Greater Than the Temple



Matthew 12:1-14
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
4how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
7And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
8For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
9He went on from there and entered their synagogue.
10And a 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.
11He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
12Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.
14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

As we have discussed in past posts, Jesus comes onto the world stage with a revolutionary message. The events recorded in today’s reading pointed those around Him in a completely different direction. Slowly but surely He chips away at the status quo and begins the work of re-framing reality for all who would believe in Him.

I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 

As the Pharisees castigate Jesus for allowing His Disciples to “work” on the Sabbath, He attempts to take their ideas in a whole new direction. Instead of mounting a defense for the Disciples, He changes the conversation (as He is wont to do on numerous occasions!), directing attention away from this innocent gleaning and focusing attention upon Himself, where it belongs. He brings up King David who also “broke the law” by eating the Showbread (a sacred offering of bread that was placed into the Temple to be eaten only by the priests after the Sabbath had passed). Jesus uses this act of gleaning to help the Pharisee see that they are missing the whole point. The Temple was sacred to the Jews, as it had been since the days of King Solomon. But because of their focus on their Laws the Pharisees are missing Jesus - the Messiah. He is greater than both King David and the Temple. This is a completely new thought for them and they are obviously resistant. Just to put a fine point on it, Jesus continues to push the boundary lines by healing a man on the Sabbath. This too would have been considered “work” and thus breaks their man-made laws about the Sabbath.

In the midst of this lesson, Jesus quotes from the prophet Hosea. “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6 He clarifies for all who can hear (and that is literal as well as figurative!) exactly what God wants in a follower. Whether or not you pick a little grain on the Sabbath is not on God's list!

This message must resonate for us too. The faith is not about keeping up outward appearances but instead is about what goes on inside. Who do we truly bow down to and what does our heart worship? These are the things that define us and motivate how we will live. These are the things that God pays attention to and that truly witness to the world about the power and passion of God.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more