Synoptic Gospels 3: Shepherd and King (4)
Pray Psalm 23.4, 5.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.Sing Psalm 23.4, 5.
(The Gift of Love: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
The LORD is ever by my side; His rod and staff with me abide.
A table rich for me He spreads; with oil my LORD anoints my head.
Read Matthew 12.1-8; Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5; meditate on Matthew 12.1-8.
Preparation
1. What did the Pharisees complain about?
2. How did Jesus respond to them?
Meditation
The Pharisees—self-appointed Sabbath-police—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 not on the list of accepted chores (v. 2).
Jesus came to the defense of His disciples by a series of embarrassing questions to undermine the Pharisees’ 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. Then He reminded the Pharisees that on the Sabbath priests do a good bit of work to keep the operation of the temple going. Or had they failed to notice that in God’s Word?
Jesus next turned the argument from traditions—which were always in dispute—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, which for the Pharisees was clearly in short supply. 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.
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). Can’t you just see the disciples, beaming with pride and (if only in their soul) thumbing their noses at the Pharisees? This is how Jesus protects and defends His flock, by coming to their defense with Himself.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91.1).
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me” (Ps. 23.4).
“I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust” (Ps. 91.2).
“I will love You, O LORD,
my strength.
The LORD is
my rock and
my fortress and
my deliverer;
my God,
my strength,
in whom I will trust;
my shield
and the horn of
my salvation,
my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD,
Who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from my enemies” (Ps. 18.1-3).
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
In God, Whose Word I praise,
in God I trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?” (Ps. 56.3, 4 NIV)
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8.31)
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8.35)
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us” (Rom. 8.37).
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth,
nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8.38, 39).
“I AM the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (Jn. 10.11).
“This is how the Shepherd defends and protects His flock, by coming to our defense with Himself.”
Reflection
1. When do you feel like you need Jesus to come to your defense?
2. When He does that, when He comes to your defense, how does He do it?
3. How does the Lord use us in helping to defend one another?
You falsely accuse my disciples, Jesus says, for plucking ears of grain while passing through the standing fields. They did this because of their pangs of hunger. But you must violate the sabbath by immolating victims in the temple, slaughtering bulls and burning holocausts on a heap of firewood and, according to the testimony of the other Gospel, circumcising children on the sabbath. Thus, while you wish to observe the one law, you dishonor the sabbath. But God’s commands do not contradict each other. John Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Matthew 2.12.15
Pray Psalm 23.1-4, 6.
Praise and thank the Lord for all the ways He shepherds and defends you throughout the day.
Sing Psalm 23.1-4, 6.
(The Gift of Love: Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire)
Because the LORD my Shepherd is I shall not want, for I am His!
He makes me lie in pastures green, He leads by waters cool, serene.
My soul He quickens and will bless; He leads in paths of righteousness.
Though I may walk in death’s dark vale, I shall not fear—He will not fail!
Goodness and mercy, full and free, shall ever after follow me,
and in the house of God, my LORD, shall I abide forevermore!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. In our twice-weekly Crosfigell column we have begun a new series on Brendan, called “The Navigator.” Why was he called that? Join us and find out. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, enters the home stretch now by leading us to pray for our church’s impact. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
