Matthew
11:25-12:14
Lesson 22
11:25-12:14
Lesson 22
Matthew 11:25-12:14
"I will give you rest." 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 12:1-14 The Sabbath 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. 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. 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? 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? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. 9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 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. 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. 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. |
Margin notes:
"Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent." (11:25) - "You (God) have hidden the truth from the worldly and arrogant." See also Luke 10:21. God will "destroy" the worldly wise but spiritually foolish (1 Corinthians 1:19). "Babes." (11:25) - People with childlike faith and humility who are receptive to God's truth. "Save the Son." (11:27) - "Except the Son." "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (11:28) - Jesus is calling all who are burdened with sin. All sinners (i.e., everyone) are invited to come to Jesus and find peace and rest. "Learn of me." (11:29) - "Learn from me." "For my yoke is easy." (11:30) - "For my commandments are easy." Compared to following the complicated rules, rites, and ceremonies laid down by the Pharisees', following Jesus is easy (1 John 5:3). Also, see "Question Two" below. "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn." (12:1) - "At the time, Jesus walked through a corn field on the sabbath." The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word Shabbath, which means an end to labor or rest. "Not lawful to do upon the Sabbath." (12:2) - In truth, the Pharisees were wrong. The Mosaic Law did not forbid hungry people from picking food on the Sabbath. It only forbade workers from harvesting crops. Hungry travelers and the poor were allowed to pick crops from the first two rows of a farmer's field. They were forbidden to go beyond the second row or to use farming tools. They could only pick crops with their bare hands and only enough to meet their own needs (Deuteronomy 23:24-25). "Have ye not read what David did." (12:3) - Jesus is referring to what David did while hungry and on the run from King Saul. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. "Shewbread." (12:4) - Shewbread (Hebrew Lehem haPanim) was Holy or blessed unleavened bread. Each Sabbath, twelve loaves of unleavened bread (one for each tribe of Israel) were placed on the altar in the Holy Place of the Jewish Temple. They were an offering of thanks to God and could only be eaten by the priests at the end of the week (Exodus 29:32-33; Leviticus 24:5-9). "The law." (12:5) - The law of Moses, the Mosaic Law. "In this place is one greater than the temple." (12:6) - Jesus is claiming to be the "One," the Messiah the world has been awaiting. To the Pharisees, this is blasphemy and punishable by death. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." (12:7) - "To obey is better than to sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22). Jesus is placing morality over the man-made rules and ceremonies that the Pharisees followed. Jesus is reinforcing his message from verse 9:13 (lesson 16). See also Isaiah 1:11-17 and Hosea 6:6. "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?" (12:10) - This wasn't the only time Jesus asked this question (Luke 14:3). "Wherefore It is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." (12:12) - "Therefore, it is lawful to do good deeds on the Sabbath." It was not lawful according to the Pharisees. They had taken the law against working on the Sabbath to ridiculous levels. "The Pharisees went out, and held a council against him." (12:14) - The Pharisees plotted against Jesus, just as predicted centuries earlier in Psalm 2:2. |