Read: Matthew 12:1-13 (NIV)
“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. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ He answered, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ He said to them, ‘If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take a hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out and it was as good as new. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.”
The Pharisees were all about the law, so when they saw Jesus’s disciples picking grain on the Sabbath, they saw a violation. They had made the law an idol, holding it above God’s purpose for it. But Jesus wasn’t trying to abolish the Sabbath. He was showing them its true nature. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote, the Sabbath was “given unto you, not you unto the Sabbath” (see also Mark 2:27).
The Sabbath is a gift to humanity. It’s meant to benefit us, to bring us rest, and to allow us to do good. Jesus perfectly illustrates this when he asks them about saving a sheep on the Sabbath. His point is clear: people are infinitely more valuable than a sheep, and it is always lawful to do good, even on a day of rest. The Sabbath is for our good, not for our bondage. It’s a day to remember that we are cared for by a loving God, and a day to extend that love to others.
Pray: Heavenly Father, help us not to turn your gifts into burdens. Open our eyes to see the true purpose of the Sabbath—to rest and to do good. In a world that values endless work, help us to value your provision and to show mercy and love to others. Amen.
