← Back to sermon library

Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 12 as we continue our exposition through this gospel 
according to Matthew. Matthew 12, we'll be looking 
at verses 1 to 8 this morning. I do want to read the larger 
context, however, so I'll begin in chapter 12 at verse 1 and 
read to verse 21. At that time, Jesus went through 
the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples were hungry 
and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees 
saw it, they said to him, Look, your disciples are doing what 
is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them, have you 
not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who 
were with him, 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? Or have you not 
read in the law that on the Sabbath, the priests in the temple profane 
the Sabbath and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this 
place, there is one greater than the temple. But if you had known 
what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would 
not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord, even 
of the Sabbath. Now when he had departed from 
there, he went into their synagogue. 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? 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? Of how much more value then is 
a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do 
good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, stretch 
out your hand. And he stretched it out, and 
it was restored as whole as the other. then the Pharisees went 
out and plotted against him how they might destroy him. But when 
Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there, and great multitudes followed 
him, and he healed them all. Yet he warned them not to make 
him known that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the 
prophet, saying, 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. He will not quarrel 
nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking flax he will not 
quench, till he sends forth justice to victory, and in his name Gentiles 
will trust. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and our Holy Father, we gather together this morning 
for the worship of our triune God. We praise you, Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit, and we pray even now you would be exalted. 
We pray that you would send the Spirit and guide us and lead 
us into our study of truth. We pray that you would wash us 
and purify us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We stand 
constantly in dependence upon you. We need your grace. We need 
your help. And we pray for that even now. 
We ask that you would do good to our souls, that you would 
encourage our hearts, that you would strengthen us in the inner 
man, and that, Father, you would cause us to leave from this place 
more and more conformed unto the image of our blessed Savior. And we ask this in His most wonderful 
name. Amen. Well, just to remind us 
of the larger context and the immediate context that we find 
ourselves here in Matthew's Gospel. The larger context, beginning 
in chapter 11 at verse 2, running to about chapter 12 at verse 
50, is the varying responses to our Lord Jesus Christ. Not everybody bowed to Him and 
worshipped Him and received Him by grace alone, through faith 
alone, and Christ alone. but rather there were those who 
resisted Him. And that's where the emphasis 
lies in chapters 11 and 12. While there are some good things 
along the way, the emphasis is on rising opposition to our Lord 
Jesus Christ. In fact, here in chapter 12, 
He is accused of being a lawbreaker, with reference to the Sabbath, 
in verses 1 to 14. He is accused of being an agent 
of Satan, in chapter 12, verses 24 to 32. And he's also accused 
of being a self-appointed teacher without any verification. The 
people demand from him a sign which indicates that they think 
he is autonomous and operating on his own. And then in the immediate 
context we just saw a couple of weeks ago chapter 11 verses 
25 to 30. where the Lord Jesus makes that 
declaration concerning absolute sovereignty. It is the Father 
who hides gospel truth. The Father reprobates some unto 
everlasting destruction, but that self-same Father elects 
some unto eternal life. He reveals these things to the 
wise and the prudent. Jesus attributes this to the 
sovereign pleasure and prerogative of God. In verse 26 he says, 
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. The Lord 
Christ then highlights His office as mediator in verse 27. And 
on that foundation, the absolute sovereignty of God in the mediatorial 
office of the Lord Jesus Christ, He makes that invitation, if 
you will, in verses 28 to 30. come to me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden." And then notice what he says at the end 
of verse 28, "...and I will give you rest." Rest is crucial in 
the context. There is a contrast between the 
rest that the Lord Jesus Christ affords and the so-called rest 
of Pharisaic religion. That's what's going on in chapter 
12 verses 1 to 14. The whole issue is Sabbath, which 
means rest. And so Matthew wants us to understand 
the difference between the rest that Christ gives to his people 
and the so-called rest of Pharisaic or legalistic or binding religion. So that's the context. Let's 
look at verses 1 to 8 under these two broad considerations. First, 
the Pharisees' complaint. They do this a lot in the gospel 
records, don't they? In fact, the Gospel authors use 
the complaints and the whining and the grumbling and the murmuring 
of the religious leaders as a basis upon which they make positive 
presentations of truth. If the Pharisees never complained, 
the Gospels would be a lot shorter. If the Pharisees never whined 
and grumbled, there wouldn't be as much foil for positive 
commendation of truth. So we see the Pharisees' complaint, 
and then secondly, the Savior's response. So that's where we're 
going this morning. Let's notice first the Pharisees' 
complaint. The situation is given to us 
in verse 1. It says, at that time, again 
it is loosely connected to everything that has preceded, at that time 
Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. The fields 
must not have been a long way away. There was a rule that you 
would not be able to travel more than 2,000 cubits, a Sabbath 
day's journey on the Sabbath day. That would be just about 
a half a mile. And then we see what the issue 
is according to verse 1. At that time Jesus went through 
the grain fields on the Sabbath and His disciples were hungry 
and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. It was not wrong 
for them to do this, to take the grain. What the Pharisees 
complained about is that they were working on the Sabbath day. But the law of God authorized 
this sort of eating. Deuteronomy 23, 25, when you 
come into your neighbor's standing grain You may pluck the heads 
with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor's 
standing grain." You understand the rationale. If you're walking 
through my orange grove, and you happen to take an orange 
on the way and eat, that's fine. The law of God authorizes that. 
But if you bring in a backhoe, or not backhoe, you wouldn't 
do that to pick oranges, you'd bring people in. And if they 
started pulling down all of those oranges so that they could sell 
them in the marketplace, they're depriving you. If you come in 
and steal my livelihood, you have violated the law of God. 
But if you're on a journey, and you're traveling through a grain 
field, and you are hungry, it is legit according to the law 
that you may eat. So that's not the beef, that's 
not the issue. And there is something else that 
we ought to make observation of on sort of a sideline approach. I remember being a little kid, 
and I grew up in the seventies. That was the bulk of my little 
kid era. Seventies sounds so long ago. 
I'm sure to some of you brethren here it doesn't sound that long 
ago, but for others it does. And I remember my brother, we 
were brought up in a Roman Catholic home, and my brother wanted to 
grow his hair long. And he would use Jesus as his 
example. Well, Jesus had long hair, Dad, 
so let me grow my hair long. or if they wanted to wear sandals. 
Of course, that's what Jesus did. In fact, there's many monastic 
groups or groups of monks that have taken the example of Jesus 
and imitated it. In fact, there are, in the Roman 
Catholic Church, they take an oath of poverty if they're going 
to be a priest. Can't have any money because 
Jesus himself didn't have any money. Now, I'm not setting this 
observation forth by way of imitation. I'm not suggesting that we need 
to grow our hair long or put on sandals or pick grain from 
the fields nearby. But it is intriguing that Jesus 
and his disciples were poor. Again, I'm not recommending that 
you go get rid of everything you have. Don't make that implication. There is something here in terms 
of what's called the Health, Wealth and Prosperity Gospel, 
or the Word-Faith Movement. The same power that Jesus used 
to multiply fish and loaves, He didn't exercise it for those 
closest to Him. In fact, they were engaged in 
what poor people would do. They didn't have the money, they 
didn't have the resources, so when they're marching through 
this grain field, they pick the heads of grain. Spurgeon says 
it this way, we incidentally learn from this story that our 
Lord and His disciples were poor and that He who fed the multitudes 
did not use His miraculous power to feed His own followers, but 
left them till they did what poor men are forced to do to 
supply a little stay for their stomachs. He says our Lord bribes 
none into following Him. Love that. Isn't that the approach 
of the word faith? Isn't that the approach of the 
health, wealth, prosperity? Come to Jesus and you'll get 
a new car. Jesus isn't the price is right. Jesus isn't let's make a deal. Jesus isn't some cosmic game 
show host that wants to make sure you have the best clothes 
and that you have the best food and that you have the best summer 
home. Jesus has come to die and to rise again so that you might 
have forgiveness and you might have a righteousness that avails 
with God. That's what Christ answers to. 
It's not your happiness, it is not your abundance, it is your 
station in heaven with God Almighty for eternity. Spurgeon says, 
our Lord bribes none into following him. They may be his apostles 
and yet be hungry on the Sabbath. We've seen that in our traversing 
through Matthew's gospel when Jesus is in the boat in the midst 
of the storm. Being a disciple does not mean 
the absence of trial. Being a disciple does not mean 
the absence of poverty. Being a disciple does not mean 
the absence of any earthly woes or sorrows or difficulties. Believers, unfortunately, contract 
a deadly disease. Believers, unfortunately, are 
victims to violent crime. Believers, unfortunately, know 
their times of sorrow. sorrow and difficulty in trial. So any man who comes peddling 
a so-called gospel that promises you health, wealth and prosperity 
on this side of the eschaton is not of God. It is heresy. It is wrong and it ought to be 
condemned. Now notice, their complaint, 
verse 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. The master would be responsible 
for his disciples. At least they're gaining a bit 
of courage. Remember in previous instances, when they want to 
whine or grumble about Jesus, they do so via the disciples. Here they speak specifically 
to the Lord Christ. They say to Him, look, your disciples 
are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. Now the 
Old Testament, the law of God says in about six places what 
is prohibited to be done on the Sabbath day in terms of work. 
Apparently that did not satisfy the Jews. The Jews in what's 
called the Mishnah, specifically Shabbat, chapter 7, section 2, 
gave 39 categories. gave 39 specific rules that were 
very broad in their application in terms of what could not be 
done on the Sabbath. These men are operating according 
to that Mishnah. They're not operating according 
to the law. They're not operating according 
to the Old Testament. We will see that as we move through 
this section. In our Lord's response, He gives 
a five-fold response. And in each instance, The issue 
depends on interpretation. When Jesus asks these men, have 
you not read? Of course they had read, but 
they didn't understand. You see, it's not enough just 
to look at the page and just to get the idea of what the words 
put together mean. We have to interpret. We have 
to understand. We have to know what's going 
on. The devil himself in Matthew chapter 4 cites scripture. That doesn't mean he lives according 
to it. It doesn't mean he's subject 
to it. It doesn't mean he's following it. So just because somebody 
happens to know a few Bible verses, it's the truth of those verses 
that is absolutely crucial. And if we understand what the 
Mishnah taught, the Pharisees would have interpreted these 
disciples as severely working. For instance, the Pharisees would 
have seen the disciples engage in harvesting. because they picked 
the grain. They would have seen them engaged 
in threshing, because they separate the grain from the stock. They 
would have seen them engaged in winnowing, because they'd 
blow away the chaff. See, as far as these Pharisees 
are concerned, there is lawlessness going on right before this rabbi 
Jesus' eyes. And they would have seen them 
engaged in milling, because they rubbed it in their fingers. So 
you see, for Pharisees, this can't be. This is why they're 
incensed. This is why they're outraged. 
This is why they're angered. They assume the Mishnah is correct. They assume that these layers 
of Pharisaic misinterpretation somehow get to the heart of the 
law. So what the Lord Jesus Christ 
does in this section is to teach them concerning the intention 
of God's holy law. And that brings us to consider 
the Lord's response. As I said, there are five elements 
involved in His response. The first is the example of David. 
The example of David. You see, if they condemned Jesus, 
then logically they'd have to condemn David. I'm going to tell 
you, the Pharisees in the first century did not want to speak 
ill of King David of Israel. Notice what Jesus says, verse 
3. But he said to them, Have you 
not read? Again, this is one rabbi reproving, 
chiding, rebuking another. Of course they had read it. If 
you go to your mechanic tomorrow, and you tell him what the problem 
is with your car, and you ask him, have you not used a wrench? He's going to say, of course 
I've used a wrench, of course I know what a wrench is, of course 
I know my way around a compartment. The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking 
to the religious leaders. It's interesting because when 
he's addressing the multitudes, he says, have you not heard? But when he's addressing the 
leaders, it's have you not read? They are students of the law. 
They are those who are to be in their books. They are those 
who are to be comparing Scripture with Scripture. They are the 
leaders of God's people, and so they need to know the truth. 
So he asks them this very simple question. Have you not read what 
David did when he was hungry? He and those who were with him, 
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." The law prescribed, and you can see 
this in Exodus 35 and in Leviticus chapter 24. We won't go there, 
but just suffice it to say the law prescribed that only the 
priests were to eat the showbread. The showbread were those loaves 
that were set before the presence of the Holy of Holies. They were 
set in that compartment. It was a reminder. It was a representative. It was, to Israel, a sign that 
God had always sustained them. God had always watched over them. 
God had always kept them. On the Sabbath day, the priest 
would take the new, hot bread, and he would replace the old 
loaves, and then the old loaves would be taken away and then 
the priests themselves were given authorization to eat that food. Well, in 1 Samuel 21, David and 
his companions are on the run. They're weary. They don't even 
have any weapons with them. So David goes to the house of 
God at Nob. This is about one or two miles 
north of Jerusalem. It's before the temple was built. 
It was the tabernacle. So David goes and he addresses 
a Himalayan. And David gives this very sketchy 
report. He makes it sound like he's on 
this very clandestine, very secretive mission, more than likely to 
provide some protection for Ahimelech when he is investigated. It didn't 
work because Ahimelech was executed. But David needs food and David 
needs weaponry. And so Ahimelech gives him this 
showbread. And so David and his companions 
then eat their showbread, and they are content with food. He 
retrieves Goliath's sword. He's able to go back out on his 
particular mission. Now a few things we need to observe 
here. The law of God was not put in place for the punishment 
of the people of God. David wasn't supposed to be sent 
away hungry. David wasn't supposed to be told, 
well, that's only for the priests. You're not a priest, ergo, go 
off and die. No, the law of God was not given 
to destroy man. It was not given to punish man. I mean, contrary to a lot of 
opinion, the law of God was given for the good of man. The condemnation by the Pharisees 
toward the disciples would have to logically apply to what David 
did. The Lord Jesus is a mastermind. The Lord Jesus is a brilliant 
rabbi. The Lord Jesus puts these men 
on the horns of a dilemma more often than not. Are you prepared 
to suggest that David sinned? Are you prepared to suggest there's 
no written evidence of that whatsoever? God does not say anything negative 
about 1 Samuel 21. There is nothing recorded in 
rabbinic interpretation that David and his men were in sin. 
Have you not read what they did? The priest in Nob was able to 
authorize David to eat. How much more is Christ authorized 
to give his disciples food? The argument necessitates that 
Jesus is as significant as David or more so. And I submit the 
rest of the context indicates that Jesus is more so significant 
than David. But something to glean from this 
in terms of Sabbath observance is that works of necessity are 
not condemned. If David's going to pass out 
and die, it is good for him to eat the showbread. Works of necessity 
are legitimate on the Sabbath day. Now, if you're visiting 
with us this morning, something you may not know is that the 
confession of faith that we subscribe to in our church is what's called 
or has the identification of involving the Puritan Sabbath. There is a biblical theology 
of Sabbath that begins in Genesis chapter 2 and carries through 
the Bible. There are those that teach that 
all of the Ten Commandments are for the Christian today, except 
the Fourth Commandment. We reject that position. We do 
not believe that you're authorized to take the Fourth Commandment 
out of the Decalogue and somehow operate accordingly. We believe 
that all ten words are binding upon the people of God today. 
So if you hear me emphasize certain elements of Sabbath observance 
along the way, that's the point. But know this, works of necessity 
are not a violation of the Sabbath. The second element of Christ's 
response is the ministry of the priests. Notice in verse 5, "...or 
have you not read in the law?" It's interesting. Look at what 
Jesus does. He appeals first to the former 
prophets, 1 Samuel. He appeals to the law. He appeals 
to the latter prophets when he speaks of Hosea. And he appeals 
to the writings. You say, what do you mean the 
writings? Daniel's son of man, chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. Daniel was included in the writings 
of the Jewish scriptures. Christ is schooling these men 
in hermeneutics. That's the doctrine of interpretation. Christ is teaching them how to 
interpret the Bible. And this is something we ought 
to observe. Legalistic departures from the Word of God, it's because 
of a misunderstanding of the Word of God. The Pharisees were 
noted as being sticklers for the law. They were enemies of 
the law. They abused the law. We're not 
to esteem such men like that. We're to say to them, have you 
not read? Do you not understand? How have 
you missed this particular point? You need to get your minds wrapped 
around the scripture. And that's what Jesus does here. 
Have you not read? He says in verse 5. that on the 
Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?" 
If you've ever looked at the job description for the priests, 
they were busy on the Sabbath day. They didn't just fall out 
of bed and wander into the tabernacle and say, I'm here. You know, 
with his latte and his hand in his pocket, and his casual approach 
to the God of absolute sovereignty. No. No, the priests on the Sabbath 
day were busy men. The priests on the Sabbath day 
were busy preparing burnt offerings for Yahweh. The priest on the 
Sabbath day was busy receiving the sacrifice from the worshiper, 
cutting the throat of the animal, separating it into what the priest 
would eat and what would be burned on the altar. The priests were 
busy men on the Sabbath day. And Jesus says, have you not 
read the law? Have you not seen what was necessitated 
of the priests? How they profane the Sabbath 
and are blameless? Now I agree with Calvin when 
he speaks of profaning. He is using common language to 
appeal to these people. In fact, Calvin says, when he 
says that the Sabbath was profaned by the priests, it was imprecise 
language. Christ was adapting himself to 
his hearers. For when the law commands men 
to abstain from their works, it does not forbid holy work. It does not forbid works of piety. You see, when we move through 
this section, and we consider that fourth word, and we oftentimes 
ask the question, what are we not supposed to do on the Sabbath? 
Which I think is pharisaic in the asking. The Pharisees and 
the Mishnah and those 39 categories were all tasked with what you're 
not supposed to do. I think our Lord would have us 
to say, this is what we get to do. Of course, works of necessity. Of course, works of piety. You don't lay in your bed because 
it's the day of rest. You get out of your bed and you 
go to the house of the Lord. You worship God. You rest in 
God. You find your delight in God. Isn't it interesting that a passage 
that deals with Sabbath observance in the Old Covenant, which I 
don't think points necessarily to the Eschaton, but to the New 
Covenant era, says that when you call the Sabbath, get this, 
a delight, How many of us approach this day as drudgery? The Pharisees turned a blessing 
into a burden. But see, the rest that Christ 
gives is not burdensome, it's not grievous, it's not painful. The saint of Christ who awakes 
on the Lord's Day, who has the Spirit of God, may take a moment 
to wipe out the fuzz from his eyes, may stagger over to the 
coffee maker and grab that fresh cup of joe, down it, he may have 
all those struggles, but when he looks at what's going on in 
the day ahead of him, he says with David in Psalm 122, I was 
glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the 
Lord. Not I was miserable, I hated 
it, I despised it, I loathed the thought of being with God 
and His people, And when that saint reflects on God's approach 
to Sabbath, on God's view of corporate worship, and he goes 
to Psalm 87 and he realizes that the gates of Zion are more to 
be preferred to the Lord God Most High than all the dwellings 
of Jacob, that saint skips his way to heaven. or he has to watch 
it that he doesn't violate the speed limit because he's happy 
to go to the house of God. You see, if you were a Pharisee 
and you were under their tutelage, it would be a burden. It would 
be all about what you cannot do. But see, when you're a Christian 
and you have the Spirit of God, it's all about what we get to 
do. We get to come in out of the world. We get to rest. We 
get to worship. We get to fellowship with God's 
people. We get to surround ourselves, not with the blasphemers and 
those men who curse in our workplace, But we get to surround ourselves 
with the saints of Christ. We get to talk about the things 
of God. We get to talk about the things of Christ. We get 
to sing praises to His name. We get to remember Him in a special 
way at the Lord's Supper. We get to hear preaching. These 
are great and glorious things. He says the priests, in their 
activity, when they profane the Sabbath, they're not blamed. They are not guilty. This is 
not a violation. You can do all the works of piety 
that you can possibly get your mind wrapped around on the Sabbath 
day. Which, incidentally, that's probably 
not our temptation. Man, brother, you're doing way 
too many works of piety on the Sabbath day. That's generally 
not what we hear. So that's the second response, 
or second element of his response. Notice thirdly, the superiority 
of Christ. Verse 6 is amazing. It's talked 
about priests ministering in the holy place in verse 5. And notice the declaration in 
verse 6. Yet I say to you that in this place there is one greater 
than the temple. It's very intriguing because 
as we work our way through chapter 12, when we get around verses 
40 to 42, the Lord Jesus uses the example of the prophet Jonah. And he says to his hearers, but 
there is one greater than Jonah. He's talking about himself. So 
we see that Christ's prophetic ministry excels and exceeds even 
that of the prophets whom God sent. And as he continues in 
that particular section, he alludes to Solomon. And he says, yet 
I say to you, there is one greater than Solomon here. What's Christ 
saying? that he's king of kings and lord 
of lords. Solomon, like David, was a hero 
in Israel. And for the Lord Christ to say, 
I'm greater than Solomon, he asserts his supremacy as king. 
He asserts his supremacy as prophet. And here, in verses 5 and 6, 
he asserts his supremacy as priest. The temple is the cultus. The 
temple is the place of sacrifice. The temple is the place of intercession. That's where the priests go and 
make offerings so that Yahweh can fellowship with His people. The temple became one of the 
identifying symbols in Israel. That was everything to them. 
You can see why the godless, you can see why the people who 
did not have the Spirit didn't like Christ. When he says there 
is one greater than the temple here, that is treacherous in 
the mind of the unconverted Jew. One man makes this statement 
with reference to the temple, because Jesus says he's greater 
than the temple. One man says, we must realize 
that this is not spiritualization in the usual sense of the word. 
He's commenting primarily on the building of the temple in 
the prophet Ezekiel. You know, in chapters 40 to 48, 
the prophet Ezekiel records the building of this eschatological 
or end times temple. He is not talking about a rebuilt 
temple, not a physical structure that's going to appear in Jerusalem. 
He's talking about Christ! As E.J. Young says, the prophet 
Ezekiel is preaching Jesus to his contemporaries. He's using 
the conventions, he's using the ideas, he's using the religious 
symbols that they knew of, and it's through that vehicle he's 
proclaiming new covenant era blessings in the person and work 
of the Lord Jesus. So when someone says to you, 
if you don't see a rebuilt temple in the future, you are spiritualizing 
away Ezekiel's temple. No, it's not spiritualization. Here's what he says with that 
context. We must realize that this is 
not spiritualization in the usual sense of the word, but the very 
opposite. He says in Christ is realization. The temple pointed to Jesus. 
Jesus doesn't come and then point us back to the temple. Why would 
He do that? Why would He reinstitute animal 
sacrifice in Jerusalem when the once for all sacrifice has been 
offered and accepted and approved by the Father? His brother says, 
in Christ's realization, now listen to this, it is not so 
much that Christ fulfills what the temple means, rather Christ 
is the meaning for which the temple existed. He doesn't just 
fulfill it, the temple existed to point toward Him. And now 
he says, there is one greater than the temple in your midst. And it's interesting, on this 
particular passage, a lot of the commentators say, well, the 
temple law superseded or overruled the Sabbath law. In other words, 
if you were a priest ministering in the temple on the Sabbath 
day, the fact that you were ministering in the temple on the Sabbath 
day overruled the Sabbath, I don't see it as an overruling at all. 
I see that temple conduct and ministry in the service of God 
Most High is consistent with Sabbath. That's what it's about. That's what you're supposed to 
do. That's the purpose. That's the point. It's not that 
you get protection from temple law over and against that mean 
Sabbath law. No, temple law and Sabbath law 
coalesce perfectly, and when we engage in ministry, we are 
fulfilling the Sabbath. That's what I think the Lord 
Christ is after in this instance. Notice, fourthly, by way of His 
response, the instruction of the prophet. Verse 4, but if 
you had known what this means. He doesn't say, have you not 
read? He knows they read. He knows 
they viewed Hosea 6-6, and he knows they're wrong. He's already 
used this particular reference in Matthew 9. Remember when Matthew 
gives the feast after he's been called and converted by the Lord 
Christ? Matthew gives a feast. He invites 
fellow tax collectors. He invites sinners. He invites 
the riffraff. He invites people that were looked 
down upon in Israel at that particular time. The Pharisees get wind 
of it, and they ask His disciples, why is it that your teacher eats 
with tax collectors? Why is it that he mingles with 
that riffraff? Why is he to be found with those 
low lives? What does Jesus say? He says, 
the sick have no need of a physician. The healthy have no need of a 
physician, but the sick do. Then he says, if you would have 
known what this means, Hosea 6.6, I desire mercy rather than 
sacrifice. Their hermeneutic, their interpretation, 
their understanding was faulty. If you had known what this means, 
I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned 
the guiltless. Knox Chamberlain says, do not the Pharisees, on 
the contrary, value the ceremonial dimension of the Sabbath law 
above the ethical? Do they not, in the terms of 
Hosea 6.6, desire sacrifice and not mercy? In fact, the context 
of Hosea 6.6 was exactly the same. In Hosea's day, in Hosea 
6.6, the people were going through cultic observation. They were 
going to the temple. They were bringing their sacrifices. 
They were offering those things to the Lord. And that's why God 
says, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. He's not saying never sacrifice. 
He's not saying it's a bad thing, it's a horrible thing, it's a 
wicked thing. But He says when you bring the sacrifice to the 
altar and your mind's in sin, you bring the sacrifice to the 
altar and you can't stand your fellow Israelite, you bring your 
sacrifice to the altar and you scream at your wife or your kids 
this morning, you bring your sacrifice to the altar and you're 
guilty of theft, You're guilty of murder? You're guilty of adultery? You bring your sacrifice to the 
altar and you present it unto me? Are you kidding me? Do you 
actually think God Most High can be bought off by a lamb? Do you actually think that you 
bringing an animal to the Lord Most High makes Him gracious 
to you? That's why He says, I desire 
mercy. Mercy evidences there's a good 
transaction between heaven and our souls. When we flesh out 
mercy in our interpersonal relationships, it means that God, by His grace, 
has had dealings with us. The Pharisees are the same. You 
can't this, you can't this, you can't that, and you can't this 
on the Sabbath day or you're a wretch. Jesus says you have 
no understanding of Hosea 6.6. God wants mercy, not sacrifice. Calvin says this, it is the invariable 
practice of hypocrites to allow themselves liberty and matters 
of greatest consequence and to pay close attention to ceremonial 
observances. Let me just read that again because 
I don't think it's just Pharisees that can manifest this. And we're 
going to bring this home in just a few moments. Calvin says it 
is the invariable practice of hypocrites to allow themselves 
liberty in matters of greatest consequence. That means we're not really severe 
with ourselves, we're not really hard on ourselves, We don't censure 
ourselves. We will allow a great amount 
of liberty in our conduct, in our goings-on, in our transactions, 
and in our dealings. He says, but they pay close attention 
to ceremonial observances. Later on we'll see Jesus make 
this very statement. You tithe the mint and the anise 
and the cumin. It was a surprising thing to 
me when I moved to Chilliwack and we would get cheese from 
Mrs. Ligamont and there was a type 
of Gouda that had cumin seeds in it. I'm sure for you Dutch 
brethren that's been something you grew up with, but in Southern 
California I don't ever remember seeing Gouda, one, and Gouda 
with cumin seeds, two. To be quite candid, I don't think 
I'd ever seen a cumin seed before I moved to Chilliwack. Now, that 
might be inaccurate. Maybe along the way I did see 
one. But they're small, aren't they? 
That's the point. I always get this picture in 
my mind's eye of the Pharisee on Sabbath morn. He's got his 
scale. He's got his bags of seeds. He's 
got his weight. So I'm going to give a tithe, 
I'm going to give a tithe. Doesn't mean ten and a half, 
doesn't mean nine and a half, doesn't mean nine and three quarters, 
but it certainly doesn't mean eleven. He tithes out his seeds. He brings those seeds to the 
Sabbath, or to the temple. And he's probably feeling quite 
good about himself. You meet this with Christians, 
as Spurgeon says, you know, we'll write a check for a hundred bucks 
and we think, that's it, the kingdom of God is sufficient, 
it's financed. Our consciences are sad for a 
whole year. I don't think he said a hundred 
bucks, I think it was twenty pounds. They tithe the mint and the anise 
and the cumin. This is what Christ goes on to 
say in Matthew 23. You have neglected the weightier 
matters of the law. Justice, mercy, and faith. These Pharisees should have shut 
their mouths. Some commentators suggest that 
what Jesus is doing in verse 7, and I totally disagree with 
this interpretation, but let's just submit it. He is making 
a statement to them, you should have invited them over for lunch. You're going to stand there and 
watch them pick heads of grain and break the Sabbath day? Why 
don't you man up and say, no, don't do that. Why don't you 
come over for a bowl of soup? my wife prepared last night." You see the point? Hypocrites, 
as Calvin says. It is an invariable practice 
and this happens with us. We grant ourselves great degrees 
of liberty and yet, man, we just focus on someone else's issue. The Pharisees, notice in verse 
7, if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not 
sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. The 
Pharisees condemned the guiltless and thus were guilty themselves 
of breaking the law. Terrible. in their arrogance, 
in their pride, in their lack of charity, in their lack of 
love, in their emphasis upon external sacrifice and the lack 
of internal mercy, they had become the guilty ones. So when we look at this in terms 
of Sabbath, we've seen that works of necessity are legit on the 
Sabbath, works of piety are legit on the Sabbath, and works of 
mercy are legit on the Sabbath. That's what the next section 
is going to deal with in verses 9 to 14 in more detail. You will actually pull your ox 
out of the ditch on the Sabbath day and get mad at Jesus because 
he heals a withered hand? Are you kidding? Do you really 
think that was God's intent with the fourth word? Do you really 
believe that the fourth commandment was given to restrict man, to 
paralyze man, to kill man, and to hinder man from works of necessity, 
works of piety, and works of mercy? Absolutely not. And it 
is intriguing that Jesus keeps appealing to the Scripture, He 
keeps appealing to the Word of God, the fundamental issue that 
is at stake in their false view versus His proper view is, how 
do we understand the Word of God? That's why at times, Pastor 
Porter and Pastor Butler tell you, you need to understand hermeneutics. You need to understand principles 
of interpretation. You need to realize that the 
reformers set forth, not just the reformers, the reformers 
and Puritans post-Reformation, reformed guys, softened Way back 
prior to those men, early church, they were working out these principles. Not like there's five of them 
or ten of them and here they are. That's all there is to it. 
There are certain principles that you need to understand when 
you come to the Scripture. The Bible is not contradictory. 
It is not paradoxical. It is not so out there that nobody 
can understand it. It's right there. You just have 
to use your melon and you can understand it. That's the problem. It's not so mysterious. It's 
that we're so Lazy. Boy, if we were studying this 
or we were studying that and it was important to us, we'd 
pour ourselves into it. The psalmist says, great are 
the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who have 
pleasure in them. I always think that the work 
of redemption ought to be the most pleasing thing to the saint. 
We ought to be students of Bible, students of good systematic theology. 
We ought to be readers. If you struggle with reading, 
work at it. Isn't that right? I struggle 
with getting up on time. Well, then just sleep in every 
day. No, get up. I struggle with my eating habits. 
Put the knife to your throat and don't eat like that. I don't 
mean that literally. It's what Solomon says. How is it that non-readers get 
a pass? Did you imagine in your workplace, 
boss, I'm struggling with this activity. Do you think he ever 
says, well, then you don't have to do it. You better figure it out. Right? I get that. Some of you 
weren't raised reading. That's too bad. Start reading. Read our confession. Read your 
Bible first and foremost. That's the primary emphasis. 
Scripture. See, it always finds itself into 
our sermons here. Read your Bible. Pray. It's not 
rocket science. Notice the last element of Jesus' 
response. And as I said, we are bringing 
this to a close. He asserts his Lordship. Verse 8, 4, the Son 
of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. This title, Son of Man, it's 
in the Gospels 81 times, 30 times specifically in Matthew. Speaks 
of Christ's future glory, Daniel 7, 13 and 14. And by that future glory, I don't 
mean in our future, I meant in His future. It referred to the 
Ascension. That's what it means in Daniel 
7, 13 and 14. As well, it speaks of his earthly 
suffering which must precede it, his earthly status as well. Chamberlain said, on his lips, 
this term signals his divine sonship, majesty and authority, 
and also his humanity, deprivations and sufferings. So you see, he 
gives this five-fold response, the example of David, the conduct 
of the priests, the superiority of Christ over the temple, the 
testimony of the prophet, Hosea 6-6. And now he asserts, and 
he summarizes, and he encapsulates everything that has preceded. 
He says, for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Isn't 
that amazing that these lawless, antinomian Pharisees, isn't that 
interesting? A legalist can be an antinomian. When a legalist is breaking the 
law, he's an antinomian. These men are accusing the Lord 
of the Sabbath about his disciples breaking the Sabbath. It's absolutely 
crazy. Jesus asserts His authority. France, one more quote, He says, 
not only is the Son of Man greater than David and the temple, but 
He is Lord of the institution which is traced in the Old Testament 
to God's direct command. You see, Sabbath does not start 
at Sinai. Sabbath is not just for Jew. Sabbath began in Genesis 2. In fact, in Mark's parallel to 
Matthew's passage here, Jesus says the Sabbath was made for 
man and not man for the Sabbath. In other words, God didn't make 
man so they could not do these 39 things and fulfill the Sabbath. God, in His grace and in His 
kindness and His mercy, gave man one day out of seven rest. So I wonder if we appreciate 
this. We are the benefactors. We have 
benefited greatly from a tradition wherein our week is set up to 
afford rest. If we preached in a culture where 
there wasn't a day off, if we preached in a culture where there 
wasn't Sabbath, and they heard Sabbath, they'd probably say, 
your God gives you a day of rest? The state doesn't give us that. 
Communism doesn't give us that. Godless men don't give us that. 
But the God of absolute sovereignty and supremacy, in His goodness 
and in His kindness, made this Sabbath for the man, specifically 
Adam. France says he is Lord of the 
institution which is traced in the Old Testament to God's direct 
command enshrined in the Decalogue, which is the central codification 
of God's requirements for his people, and described by God. This is interesting. Several 
times in the Pentateuch, or the Old Testament books of Moses, 
you will see God refer to it as, My Sabbath! My Sabbath! My Sabbath! The Sabbath is for 
Yahweh. What's Christ doing? Christ is 
saying here with this declaration that He is Lord even of the Sabbath, 
that He's on equal footing with Yahweh. There is huge Christology 
in the passage. He is greater than David. He 
exceeds the priesthood. He is greater than the temple. 
And He Himself is God Most High who instituted the Sabbath for 
the good of His creatures. That's his answer. To the complaint, 
your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. Well, there's our exposition. 
A few thoughts, we close. First, the legalistic abuse of 
the law is played out for us in verses 1 to 8. The Pharisees 
were noted for their attention to the law, however, their approach 
was really an abuse of the law. You see, Paul says in 1 Timothy 
chapter 1 verse 8, we know that the law is good if one uses it 
lawfully. What's the implication? If one 
uses it unlawfully and wields it in a manner or in a means 
by which it wasn't destined, that's an unlawful use. That's 
wrong. The Pharisees legislated where God did not and emphasized 
external form to the neglect of the internal disposition. The Pharisees misinterpreted 
scripture. This is the fountainhead of antinomian 
thought. And of legalistic thoughts. Interesting. 
These men embody both legalism and antinomianism. Legalism is 
an abuse of the law by making it do things it was never intended 
to do. Antinomianism is an against the law or a no law position 
whatsoever. So when they're pressing these 
details, they themselves have been guilty of violating the 
law of God. And throughout, Jesus has told 
them, you don't understand the former prophets, you don't understand 
the law, you don't understand the latter prophets, and you 
don't understand the writings. Now notice what legalism breeds. You would not have condemned 
the guiltless. How is it that we think it's 
okay to condemn people in the first place, especially people 
who haven't done anything wrong? You meet this in the church. 
We get a preference, we get a bee in our bonnet, and we think everybody 
should do it that way. God alone is Lord of the conscience. Calvin says, when we find a preference, 
we busy ourselves to make it everybody else's law. Turn for just a moment to John 
7, a passage somewhat similar. People are upset at Jesus for 
healing on the Sabbath. They're going back and forth 
over these things. Verse 20, the people answered 
and said, you have a demon who is seeking to kill you. Jesus 
answered and said to them, I did one work and you all marvel. 
Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but 
from the fathers, and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man 
receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses 
should not be broken, Are you angry with me because I made 
a man completely well on the Sabbath? It's okay to circumcise 
on the Sabbath, but I can't make someone completely well? Now 
notice verse 22, and here's where I think the point falls with 
reference to legalism very often. I'm not saying you legalists 
out there. I don't know if you know this, 
but we all carry in our own selfsame hearts a legalist and a licentious 
man. We all got problems, is what 
I guess I'm trying to say. My way? If your way is God's 
way, absolutely. There was a man who used to be 
a member of Grace Community Church, and he had a... well, we'll get 
into all that. But notice what Jesus says in 
verse 24. Do not judge according to appearance, 
but judge with righteous judgment. You see, we're going to judge. 
You know, the idea is that, well, we should never judge anybody. 
Of course the church has to render judgment. On a wayward sheep 
who will not listen to one or two witnesses, he will not listen 
after it's been told to the church, the church must exercise discipline. Jesus, the Lord of all, commands 
it. He is the head, he is the chief, he is the ruler, and he 
tells the church lovingly, kindly and yet firmly to excommunicate 
that man. The issue is that at times we 
don't judge with righteous judgment vis-a-vis according to God's 
law. If men break God's law, that's 
sin. If men don't subscribe to our 
preferences, that's not sin. It really isn't. As much as we 
might like our preferences to be law, they're not. So these men condemned the guiltless, 
and I would submit that this is godlessness. And may I take 
it one step further? At times, now I'm not suggesting 
always, but at times, condemning the guilty could be godless. It's always intrigued me that 
when we come to discuss the Sabbath commandment, it is a bit more 
difficult. We don't have a Mishnah with 
39 categories. There's not a Roman 17 that specifies 
everything you can and can't do on the Sabbath or the Christian 
Lord's Day. We don't have that. And there 
are times when we become judgmental of others. Well, we don't realize 
or we don't know that that person agonizes over that sin as well. 
That person has confessed that sin and repented to his God as 
well. That person is seeking to deal 
with that. I mean, imagine taking the fourth commandment and applying 
it the way we do with all... or applying the others that way. I see you looking at my new car. 
That's covetousness. You actually looked at Twitter 
while you were on the clock, you thief! You glanced at that man or woman, 
you lustful wretch! See, we don't do that. There 
are times, there are seasons, where it is appropriate to bring 
that sort of a word to bear upon a person. As Christians in the 21st century 
that are seeking by the grace of God, albeit with foibles and 
with difficulties and with trials and problems, seeking to appreciate 
what the Bible says concerning the Sabbath, let's chill out 
a little bit in terms of our condemning others Let us seek 
by the grace of God to focus upon those elements, those positive 
things that we get to do on the Sabbath day. That brings us to 
consider the doctrine of the Sabbath. The authorized works 
are necessity, piety, and mercy. That's what the Scripture says. 
We've seen that here. Jesus does not condemn his disciples 
for these things. It's legit. Well, the Sabbath 
command, or the law specified no preparing of food on the Sabbath 
day. It didn't say don't eat food 
on the Sabbath day. God's not in heaven wanting to 
kill everybody every seventh day. Oh, the seventh day is coming, 
they won't be able to eat. That's the way that He thins 
the herd. That's not the way God operates. The abuse at the time of Christ, 
as we see in Matthew 12, is legalism adding to it. But if we have 
to ask the question, what is the abuse in our current generation? It's probably not legalism. I'm not talking about Adventism. 
I'm talking about evangelical and reformed communities. License. Even non-Sabbaterian 
commentators that I have in my study suggest more from the people 
of God on the Lord's Day. Do we really think, wow, I gave 
God an hour? Ryle said it this way. Our Lord 
did not abolish the weekly Sabbath. He only freed it from incorrect 
interpretations and purified it from man-made additions. He 
did not tear out of the Decalogue the Fourth Commandment. He only 
stripped off the miserable traditions with which the Pharisees had 
encrusted the day, and by which they had made it not a blessing 
but a burden. He left the Fourth Commandment where he found it, 
a part of the eternal law of God, of which no jot or tittle 
was ever to pass away. He says, May we never forget 
that our great aim should be to keep the Sabbath holy. Works 
of necessity may be done. It is lawful to do well and show 
mercy. But to give the Sabbath to idleness, 
pleasure-seeking, or the world is utterly unlawful. It is contrary 
to the example of Christ and a sin against a plain commandment 
of God. I mean, look at our calendrical 
structure. We get a Saturday, for most of 
us. Most people get a day off to 
have idleness or pleasure-seeking or whatever it is. Isn't that 
amazing? When it comes to Sunday, it's 
such a burden, such a drudgery, such a pain, such a hardship. What is that? Ryle goes on. He says, God made 
the Sabbath for Adam in paradise and renewed it to Israel on Mount 
Sinai. It was made for all mankind, 
not for the Jew only, but for the whole family of Adam. It's a good thing. It's a positive 
thing. It's a blessing. That's how we 
ought to appreciate this fourth word. When you trace from Genesis 
all the way through the book of Revelation, you see it presented 
thus. As well in our passage, we see 
the emphasis on the glory of Christ. Can't miss that. That's the point. Matthew's writing, 
yes, to deal with legalistic Pharisees. Yes, he's writing 
to deal with Sabbath observance. But Matthew's got an agenda. 
Matthew has got something driving him. Matthew has a theological 
bee in his bonnet, and it's this. Behold your God. This Lord Jesus Christ is David's 
greater son. This Lord Jesus Christ is the 
priest prophesied in Psalm 110. This Lord Jesus Christ is the 
reason why there was a temple. It pointed to Him. This Lord 
Jesus Christ is merciful, He's gracious, He's kind, He typifies, 
He exemplifies, He demonstrates, and He breathes the ethic of 
Hosea 6.6. He is about mercy, and this Jesus 
Christ is the Son of Man, and He is the Lord of Sabbath. Again, 
Matthew is directing his readers to behold your God. Glorify this one, praise this 
one, worship this one. If you are not a Christian this 
morning, may I say, believe on this one. Christ in Matthew 11 
verse 28 says, come to me. The way that you come to him 
is not by joining the church. It's not by reading the Bible. 
It's not by praying. As important as those things 
are, it is faith. It is to believe the gospel. 
It is to believe what the scripture says concerning Jesus in his 
life, his death, and his resurrection. Believe on him, he says, and 
you will have rest. What's the mark of the wicked? 
What does eternity look like for the wicked according to the 
seer in the book of Revelation? There's no rest for the wicked. 
There's no rest. You see, rest is a huge biblical 
concept. Sabbath embodies it. Hebrews 
4.9 tells us there is a Sabbath rest remaining for the people 
of God. We will enter into His presence. 
We will be with our God. We will be with Christ. We will 
see Him as He is. These Lord's days are down payments. They are first fruits. They are, 
as the Puritan said, a marketplace for the soul, where we come and 
we get refreshed and we get encouraged and we get reminded that there 
is something greater in our future. That's what Christ holds forth 
in the gospel. Believe on Him and you will have 
rest. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for this section 
in Matthew 12. We just pray that you would help 
us to take these things to heart, help us to consider the glory 
of Jesus Christ, help us to consider the beauty of your holy law, 
and help us, God in heaven, to understand scriptures properly. 
Go with us now. Cause your face to shine upon 
us. May your peace rule in our hearts. May you bless the ministry 
at the hospital and help us to do good to those souls there. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.