Matthew 12:1 Sabbath - For The Glory of Jesus

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Sabbath

The Sabbath began on Friday at sundown and continued to Saturday at sundown. The Pharisees had a rule that one should not do work on the Sabbath. Jesus violated this rule.

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Matthew 12:1-21

1. “Jesus deliberately violated the Sabbath traditions on several occasions. He had taught the people that mere external laws could never save them or make them holy; true righteousness had to come from the heart.” (Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. [Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004], 41)

2. “It was lawful to satisfy your hunger from your neighbor’s field (Deuteronomy 23:24-25). But to doit on the Sabbath was a breach of the law according to the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees, for it meant doing work.” (Wiersbe, 41)

3. “It was during the days of David’s rejection as king while Saul was ruling (1 Samuel 21:1-6). Likewise, Lord Jesus was being rejected as King; His messianic claim had not been acknowledged.” (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 66)

Not Condemned

4. “The consecrated bread was to be eaten only by the priests, yet David and his soldiers ate it. If David broke the law and was not condemned, surely Jesus could break man’s traditions and be guiltless.” (Wiersbe, 41)

5. “Throughout the Old Testament law, the Lord prescribed work for the priests on the Sabbath to facilitate the worship of others (e.g., Num. 28:9-10), and yet the priests were never declared guilty for such practices.” [Max Anders and Stuart K. Weber (2012). HNTC Vol. 01: Matthew. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]

6. “The Lord Jesus here claimed superiority to the most holy center of their religious life, which was the temple. As far as the Pharisees were concerned, He had blasphemed. Not only had He broken the Sabbath, but He had blasphemed.” (McGee, 66)

7. “God wants mercy, not religious sacrifice. He wants love, not legalism.” (Hosea 6:6) (Wiersbe, 42)

8. “In declaring Himself ‘Lord of the Sabbath,’ Jesus was actually affirming equality with God, for God had established the Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3).” (Wiersbe, 42)

Heal on the Sabbath

9-10. Jesus went to a synagogue where “the Pharisees themselves take the initiative to stir up controversy by posing the question of whether or not it is ‘lawful to heal on the Sabbath.’” (Luke 13:14; John 5:7-9) (Blomberg, Craig L., The New American Commentary, Volume 22, Matthew. [Nashville: Broadman Press], 197)

11. Then Jesus pointed “out the inconsistency in the oral law, which permits the rescue of and animal from a pit but not the healing of an individual whose life is not possibly in danger.” (Blomberg, 199)

12. “Jesus makes the sweeping pronouncement that ‘it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Blomberg, 199)

13. “Jesus heals the man.” (Blomberg, 199)

14. From here on the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus.

Servant

15. “Jesus’ time to die has not yet come, so he leaves this area of greatest danger. Still the crowds follow, more interested in further healings than concerned about the Pharisees’ threats.” (Blomberg, 200)

“His miracles caused crowds to press upon Him so that He could not carry on His ministry as He wished.” (McGee, 68)

16. “Jesus’ injunctions to silence, in this context, must stem from his desire to avoid premature arrest and execution.” (Blomberg, 200)

17. “In the longest Old Testament quotation in his Gospel, Matthew depicts Jesus as God’s suffering servant (Isaiah 42:1-4), who does not fight back against oppose him.” (Blomberg, 200)

18. “The heavenly voice quoted part of this text at Jesus’ Baptism (3:17); here God reaffirms his choice of and love for that Jesus, whom the Spirit anointed.” (Blomberg, 200)

19. “The passage in Isaiah predicts that God’s servant will bring justice, but not by force or violence.” (Blomberg, 200)

20a. “Verse 20a affirms Jesus’ consummate gentleness (recall 11:29-30).” (Blomberg, 200)

20b-21. These verses “promise that he will ultimately bring justice and victory for Gentile as well as Jewish followers. The ‘nations’ of vv. 18-21 are the ethne—all ‘peoples’ of the world.” (Blomberg, 200)

References

In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.

Blomberg, Craig L., The New American Commentary, Volume 22, Matthew. Nashville: Broadman Press
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
Robertson, A. T., A Harmony of the Gospels. New York, HarperCollins Publishers
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004

Repented Demons

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