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Matthew 12:1-21
By Skip Heitzig
Matthew 12:1-21

Though God intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest, keeping the Sabbath became difficult work by New Testament times. The oral traditions of the Pharisees had become weighty burdens-burdens the Lord did not mean for His people to bear. In this passage, Jesus demonstrates mercy and the true intent of the Sabbath as He and His disciples meet physical needs in the face of strong opposition.

From the teaching series 40 Matthew - 2011

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Matthew 12 (NKJV™)
1	At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2	And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
3	But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4	"how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which 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 in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
6	"Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
7	"But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
8	"For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
9	Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
10	And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--that they might accuse Him.
11	Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12	"Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
13	Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
14	Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
15	But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
16	Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
17	that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 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 will declare justice to the Gentiles.
19	He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20	A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory;
21	And in His name Gentiles will trust."

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

<p><strong>Matthew 12:1-21 - Matthew 12:1-21</strong><br /> From the series: 40 Matthew - 2011<br /> <em>By Skip Heitzig </em><p></p> <p><strong>MESSAGE SUMMARY</strong></p> <p>Though God intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest, keeping the Sabbath became difficult work by New Testament times. The oral traditions of the Pharisees had become weighty burdens-burdens the Lord did not mean for His people to bear. In this passage, Jesus demonstrates mercy and the true intent of the Sabbath as He and His disciples meet physical needs in the face of strong opposition.</p> <p><strong>DETAILED NOTES </strong></p> <p><ol type="I"> <li>Introduction <ol type="A"> <li>Christ of the Andes <ol> <li>Statue on the border of Argentina and Chile</li> <li>Symbol of peace and friendship</li> <li>The back of Christ faced Chile</li> <li>The face of Christ toward Argentina</li> <li>"The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans!"—Chilean journalist</li> </ol> </li> <li>Conflict over Jesus <ol> <li>Emotion about Jesus <ol type="a"> <li>Fear</li> <li>Opinion</li> <li>Anger</li> <li>Love</li> </ol> </li> <li>People: He could be Messiah</li> <li>Religious leaders: became enemies <ol type="a"> <li>Losing the spotlight</li> <li>People excited about Jesus</li> <li>Looking for reasons to accuse Him</li> <li>Keeping the Sabbath (<em>שַׁבַּת־; shabbath</em>)</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus and His disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath <ol type="A"> <li>What are the Pharisees doing there? <ol> <li>Gleaning reserved for the poor</li> <li>Were they following Jesus around?</li> </ol> </li> <li>Gleaning permitted by biblical Jewish Law <ol> <li>Different from the oral Law <ol type="a"> <li>Additional rules and traditions</li> <li>Not specified in Scripture</li> </ol> </li> <li>See <span class='verse'>Deuteronomy 23:25</span> <ol type="a"> <li>God's laws keep the poor and underprivileged in mind</li> <li>Provide for their care</li> <li>Walk through a neighbor's field and glean</li> <li>Not permissible to thresh <ol type="a"> <li>Use a sickle</li> <li>Harvest</li> <li>Could not store up; only take and eat</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Gleaning on the Sabbath a problem in the Mishnah <ol> <li>Mishnah: 39 actions prohibited on the Sabbath <ol type="a"> <li>The Bible: Don't do ordinary work on the Sabbath</li> <li>Religious leaders sought to tell people what that meant</li> </ol> </li> <li>Disciples broke four laws of the Mishnah <ol type="a"> <li>Reaping: plucking grain </li> <li>Threshing: rubbing it in their hands </li> <li>Winnowing: blowing away the chaff</li> <li>Preparing food</li> </ol> </li> <li>Made the Sabbath (a day of rest) hard work to keep</li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus' response <ol> <li>"Have you not read?" <ol type="a"> <li>Attention-getting sarcasm</li> <li>Insult to scholars of the Law</li> <li>Nine gospel verses record this question</li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus refers to David's flight to Nob (see 1 Samuel 21) <ol type="a"> <li>On the Sabbath, showbread baked and replaced <ol type="i"> <li>Only priests ate the showbread</li> <li>Holy bread </li> <li>Ahimelech allowed David and his men to eat</li> </ol> </li> <li>David was the rightful king <ol type="i"> <li>Nationally rejected</li> <li>In exile</li> <li>Physically deprived as a result</li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus the rightful King <ol type="i"> <li>Nationally rejected</li> <li>Physically deprived as a result</li> </ol> </li> <li>Meeting a physical need more important than keeping a ritual </li> </ol> </li> <li>Priest profane the Sabbath <ol type="a"> <li>Law of Moses <ol type="i"> <li>Sabbath observed</li> <li>No work, though the priests work</li> <li>Actions illegal for others <ol type="a"> <li>Light fire</li> <li>Lift animals for sacrifice</li> <li>Work doubled on the Sabbath</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Pharisees knew the Bible <ol type="i"> <li>Read it</li> <li>Misunderstood its meaning</li> <li>Take theology to the Bible: isogesis</li> <li>Find theology in the Bible: exegesis </li> </ol> </li> <li>"I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (<span class='verse'>Hosea 6:6</span>)</li> <li>Jesus' authority greater than authority of the Sabbath <ol type="i"> <li>He is God</li> <li>He invented the Sabbath</li> <li>His application is the only right way to look at it</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus heals a man with a withered hand <ol type="A"> <li>The man with the withered hand <ol> <li>Was the man planted there by the Pharisees? <ol type="a"> <li>Jesus was always at the synagogue</li> <li>It seems they were testing Jesus</li> <li>Trying to trap Him</li> </ol> </li> <li><em>Ξηρός; </em><em>xéros</em> - dry, withered, deprived of natural fluid</li> </ol> </li> <li>To the Pharisees, healing was illegal on the Sabbath <ol> <li>They had no power to heal</li> <li>According to the oral law, allowed to prevent death only</li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus' response <ol> <li>Lift a sheep <ol type="a"> <li>Bear a burden</li> <li>Pharisees considered it an act of mercy</li> <li>All life not the same <ol type="i"> <li>People are more important than animals</li> <li>"A righteous man regards the life of his animal" (<span class='verse'>Proverbs 12:10</span>)</li> <li>Humans are made in the image of God</li> <li>Humans are more valuable than animals</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>"Stretch out your hand" (v. 13) <ol type="a"> <li>Jesus asked him to do the impossible</li> <li>God's commandment is His enablement</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Importance of the Sabbath <ol type="A"> <li>Mentioned 90 times in the Old Testament</li> <li>Mentioned 55 in the New Testament</li> <li>Stop, cease, desist, put an end to</li> <li>Originated at Creation: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made" (<span class='verse'>Genesis 2:2-3</span>)</li> <li>Reintroduced in the Law of Moses: manna collected on the sixth day for the seventh day (see <span class='verse'>Exodus 16:5</span>)</li> <li>Ten Commandments (see <span class='verse'>Exodus 20:9-11</span>)</li> <li>The day of rest became a burden by New Testament time <ol> <li>Easier to work seven days than to keep the Sabbath</li> <li>"For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders;" (<span class='verse'>Matthew 23:4</span>)</li> <li>Sabbath day's journey: 3000 feet <ol type="a"> <li>Extended their home by carrying previously prepared food</li> <li>Allowed a way out</li> <li>עירוב <em> ‎; </em><em>eruv</em>; domicile exchange; allows them to go farther on the Sabbath</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Pharisees plot to kill Jesus </li> <ol type="A"> <li>Jesus' claims <ol> <li>Messiah</li> <li>Greater than the temple</li> <li>Lord of the Sabbath</li> </ol> </li> <li>Jesus withdrew from them <ol> <li>Jesus has all power</li> <li>He never misuses His power</li> </ol> </li> <li>According to Donald Grey Barnhouse, at this point the calendar for Israel stopped <ol> <li>Until now:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (<span class='verse'>Matthew 10:5-6</span>)</li> <li>God turns to the Gentiles</li> <li>"Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (<span class='verse'>Romans 11:25</span>)</li> <li>Gentiles are the wild olive branch grafted in to Israel (see <span class='verse'>Romans 11:17-19</span>)</li> <li>Calendar will resume during the 70th week of Daniel <ol type="a"> <li>See <span class='verse'>Daniel 9:24-26</span></li> <li>Fulfilled during the tribulation <ol type="i"> <li>First three and a half years, relatively mild</li> <li>Second half, hell on earth</li> <li>144,000 sealed representing the 12 tribes of Israel</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> <li>Always God's plan to reach the whole world <ol type="a"> <li>"I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law."  (Isaiah 42:1-4) <ol type="i"> <li>Won't quarrel or cry out <ol type="a"> <li>Won't scream excitedly: Different from their expectation</li> <li>Expected Messiah to forcefully overturn the government</li> <li>Expected Him to impose His reign and force people to worship God</li> </ol> </li> <li>Gentle Messiah <ol type="a"> <li>Bruised reed</li> <li>Gentle with weak people</li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> </li> </ol> <li>Jesus healed the demon possessed, blind, and mute man <ol type="A"> <li>It resulted in the intended effect:  Is this Messiah?</li> <li>Pharisees accused Jesus of casting demons out in Satan's power</li> </ol> </li> </ol><p><strong>Hebrew terms</strong>: <em>שַׁבַּת־; shabbath</em> - Sabbath   עירוב <em> ‎; </em><em>eruv</em> - domicile exchange; allows them to go farther on the Sabbath<br /> <strong> Figures referenced</strong>: David Grey Barnhouse<br /> <strong> Cross references</strong>: <span class='verse'>Genesis 2:2-3</span>; <span class='verse'>Exodus 16:5</span>; <span class='verse'>Deuteronomy 23:25</span>; 1 Samuel 21; <span class='verse'>Proverbs 12:10</span>; Isaiah 42:1-4; <span class='verse'>Daniel 9:24-26</span>; <span class='verse'>Hosea 6:6</span>; <span class='verse'>Matthew 10:5-6</span>; <span class='verse'>Matthew 23:4</span>; <span class='verse'>Romans 11:17-19</span>; <span class='verse'>Romans 11:25</span></p></p> <p> </p>

Who We Are:

We pursue the God who is passionately pursuing a lost world; we do this with one another, through worship, by the Word, to the world.

What We Do:

Upreach
We express our adoration of Jesus through dynamic worship and uncompromised obedience.

Inreach
We explain the relevance of the Bible to empower and transform lives for service.

Outreach
We extend hope to a hurting world by proclaiming the gospel and demonstrating Christ's love.

Our Beliefs

We Believe that there is one living and true GOD, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all.

We Believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired, without error in the original manuscripts, and the infallible rule of faith and practice.

We Believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in Holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

We Believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

We Believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teaching, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal, visible return to earth.

We Believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all that believe in Jesus Christ for ministry.

We Believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide.

We Believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the Biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We Believe that all people are sinners by nature and choice and, therefore, are under condemnation; that God regenerates by the Holy Spirit, those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

We Believe that Jesus Christ baptizes the seeking believer with the Holy Spirit and empowers the believers for service, often subsequent to regeneration.

We Believe in the universal church, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head, and all regenerated persons are members.

We Believe that Jesus committed two ordinances to the church: 1) Baptism and, 2) the Lord's Supper. We believe in baptism by immersion and communion open to all believers.

We Believe also in the laying on of hands for baptism of the Holy Spirit, for ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons, and receiving from the Holy Spirit through the believer the gift of healing.

We Believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth and the establishing of His Kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.

We Believe in what is termed the Apostles Creed as embodying the fundamental facts of Christian faith.

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Matthew 12:1-21
By Skip Heitzig
Matthew 12:1-21

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From the Series:
40 Matthew - 2011

From its opening genealogy through its careful record of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled, Matthew's gospel forms a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In this in-depth study by Pastor Skip Heitzig we'll consider Jesus' ancestry, birth, public ministry, death, and resurrection, and we'll gain a clearer understanding of Jesus as both Messiah and King.

Visit expoundabq.org for more information on this series.

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