do not

need to

fear him

and in

his name

the nations

will put

their hope

that is

simply

staggering

it is

simply

staggering

the earnest

zeal

and

commitment

and

drive

and

sincerity

of the

Pharisees

for their

religion

of the

Sabbath

meant

that they

could not

and they

would not

recognise

Jesus

and they

judged him

to be evil

and that

is a

profound

challenge

to church

people

like you

and I

because

we can

very easily

hide behind

our good

works

and our

keeping

of God's

law

we can

resent

others

that are

not like

us

and we

can be

very proud

of how

we do

things

and tragically

we can

miss

the

saviour

and we

can hate

the liberation

and the

forgiveness

that he

brings

because

the new

life

doesn't

fit

with

our

systems

I can

give you

easy

examples

of how

the

church

of

Scotland

where

you

saw

an

organisation

which

once

believed

the

gospel

a church

which

once

followed

the

teaching

of

the

Bible

and

gradually

it

began

to

follow

man's

laws

and

so

suddenly

those

who

proclaimed

the

gospel

fully

well

were

brutally

treated

it

we

talked

about

in

the

church

of

England

but

not

in

the

IPC

but of

course

that's

the

danger

isn't it

you don't

need to

worry about

the

church

of

Scotland

nor

the

church

of

England

where

do I

and so

what you

and I

need to

realise

is that

you and

I

can be

caught up

with

things

of

religion

and

church

life

and our

way of

doing

things

and we

can

miss

Jesus

you can

seek to

keep the

Sabbath

day

which I

encourage you

to keep

the

Sabbath

day

to remember

the

Sabbath

day

to keep

it

holy

but if

you

don't

meet

with

Jesus

you

miss

the

point

you can

know the

Bible

but miss

the message

of the

Bible

and so

this

morning

don't

miss

the

point

do not

be

blinded

to the

one

who is

inviting

us

to come

to him

and

promising

that as

we come

to him

it is

there

we will

find

rest

for

our

souls

because

there is

none so

blind

as

them that

will not

see

let's

pray