Matthew 12:1-21

Mark 2:23 – Mark 3:10

The fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments is to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  The Old Testament explains that in 6 days of the week we should do our work, but on the sabbath day, we should rest from work and pay particular attention to the things of God.  

In Israel at the time Jesus lived there, the people were very focused on obedience to the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses.  They were so focused on obeying the law that Jesus had to remind them why they had the law:  to help us remember God, so we can follow His plan for us to be happy.  

There were those focused so much on not working on the sabbath that they forgot that the sabbath was meant for doing good.  

As Jesus’ disciples walked through fields of grain on the sabbath and picked some to eat, some Pharisees who saw them do this asked Jesus why they were doing what was against the law.  It was within the law for travelers to pick some of the grain to eat; that was not the problem.  The problem was that it takes some work to get the grain out of the husks.  The Pharisees were complaining that Jesus’ disciples were rubbing their hands together to get the grain out of the husks so they could eat it. They felt this was too much work to do on the sabbath.

Jesus explained, through a story about David, that the disciples were traveling with an important purpose of doing good and simply needed something to eat. The disciples were not guilty of doing anything wrong by picking, rubbing away the husk, and eating the grain.  

When Jesus went into the synagogue and saw a man with a withered hand, Jesus knew that those watching him might also accuse him of doing work on the sabbath if Jesus healed the man.  Trying to show that Jesus was about to do work and break the law of the sabbath, someone asked the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?”  To show how it is more important to do good on the sabbath than to sit and do nothing on the sabbath, Jesus asked, “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?”  

Then Jesus added, “How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.”  And Jesus asked the man to reach forward with his hand, and it was healed.

One incredible part of the story is that the Pharisees anticipated and seemed to fully expect Jesus could heal the man.  They knew he had power to do miracles!  And yet, they thought the rule of not working on the Sabbath was more important than trying to learn if Jesus’ power came because he was the Son of God.

The Pharisees who saw this healing were angry that Jesus would disagree with them about the rules of the sabbath.  They were even more angry that the people believed his teaching and were following him.  They felt this threatened their position of authority and their importance.

When Jesus knew the Pharisees had gone out to talk about how they could destroy Jesus, he left.  Many people (the Bible says ‘great multitudes’) followed him and he healed them all.

One can only imagine how angry the Pharisees were when they saw the multitudes leaving to follow Jesus. 

A NOTE ABOUT GRAIN AND CORN:  When the King James version of the Bible was being translated, the English word “corn” was used to mean “grain.”  In many English speaking areas it is still used that way.  In American English, the term corn is used specifically to mean the plant that we get corn on the cob from.  They didn’t have that plant in Israel, but the translators used the word corn which, for them, meant grain.

A NOTE ABOUT WHO ASKED THE QUESTION:  Who asked the question, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath?”  The Gospel of Matthew states that “they asked him” the question.  But in Mark, it states that “he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.”  It doesn’t really matter who asked the question, whether it was a Pharisee or Jesus.  But it is fun to think that Mark was correct, that Jesus was anticipating their thoughts and questions and asked it of them.  This example shows that in some unimportant ways, the gospel accounts disagree on small items; but they are all in firm agreement on the most important item:  Jesus is the Son of God and is our Savior.

What do you think?

• How was Jesus’ teaching about the sabbath different than the Pharisees’ teaching?
• Was Jesus teaching that we should ignore the fourth commandment about the sabbath?
• What kind of good should we do on the sabbath?
• Why were the Pharisees so angry with Jesus?  
• If the Pharisees did not believe Jesus’ teachings, why didn’t they just disagree and leave him alone?

Previous:  Jesus Empowers and Sends the 12 Apostles to Teach, Heal, and Serve

Next:  Jesus Heals a Man Possessed with a Devil and Gives the Sign of Jonas

Back to the Full List of Stories