What is Rest: Matthew 12:1-14 (Sermon)

INTRODUCTION 

Thank you, worship team. What do you think about Sabbath rest? Have you ever asked yourself, “What do we do with this part of the Ten Commandments?” I have. We obey nine of them, but what about the commandment concerning rest? The texts for this morning and last week have been beneficial in my search for an answer. 

CONTROLLING GOD

In the passage we are about to read, we will hear a religious group of people who had a perspective on Sabbath rest that controlled them, and they used it to control others. Jesus and this group will face off in our text. 

TEXT 

Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word? K.S., you can come up here now and read for us. We are exploring Matthew chapter 12, starting at verse 1 and going through verse 14.

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it 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 how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And 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 of the Sabbath.” 

He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. (Matthew 12:1–14, ESV)

PRAY

Let’s pray. Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. We don’t want to be like the Pharisees that abused it and others. We want to learn from Jesus, not reject him. We want to receive from him, not ignore him. We want to grow in our understanding. Help us. We are weak, needy. We want to rest in you. Meet us now. In Jesus’s name, we pray, amen. You may be seated.  

CONTEXT 

Matthew is about following the promised king into his kingdom. Jesus was the king that God had promised. In chapter 11, he finished teaching about the cost of discipleship. The cost was high, but the burden was light. In chapter 12, we see a group of people reject discipleship: they were the Pharisees. 

SABBATH

The chapter begins with two settings: a field and a synagogue. There is one controversy: it is over the interpretation of Sabbath law. Sabbath was central to the identity of Israel and still is. The Bible uses the term for a day of rest from Friday to Saturday. We read about it in Exodus chapter 16. It is also one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. God told Moses:  

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8–11, ESV)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 

A Jewish piece of literature, written around 100 BC, issued a death sentence for breaking the Sabbath (“And the man that does any work on it shall die” Jubilee 50:8). Three hundred years later, Jewish literature prohibited thirty-nine activities, which include:  

• Plowing, 

• Sowing,

• Reaping, 

• Gathering, 

• Sorting, 

• Cooking

• Combing

• Dying

• Tying

• Untying

• Measuring

• Writing

• Erasing 

• Building

• Demolishing

• Kindling

• Extinguishing 

• Transporting 

• And more

In modern times, some interpret these prohibitions to mean you can’t push a stroller across the street. Others take the rule about movement so far as to say: 

Because driving, biking, blading, skateboarding or other device-driven means of transportation are prohibited on Shabbat, we walk rather than commute to synagogue. However, even walking on Shabbat has its limits.

Jewish law sets the maximum walking range from one’s city to … 0.596 miles… [However, this measurement [is]… from the city limits.] ….

“City limits” are not defined by the map you carry in your glove compartment.… unless there is more than 70 2/3 cubits between one house and the next, all contiguous housing is considered to be part of the same city. Therefore at times it would be permitted to walk even from one city to the next, as long as the whole way is populated. This can be complex, and a rabbi should be consulted before planning a long trek on Shabbat. (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/484235/jewish/How-far-am-I-allowed-to-walk-on-Shabbat.htm)

Friends, this type of theological gymnastics misses the heart of the Sabbath. It was what was wrong with the Pharisees in this passage.

MEANING 

Sabbath is about worship, trust, and spiritual and physical rest. At the same time, Jesus said that he didn’t come to abolish it but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). That begs the question: “What does it mean that Jesus fulfills the law of the Sabbath?” How? How are we to practice Sabbath when he fulfills it? We are still to worship God, trust him, and rest. Well, how did Jesus meet the other laws? It doesn’t mean God exempts us from obeying them. Instead, he satisfies the just requirements of when we have failed. He observed them perfectly and ended up dying to pay the penalty for our disobedience. So, the rule of rest continues in a sense. However, Jesus seems to be saying something more.

PURPOSE OF SABBATH

Perhaps a clue to Jesus’s point is a parallel account in Mark 7. Jesus responded to the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Why did he say that? The Pharisees made their rule into something God didn’t mean to become: a god. It might be easy to point that out. They were legalists. They were ruler followers to their demise. Nowadays, most people don’t struggle with this idolatry or legalism; however, we can be legalistic in other ways. Thinking that it is by rules that we justify ourselves before God. We judge other people and look down on them. We pride ourselves in our obedience. Or, we can fall on the other side of this debate, disregard the heart of the Sabbath, and make it into something else. We can miss Jesus. Jesus was reorienting the people back to finding rest in himself. He is the Lord of rest, not rest one’s lord. 

Structure

Let’s dig into these verses to see that. This passage has two clear sections: Verses 1 through 8 and 9 through 14. In those first verses, Jesus’s disciples grabbed food from the field, and the Pharisees confront Jesus. Then verses 9 through 14, the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into discussing healing on the Sabbath and failed. 

Main Idea 

The main lesson is that Jesus is greater than the Sabbath. In fact: 

• He is greater than David, the once king of Israel, 

• He is greater than the temple in Jerusalem, 

• And he is greater than the Sabbath. 

The point for us this morning is that we:  

Let Jesus be the Lord of our rest, not rest our lord.

Let me say that again. We must 

Let Jesus be the Lord of our rest, not rest our lord.

VERSE 1

I want to show you why I say that. Look at verse 1. 

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat” (Matthew 12:1, ESV). 

Like all good stories, 

• We have a setting: a field. 

• We have a time: the Sabbath. 

• We have characters: hungry disciples, Jesus the Lord, and in verse 2, shady Pharisees. 

VERSE 2

Verse 2 states,   

“But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath’” (Matthew 12:2, ESV).  

The Pharisees were not tattling. They were attacking. 

VERSE 3

How did Jesus respond? Look at verse 3.

He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it 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 how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? (Matthew 12:3–5, ESV)

Jesus didn’t address the disciples and tell them to spit out their food. He justified them. 

DAVID AND HIS MEN ATE WHEN HUNGRY

He compared himself to a story in 1 Samuel about David and his men. They were hungry and technically ate food they shouldn’t have. David was running away from Saul. He went to the temple in Jerusalem, and the only food available was meant for worship and the priests. It was the bread of the Presence. Traditionally they changed it out on Sabbath day. How did the priest respond to David’s request? He permitted them to eat. Jesus made the case that if it was okay for David and his men, shouldn’t Jesus’s followers be able to eat as well?

PRIESTS WORK 

The second example was if priests at the temple work on a Sabbath, shouldn’t Jesus’s servants also be able to work? If one is not guilty, why should the other be? The response would be that one is working for God. Right? One is doing what God wants them to do. One is working for the temple? Those might be questions rolling around in the Pharisees’ minds. Who does Jesus think he is? Is he greater than David?

VERSE 6

Look at verse 6. Jesus responded to these silent questions shockingly, 

“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here” (Matthew 12:6, ESV). 

Jesus was talking about his kingdom and himself. Who was greater? He was greater. In John chapter 2, he dared to refer to himself as the temple. 

TEMPLE

Why is that so audacious? 

• The temple mount was the place where Abraham’s faith was seen. He sacrificed a ram instead of his son there. 

• It was the center of the capital of Israel.

• It was where the Holy of Holies was and the Tabernacle. 

• It was where the presence of God dwelt tangibly. 

• There was no other place on the planet like this one. It was central to the identity of Israel, like the Sabbath.

Jesus is greater. 

VERSE 7

We see the contrast of Jesus’s offer in verse 7. Verse 7 states, 

“And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7, ESV).  

The priests made a bad call. They were lying on a yoke that was too heavy. They said the disciples could not eat food God meant for hungry people. This was just one example of their legalistic mindset. They had weaponized the Bible and were offering toxic interpretations. They looked down on others and well on themselves based on checklist religion. They didn’t see who was right in front of their faces. They were blind. The disciples were innocent. Jesus was quoting the book of Hosea to drive his point home. 

HOSEA

Hosea tells the story of God’s people. Like Pharisees, they had perverted the truth. In the book, God’s people forsake mercy and God. Sure, they jumped through religious hoops, but their relationship with the creator of the universe was dead. In the story, the wife, named Gomer, represents Israel. She wandered from her marriage vows and had illegitimate children. Her husband, a prophet named Hosea, represented God. The book is a tale of God’s heart for his wandering people. Jesus was saying that the Pharisees had wandered from the truth. This was a stinging barb. They neglected mercy. What does the Lord want but mercy, justice, and kindness? 

VERSE 8

Jesus had not finished lecturing. Look at verse 8. He tells them why this matters.  

“For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8, ESV). 

This was a mic-drop statement. The disciples could eat because Jesus was Lord of the Sabbath. He was greater. He was the “Son of Man,” the Messiah. Pharisees might be asking how he is a master of a day created by God. How in the world? It probably didn’t take long for them to think he was calling himself God.  

OUR DAY 

Some of our friends these days attempt to go back to the Sabbath rules in the Old Testament. They tend toward legalism. They find their good standing before God based on their work. In some circumstances, people can honor the Lord in their sacrifices. People can honor God by not shopping on Sundays, not doing yard work, or taking naps. I am a big fan of naps. People do many things to worship the Lord, express their trust, and find rest. But what was Jesus teaching? What did Jesus say in chapter 11? Come to him all who are weary and heavy laden, and he will give you rest. He was offering a spiritual focus on him. We, too, can find a form of rest outside of Jesus. We can fall into legalism or license, moralism or carelessness, and neglect what Jesus offered. Let’s

Let Jesus be the Lord of our rest, not rest our lord.

COLOSSIANS

The apostle Paul had to deal with this debate in the church. He wrote: 

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17, ESV).

Sabbath was a shadow of Jesus. He offers rest in God. Jesus was pointing people back to himself. Too often, we can make sabbath about ourselves, our feelings, recharging, or having fun. Sabbath is about Jesus. How do we honor God with our time and days? It is good to take a day off. It is good to remember God and rest in him. Based on Jesus’s fulfillment of this law, we can ask ourselves, “Are we finding rest in Jesus?” This rest can be physical and spiritual. Both are valuable. Jesus should be our focus in life.  

NEW LOCATION

The passage goes on. 

“He [Jesus] went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’—so that they might accuse him” (Matthew 12:9–10, ESV). 

The Pharisees were testing. The standard rule of thumb back then was that one could practice healthcare six days a week, not the Sabbath. Only emergency procedures were allowable. A crippled hand was not an emergency. That can wait. 

VERSE 11

How did Jesus answer? Go to verse 11. 

He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:11–12, ESV).  

Jesus pointed out the obvious. The Pharisees would have no problem caring for an animal on the Sabbath. Why not people? People are more valuable than animals. Jesus was teaching the teachers and pointed out their inconsistencies again.

VERSE 13

He went on. 

“Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other” (Matthew 12:13, ESV).  

Jesus did the miraculous. How did he do it? With a command. He spoke healing to the broken. You see, he was more than a teacher or a prophet. He was the Son of Man, the Lord of the Sabbath, the greater, and the healer. 

REACTION 

Think of how that disabled man would have responded. We don’t have it recorded in our Bibles. Did he do a fist pump or thumbs up? I am sure he was ecstatic. We do know how the Pharisees reacted.

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him” (Matthew 12:14, ESV)

They went from trying to trap Jesus to seeking his assassination. Why? Why would they be so upset? 

• Jesus did what they could not. 

• Like our last story of the grainfield, Jesus’s response not only answered their question but also did what they thought was unlawful. 

• Recall some thought that he had the power of demons. And here he was, breaking the law in their place of worship through what some considered demonic power. 

This reminds me of Jesus’s last blessing: blessed are those not offended by him. The Pharisees were offended.  

APPLICATION 

Friends, how should we respond? Jesus is greater. We have lots of ideas for rest. The Pharisees had in theirs. We like leisure in America. We could do a sermon series on rest and work. Let me say a few words. We can either be too into our rules or too opposed to rules in our day. Rest is important. Our bodies need it. Every day God allows us to practice it. Rest can demonstrate our faith in God. We must give up our to-do lists and lean on God’s provision. Rest can thwart our self-sufficiency. That is important too. At the same time, we can do spiritual things, have spiritual rules, and be dead to God. As we seek to obey this commandment in the Bible, let’s go back to the heart of it.  

Let Jesus be the Lord of our rest, not rest our Lord.

• What that means for the rule follower is to let go of the letter of the law and return to the heart. God wants us to find our hope and security in him, not our ability to be perfect. We must admit our sins and turn to God for grace, mercy, and spiritual rest. The early church moved the day of rest to Sunday in honor of the Lord’s resurrection that happened on Sunday. And the fulfillment of spiritual rest is rooted in Jesus. We find our rest in Jesus. 

• For others, who are living in brokenness, God offers spiritual healing. God can heal physically, but he likely reminds us through the stories of miraculous healing and teaching on rest that he is the king God has promised. Jesus died to forgive us and give us everlasting hope in heavenly rest. One day, sickness, pain, or sorrow will be no more. Come to him all you who long for that day and find your rest in him.

• For some who are hungry, like the disciples physically and spiritually, God wants to satisfy them. He wants to offer us living water and bread from heaven through his Son, Jesus. He is our hope. Our hunger and thirst point us to our need for God, who supplies our needs. Let us rest in him. We are weak, broken, imperfect people who need to rest in Jesus, who is greater. 

PRAYER

Let’s pray  

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