Matthew Chapter 12

¹ At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

• This was the Sabbath day and the disciples were hungry so they began to take the heads of wheat and eat them.

² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

• The Law (Leviticus 25) prohibited harvesting on the Sabbath.

³ But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

⁴ How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was
not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but
only for the priests?

• 1 Samuel 21:1-6 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?² And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.³ Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.⁴ And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.⁵ And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.⁶ So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

⁵ Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

• The priest are to preform work in the temple on the sabbath day as part of their duties and are considered blameless in so doing… these works like making the shew bread and lighting incents are done in service to the Lord, so this work is excused. Jesus is the Son of God…. he is here teaching these disciples the Word of God and preparing them for the ministry in grace.
• Reading this the verses about the woman at the well came to mind. John 4:19-23¹⁹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.²⁰ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
  Under the Law the woman states that her fathers worshiped in the mountains, but the Jewish Prophets claimed that they should go into Jerusalem to he temple to worship. Jesus tells her that the time is coming when the true worshipers are going to worship God in their spirit and in truth…. from a place of genuine connection with God from the heart…not from legalism and the Law. Under the law the priest who work in service to the Lord on the sabbath are not considered to be profaning the sabbath and the disciples who are plucking off the heads of wheat and eating while learning from the Lord Jesus in preparation for their duties as Apostles who usher in the age of grace aren’t profaning the Law either. The Law confined the works of the Temple to the Temple… and now that we are saved by grace our service to the temple has no walls …now it’s held in spirit and in truth like what Jesus told the woman at the well. The Pharisees were legalistic to the peril of the very people the Law was to bring redemption to.

⁶ But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

• Jesus is greater than the temple… the temple was built to serve him.

⁷ But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

• The Pharisees had lost sight of the fact that the Law was given to reconcile man to God by making a blood atonement for the sins of man, the goal was always to reconcile man to God… not to make man earn salvation, but to make it possible to have a relationship with God through mercy and grace. The Law was fulfilled when Jesus came here as the Lamb of God, died for our sins (shed his blood to wash our sins away) and rose again from the dead…all so that mankind can obtain mercy and be reconciled to God. The desire of God is to give us mercy and not condemn us…. but the Pharisees could not comprehend this.

⁸ For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

• The sabbath day was made for the Son of Man AKA Jesus our Lord and not the other way around. So if the disciples are serving him in the fields of wheat and they get hungry and eat the heads of wheat, they are no different that the priest who attend the temple on the sabbath.

⁹ And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

Personal note: This is interesting… it says that Jesus departed and went into THEIR synagogues. Was this because under their hands the synagogues became more like them and less like God had intended it to be? When I look at the word Their in the lexicon there isn’t a direct definition just several examples of usage… always to denote possession… I find this an interesting wording… which may or may not mean anything.

¹⁰ And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

• They were trying to set Jesus up with this. Proving even more they were so legalistic they lost touch with human compassion and love…proof they had no clue who God is because God is both loving and compassionate…even the judgments of God is loving and compassionate.

¹¹ And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have
one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

¹² How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

• I love Jesus so much! He always knows how to answer people who try to trap him… so if these folks answered they would let the sheep stay in the hole, suffering the entire time they would have to admit they are without love and compassion.

¹³ Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

¹⁴ Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

• After being unable to trick Jesus these Pharisees didn’t rethink their hatred of Jesus, instead they went out…regrouped and plotted some more. Talk about not being able to read the room!

¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

• Jesus makes it ok to remove yourself from people who have shown you they are plotting to destroy you… not to withdraw in bitterness and anger… but to find people who do want and need you. Jesus went and found people who loved him and he healed their sick.

¹⁶ And charged them that they should not make him known:

¹⁷ That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

¹⁸ Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

¹⁹ He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

• This is about the tender mercies of Jesus in dealing with the weak, broken and bruised.
• Isaiah 42:1-4 ¹ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.² He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.³ A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.⁴ He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

²² Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

²³ And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

The Jewish people were looking for a King that would come from the line of David to establish the Kingdom as prophesies by the prophets of old.

• 2 Samuel 7:12–13: “…I will set up thy seed after thee… and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever”.

• Isaiah 11:1: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots”.

• Jeremiah 23:5: “I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper…”.

• Micah 5:2: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah… out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel”.

• Psalm 89:3–4: “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I stablish for ever…”. 

The New Testament fulfillment

• John 7:42: “Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”.

• Matthew 1:1: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.

• Luke 1:32–33: “He shall be great… and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David”.

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

²⁵ And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

²⁶ And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

²⁷ And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

²⁸ But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

²⁹ Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods,
except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

• Satan doesn’t work to benefit God or his Kingdom at all… his every move is to try to destroy everything of God and his Kingdom…. so he doesn’t go around doing anything to bring glory to God.

³⁰ He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

³¹ Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Note: To everyone out there who is tormented with the idea they have commited this sin… if you read the verses that led up to this one you can see that Jesus clearly says that the Kingdom is not divided. People who do things to glorify God are not working for Satan and those who are working for Satan are not trying to glorify God. So, if you are worried and upset that you can’t be forgiven for you sins, you haven’t commited this sin because those that do this are sold out to do evil and don’t care… the fact that you do care is proof you haven’t commited this sin.

³² And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

³³ Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

³⁴ O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

³⁶ But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

³⁷ For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

³⁸ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

³⁹ But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

⁴⁰ For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

⁴² The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

⁴⁴ Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

⁴⁵ Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

⁴⁶ While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

⁴⁷ Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

⁴⁸ But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

⁴⁹ And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

⁵⁰ For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Note: Yesterday I was listening to the Bible while I was crafting and heard something that jumped out at me. I was in John 18 and was struck by the truth that people have a really hard time just resting in the grace of God for salvation. We get lured into religous behavior that we feel guilty for not doing that causes us to feel like we are separated from God or backslidden…. or we think we have to be super aware of our sins so we can always be in good standing so we don’t die with unrepentant sin and end up in hell…. or that we somehow have salvation, but must maintain the relationship ourselves by obeying God at all times and never sinning. Basically, we try to get saved or stay saved through our own power of commitment. In doing so, we actually move away from God because this is a rejection of his complete saving grace in favor of a works based security. While we are to commit our hearts to be followers of Jesus and doers of the word, we can’t do one single thing to save our own souls… or to keep our salvation. We were born in a fallen world as fallen mankind… sin and sinfulness is our very nature and God knew this. Because he loves us and wants to restore our ability to have a relationship with him and because God can’t be in the presence of sin, he sent his only Son Jesus to die in our place… to satisfy the debt our sin created… and then rise again to restore our relationship with God…. so the totality of our salvation and the maintaining it all rest in God’s MIGHTY hands. He knew we were sinners… he knew we would always be sinful in this human flesh… even before he called us to repentance and offered us the gift of his complete grace…. because he knew to save us, it would require his hand to maintain it for us as our very nature is contrary to a sinless life. We aren’t to then go out and sin like there is no judgment… when we are truly broken before the Lord and ask for salvation through grace and receive the payment for our sins through the Blood of Jesus, we have turned our backs on the willfully sinful life… we’ve had a change of heart… We repent and ask Jesus to cleanse us of our sins and become the Lord and Savior over us. We may backslide or fall back into sin for a time… but the Holy Spirit will continue working inside of us to draw us back into fellowship.— I’m glad I don’t have to maintain my own salvation by being a sinless person…I would fail because it’s contrary to my nature…. but GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ME… and everyone else.