Matthew 12:1-21

The Pharisees saw Jesus' disciples in a field plucking wheat to eat on the Sabbath. According to their interpretation of the law, this counted as work and was not permitted on the Sabbath. When they came to Jesus to complain to Him, Jesus showed them they were being too nitpicky in their interpretation. After all, He reminded them, when David was fleeing Saul, he ate the consecrated bread that was meant to be eaten only by the priests. Priests worked on the Sabbath. They had to make sacrifices in the temple and they were not considered to be breaking the Sabbath. These were but two examples of instances where the letter of the law was not followed, yet God allowed it. Besides, Jesus declared Himself as Lord of the Sabbath and greater than the temple. Jesus was higher than the law; He had a perfect understanding of it. Surely He knew better than anyone what was and wasn't allowed.

Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6 here again (the first was in Matthew 9:13) - God wants our compassion, not our sacrifices. If the Pharisees were showing compassion, they might have seen that these were hungry people feeding themselves, not workers in a field bringing in a harvest to make a profit. They were not plucking any more than they could eat. Because the Pharisees regarded the rules as the highest authority, they couldn't see this.

The Pharisees weren't done yet. They followed Him to the synagogue where there was a man with a withered hand. In an attempt to trick Him, they asked if it was lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath. Jesus replied that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Once again, the Pharisees overlooked the need of someone in favor of appearing holy.

We can sometimes latch on to a set of rules and regulations because it is easier than actually doing the right thing. There is no need for thinking and compassion in various situations if we can just refer back to the rules to figure things out. This is where the message of Jesus really becomes a challenge - the rule is compassion. When we let compassion guide our actions, the outcome will always be pleasing to God.


After the run-in with the Pharisees, Jesus knew that they were plotting against Him, so He left the area. He continued to heal people, but He told them not to spread the word of who He was. It was not the time for Him to be handed over to be crucified so He took precautions to ensure His ministry could continue. This was in stark contrast to the popular view that Messiah was coming as a conquerer. Isaiah 42 is quoted showing that Messiah came to be merciful and meek. He didn't come to cause trouble, but to bring forgiveness to those who would accept it.