Matthew 12:1-8

| Matt 12 |

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time w Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and x they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, y “Look, your disciples are doing z what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, a “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate b 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? 5 Or have you not read c in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, d something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known e what this means, f ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For g the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

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Matt. 11:1–12:50 Opposition to the Messiah Emerges. Resistance to Jesus' ministry has appeared occasionally (e.g., 9:3–4) but now begins to build significantly, occasioned first by the innocuous questions of John the Baptist (11:2–19), then through the overt hostility of the Jewish religious leaders (12:1–45).

Matt. 12:1–45 Confrontations with the Pharisees. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath (vv. 1–14), suggest he is in league with Satan (vv. 22–37), and demand a cosmic sign (vv. 38–42). Jesus vindicates himself as lord of the Sabbath (v. 8), divine servant of justice (v. 18), and the Spirit-empowered inaugurator of the kingdom of God (v. 28). Judgment will come upon the hard-hearted blasphemers (vv. 30–45), but those who follow Jesus are his true family (see vv. 46–50).

Matt. 12:1 pluck heads of grain. The edges of a field were not normally harvested, so that the poor and hungry, foreigners, orphans, and widows could gather food for themselves (see Lev. 19:9; 23:22). This law showed the compassion of God for those in need.

Matt. 12:2 Pharisees. See note on 3:7.

Matt. 12:4 ate the bread of the Presence. Twelve loaves of bread, representing God's covenant with the 12 tribes of Israel, were to be baked and placed in the tabernacle on each Sabbath as an offering. The bread was only to be eaten by the priests (Lev. 24:5–9), but Scripture does not condemn David for eating the bread during his escape from Saul. The law was intended to serve God's people, rather than God's people being intended to serve the law (cf. Mark 2:27).

Matt. 12:5 The fact that priests, in carrying out their duties, had to work on (and thus “profane”) the Sabbath, but were guiltless in doing so, shows that God made allowances within the law.

Matt. 12:6 something greater. The Sabbath points to Christ (see v. 8) and to the “rest” he gives from the impossible task of earning salvation by good works (cf. 11:28).

Matt. 12:7 I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. See note on 9:13.

Matt. 12:8 the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. Jesus does not challenge the Sabbath law itself but rather the Pharisees' interpretation of it. As Messiah, Jesus authoritatively interprets every aspect of the law (cf. 5:17–48) and here points out the Pharisees' blindness to the actual intent of the Sabbath—to bring rest and well-being. This final argument in response to the Pharisees' challenge (12:2) is the decisive argument—that because of who Jesus is, he has the authority to interpret the law.