Matthew 12:1-2 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
The Pharisees had established 39 categories of actions forbidden on the Sabbath, based on interpretations of God’s law and on Hebrew custom. Harvesting was one of those forbidden actions. By picking wheat and rubbing it in their hands, the disciples were “technically” harvesting, according to the religious leaders. Jesus and the disciples were picking grain because they were hungry, not because they wanted to harvest the grain for a profit. They were not working on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, however, could not (and did not want to) see beyond the law’s technicalities. They had no room for compassion, and they were determined to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing.
This Wednesday in our Bible Study on “Jesus’ Confrontations with the Pharisees” we will take a closer look at Matthew 12:1-14 which covers this and one other incident of Jesus being accused of breaking the Sabbath. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy Mother’s Day and all the men are helping in the kitchen per Harold Waggoner’s suggestion. 🙂 Fortunately, I’m in Portales this Sunday. 🙂
Looking forward to being back with you later this week,
In Christ,
Gary T. and family