Matthew Chapter 12:1-32

The Sabbath
How fitting that I am writing this on Sunday, the day that modern Christians celebrate as their Sabbath.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath) The term "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew shabbat (שבת), which when translated means "to cease". It was first used in (Genesis 2:2-3) in the Biblical account of the seventh day of Creation. Observation and celebration of the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. The Jewish Shabbat is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. In most Christian denominations, "Sabbath" is a synonym of "Lord's Day" (Sunday), which is kept in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ, and often celebrated with the Eucharist or the taking of communion. It is often the day of rest, and usually the day of communal worship.

Great definition, but just defining it or observing it based on a definition can lead to legalism. This is what Jesus was discussing in this chapter of Matthew. Once again the Pharisees tried to paint Jesus into a corner concerning the Law and once again Jesus looked at the issue as a matter of the heart, not the legalistic observation done for self-righteous reasons. Jesus points to Hosea 6:6 “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings” (NLT). How could the religious leaders miss this?

After putting the Pharisees in their place Jesus takes it a step further and throws it in their faces by healing a deformed man on the Sabbath. The “religious” leaders then began their plot to kill Jesus. I love the boldness of our Lord here. He not only saw through the façade that the Pharisees had built up but He tore it down as well!! He wasn’t afraid to argue His point and He wasn’t afraid to show people what He was capable of. The same is true today. Jesus wants to teach us and show us what the true meaning of the Scriptures are. He isn’t afraid of or against arguing with us to prove His point either. I argue and wrestle with God on a great many topics and I always come away from it a little beat up and bruised but much better off than I was before. If only the Pharisees had listened!!

Jesus is the Chosen Servant
Once again Matthew is pointing to the OT and showing us just how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies written about the Messiah. In this case we are directed to the book of Isaiah 42. These verses show Jesus as tender and gentle even though we have seen instances where He has been firm and unyielding in His demands. We must know that Jesus is both. He is the loving Savior that gave up everything for us and He is the mighty God who placed the stars in the sky. I particularly love the last two sentences of these passages from Isaiah: “Finally He will cause justice to be victorious. And His name will be the hope of all the world.”

Amen!!

Jesus vs. Satan
Jesus casts out a demon and the crowds go wild!! They are starting to think that this kid from Nazareth might just be the One!! “Oh, no” say the Pharisees, “He gets his power from Satan!” These imbeciles will stop at nothing to discredit the works that Jesus is doing in their midst. Jesus goes on to tell the people that every kingdom, every city, and every household that is divided will fall. This is a truth we must all hold close to our hearts my brothers and sisters!! We must be equally yoked with one another to stand firm under the pressures that this world brings upon us!!

Jesus then proceeds to do a, I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I-I-double-dog-dare on the Pharisees. It’s basically Him asking, “Which one of us is really for the devil?” He says that if He casts out demons under the power of the evil ones what about members of their own party that do the same? Are they too under the influence of the evil one? Again, Jesus’ biting words and sarcasm towards the hard-hearted leaders of “religion” blow me away. They must have been fuming!!

Jesus then throws down the gauntlet with the statement, “He who is not with me is against me.” After that throw-down, He issues a clear warning. The only sin that will not be forgiven is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I always wondered what this meant specifically. The commentaries I have read say that Jesus was talking about the Pharisees and their incapability towards repentance and the hardness of their heart towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me be as clear as I can be in my understanding of this. The only unforgivable sin is a heart so hard that it is committed only to rejecting Christ; that is the sin that Jesus is talking about and that is the sin that was being committed by the Pharisees that day.

Enough heavy stuff for a Sunday. We will finish the chapter in tomorrow’s post. Go and enjoy your “day of rest”.

May God be with you.