Matthew 12: The Lord and His Family (1)

Pray Psalm 92.1-4.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

Sing Psalm 92.1-4.
(Sweet Hour: Sweet Hour of Prayer)
How good it is to thank the Lord and praise to God Most High accord;
by day to let His kindness ring, His faithfulness by night to sing.
With ten-stringed lute, resounding lyre, and sweetest harp we’ll lift You higher.
For You have made our souls rejoice; we sing Your praise with blended voice!

Read and meditate on Matthew 12.1-8.

Prepare.
1. To what did the Pharisees object?

2. What did Jesus say about His disciples’ actions?

Meditate.
The Pharisees – self-appointed Sabbath-police of their day – did not object to the disciples’ plucking grain from someone’s field. This was perfectly in line with the Law of God (cf. Deut. 23.24, 25). But they could not abide them doing this “work” on the Sabbath. Their traditions specified what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, and “harvesting” grain was definitely not on the list of accepted chores (v. 2).

Rather than address their specific complaint, Jesus responded to them categorically, using Biblical precedent to undermine their tradition (vv. 3-5). It was not a question of harvesting on the Sabbath, but of simple necessity. On the Sabbath – which was made for man’s rest and good (Mk. 2.27) – works of necessity are always in order. Jesus first cited David’s action in eating the holy bread as a precedent for the disciples’ plucking grain to satisfy their hunger. Then He reminded them that on the Sabbath priests do a good bit of work to keep the operation of the temple going. No one ever objected to them.

Jesus next turned the argument from traditions – which were always in dispute in one way or another – to an indisputable icon and institution. The temple was most sacred to Jews in Jesus’ day. He knew that, of course, and so took the next step to point religious worship away from the temple to Himself (v. 6), and what He desires – mercy, not the “sacrifice” of keeping tedious human traditions (v. 7). Here, as in John 2, Jesus identified Himself with the temple, but as of the greater to the lesser. Jesus is greater than the temple for many reasons, as the writer of Hebrews explained in chapters 7-10. In asserting that He is Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus set Himself above all Hebrew traditions and institutions and the entirety of God’s Law. Thus He instructs us to see the Law and all the institutions of the Old Testament as pointing forward to Him.

And He tells us what to seek from true worship: Not just the motions of worship (“sacrifice”) but lives that express the mercy of those who have entered the Kingdom of God (v. 8).

Reflect.
1. Why did Jesus attack the religious traditions of the Jews of His day?

2. What do we learn from this episode about how to make best use of the Law of God?

3. What are some differences between “mercy” and “sacrifice”?

The faithful are more than priests. For the Lord of the temple himself has come to them. The Truth personally has arrived, not merely the image of the truth. John Chrysostom (344-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 39.2

You have called me to show mercy, Lord, so help me today as I…

Pray Psalm 92.5-15.
Jesus is Lord of all, Whom you go forth to serve this day. Ask Him to help you flourish and bear much fruit in all your endeavors.

Sing Psalm 92.5-15.
Psalm 92.5-15 (Sweet Hour: Sweet Hour of Prayer)
How sweet Your works, Your thoughts how deep: The fool cannot such knowledge keep.
Like grass the wicked rise each day; in judgment they are swept away.
But You, O Lord, abide on high; Your enemies shall fall and die.
All those who sin shall scattered be, but, Lord, You have exalted me!

My eye my vanquished foe shall see; my ears hear those who threaten me.
Yet in God’s house, where he belongs, the righteous like a tree grows strong.
Then let us green and fruitful be and flourish like a mighty tree,
to tell God’s righteousness abroad: He is our Rock, our sovereign God!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).