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Matthew 12:1-8
The Pharisees were against the idea of Jesus being Lord. Even though they had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus did not fit the mold in which the Pharisees had made for the Messiah to fit in. Jesus did not do or say things in the same way as the Pharisees had come to expect, so they were continually on a mission to prove to everyone that Jesus was not the Messiah. In Matthew 12:1-2, the Pharisees had witnessed the disciples of Jesus doing what they considered to be work on the Sabbath, which was to them against the commandment as stated in Exodus 31:15 (NKJV) stating, “Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.” This is in reflection of Genesis 2:3 which states, “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
One of the tasks of the mission of Jesus was/is to bring understanding to the fact that living in obedience to God is not about simply following a set of rules and regulations, but about the sincerity of one’s heart in doing so. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was put in place by God for man to (1) realize that they had committed a sin, (2) have a way in which they could come to God, admitting that sin to God (which indicates a sorrow for committing that sin and a desire to be forgiven of that sin with a desire to not commit that sin again) – a lesson learned that would be helpful to grow and mature in life, (3) develop a relationship with God in obedience and sincerity to Him as the Creator of the world and all that is in it (Genesis 1-2).
Likewise, Jesus was introduced as God coming in the form of man (John 1:1-5, 14) to bring understanding and realization to the fact that the works of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was worthless without sincerity in the hearts and minds of the one making the sacrifice.
This is an example of how the ways of man are different than the ways of God.
This is an explanation of Hosea 6:6 as Jesus quoted in Matthew 12:7.
This is a promise that Jesus is Lord, even of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8).
Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees as to why His disciples would pick the heads of the wheat and eat it while they walked through the fields, as if in their minds this constituted work, and to work on the Sabbath was unlawful and punishable by death (Exodus 31:15). The inner desire of man is to be judgmental, as if by condemning others makes us seem more righteous in our own eyes, but our hearts remain selfish and dark. There is no sincerity and obedience to God in this form of life; it is only self-seeking, self-centered, and disobedient to God. The Pharisees paid strict attention to following all the rules of the Law, but they did so in an attempt to make themselves look better than others – they did so to bring attention to themselves so everyone would see how great they were. But this is not great in the eyes of God for there is no need for God in the life of one who lives in this way. But obedience and sincerity bring one to repentance (to change the direction). We can follow through the motions of doing the right things, but if our hearts are not sincere and obedient to God’s will for our lives, we are only falling to the trap of the devil that puts self over and above all – just as he fell from heaven, he wants to make everyone else fall too. Don’t let the devil make you fall in reflection of him, but repent and put Jesus first in your life in obedience and sincerity of heart. This is why Jesus came to this world – to bring realization and understanding to God’s will for our lives. It is different from the ways of this world, and we must repent to Christ Jesus to find it!
Dear LORD,
We all admit that we are prone to getting caught up in the ways of this world as Satan is always trying to make us fall away from Your grace and mercy that You have so lovingly offered to us through coming to this world in the form of man – in Christ Jesus to save us from the ways of the devil. Please help us to see – to realize and understand the need, and requirement for having a sincere and obedient heart to You that brings repentance and a new way of life for all who will believe in Jesus as the true Savior of the world. In Jesus name I pray, amen.