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Gospel: Matthew 12: 1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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What’s at stake in today’s Gospel passage is the very identity of Jesus. After this clash with the Pharisees – the religious leaders of his day – a plot to kill him will develop.
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath,” the Pharisees say to him. Why was keeping the Sabbath so important to the Jews? Conversely, why was violating it so infuriating?
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It set the Jews apart from other nations. Thus, remaining faithful to it was an expression of national identity and loyalty to the God of Israel.
Moreover, according to the prophet Jeremiah, the Jews’ failure to keep the Sabbath was a primary reason why Jerusalem was invaded by the Babylonians in 586 BC, why the Temple was destroyed, and why the Jews were sent into exile.
Keeping the Sabbath holy was not merely a matter of private devotion; it was also a matter of national security. What Jesus’ disciples did by eating grain on the Sabbath was akin to burning the national flag.
Insulting, scandalous, even dangerous.
Yet, Jesus allowed them to do so, because he claimed to be, “Lord of the Sabbath.” A claim making him equal to God.
To Jewish ears, this would’ve been blasphemous; they only understood God as one. As it’s written in the Book of Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!”
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So, what might this mean for us?
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Summarizing the words of C.S. Lewis, Jesus cannot be merely a good moral teacher. In claiming to be equal to God, he is either a liar, a lunatic, or LORD.
Who do we say that he is?
If we believe that he is LORD, then we should honor him accordingly – above all by worshiping him on the Sabbath.
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Image credits: (1) RedeemingGod.com (2) Jesus Among the Wheat Fields, Where (3) Wisdom International