THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David
II. PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM, Matthew 4:12 to Matthew 16:12
5. Discourses and Kingdom Parables, Matthew 11:1 to Matthew 16:12
NB !Note:
The Judean ministry of Jesus, which lasted almost one year, is not discussed by Matthew. This one year period is covered in John 1;1 to the end of John 4: and fits between Mat_4:11 and Mat_4:12. Matthew takes us from the temptation directly to the Galilean ministry.
Today we will look at the following question in the outline starting with Matthew 11-21
39. How did Jesus defend His disciples when the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath?
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
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.
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.
But he said unto them,
The answer for question 39. How did Jesus defend His disciples when the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath?
Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
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?
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?
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
A Man with a Withered Hand
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
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.
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?
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Then saith he to the man,
Stretch forth thine hand.
And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
Comments by F.B.Meyer
on
The answer for question 39. How did Jesus defend His disciples when the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath?As presented by F.B.Meyer
THE RIGHT USE OF THE SABBATH
The Pharisees had introduced a large number of minute and absurd restrictions on Sabbath observance; so our Lord set Himself to recover the day of rest for the use of the people. He never hesitated, therefore, to work miracles of healing on that day, and so set at defiance the Pharisees and their evil amendments. He contended also that all ritual observance must take the secondary place, and that the primary concern must always be the deep and pressing claims of humanity. Thus it was perfectly legitimate for David to eat the showbread.
Even if a sheep should fall into a pit on the Sabbath, it would be lifted out by the most punctilious of ritualists. How absurd and illogical it was to prohibit deliverance to this man with his withered hand! Notice that this man’s condition is symbolic of many who pose as good Christians, but do nothing. They have the power, but do not use it and it becomes atrophied. That power can be given back by Jesus. Dare to act and you will find yourself able to act.
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
D. Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath (12:1-8)
12:1 This chapter records the mounting crisis of rejection. The rising malice and animosity of the Pharisees are now ready to spill over. The issue that opens the floodgates is the Sabbath question.
On this particular Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were passing through the grainfields. His disciples began to pluck heads of grain and to eat them. The law permitted them to help themselves to grain from their neighbor’s field as long as they did not use a sickle (Deu_23:25).
12:2 But the Pharisees, legal nit-pickers, charged that the Sabbath had been broken. Though their specific charges are not stated it is likely that they accused the disciples of: (1) harvesting (picking the grain); (2) threshing (rubbing it in their hands); (3) winnowing (separating the grain from the chaff).
12:3, 4 Jesus answered their ridiculous complaint by reminding them of an incident in the life of David. Once, when in exile, he and his men went into the wilderness and ate the showbread, twelve memorial loaves forbidden as food to any but the priests. Neither David nor his men were priests, yet God never found fault with them for doing this. Why not?
The reason is that God’s law was never intended to inflict hardship on His faithful people. It was not David’s fault that he was in exile. A sinful nation had rejected him. If he had been given his rightful place, he and his followers would not have had to eat the showbread. Because there was sin in Israel, God permitted an otherwise forbidden act.
The analogy is clear. The Lord Jesus was the rightful King of Israel, but the nation would not acknowledge Him as Sovereign. If He had been given His proper place, His followers would not have been reduced to eating in this way on the Sabbath or on any other day of the week. History was repeating itself. The Lord did not reprove His disciples, because they had done no wrong.
12:5 Jesus reminded the Pharisees that the priests profane the Sabbath by killing and sacrificing animals and by performing many other servile duties (Num_28:9-10), yet are blameless because they are engaged in the service of God.
12:6 The Pharisees knew that the priests worked every Sabbath in the temple without desecrating it. Why then should they criticize the disciples for acting as they did in the presence of One who is greater than the temple? The italicized word One can perhaps better read: “something greater than the temple is here.” The “something” is the kingdom of God, present in the Person of the King.
12:7 The Pharisees had never understood the heart of God. In Hos_6:6 He had said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” God puts compassion before ritual. He would rather see His people picking grain on the Sabbath to satisfy their hunger than observing the day so strictly as to inflict physical distress. If the Pharisees had only realized this, they would not have condemned the disciples. But they valued outward punctiliousness above human welfare.
12:8 Then the Savior added, “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” It was He who had instituted the law in the first place, and therefore He was the One most qualified to interpret its true meaning. E. W. Rogers says:
It seems as if Matthew, here taught by the Spirit, passes in quick review the many names and offices of the Lord Jesus: He is Son of Man; Lord of the Sabbath; My servant; My beloved; Son of David; greater than the temple; greater than Jonas; greater than Solomon. He does so in order to show the enormity of the sin of refusing to accept Him and accord Him His rights.
Before proceeding with the next incident—Jesus healing the withered hand on the Sabbath—we pause to give a short review of the scriptural teaching concerning the Sabbath.
EXCURSUS ON THE SABBATH
The Sabbath day was, and always will be, the seventh day of the week (Saturday).
God rested on the seventh day, after the six days of creation (Gen_2:2). He did not command man to keep the Sabbath day at that time, although He may have intended the principle—one day of rest in every seven—to be followed.
The nation of Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath when the Ten Commandments were given (Exo_20:8-11). The law of the Sabbath was different from the other nine commandments; it was a ceremonial law while the others were moral. The only reason it was wrong to work on the Sabbath was because God said so. The other commandments had to do with things that were intrinsically wrong.
It is not right to say that the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s Day. The Sabbath is Saturday and the Lord’s Day is Sunday. The Sabbath was a shadow; the substance is Christ (Col_2:16-17). The resurrection of Christ marked a new beginning, and the Lord’s day signifies that beginning.
As a faithful Jew living under the law, Jesus kept the Sabbath (in spite of the accusations of the Pharisees to the contrary). As the Lord of the Sabbath, He freed it from the false rules and regulations with which it had become encrusted
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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