A Bruised Reed He will not Crush. Matthew 12, Day 33, Feb 2 | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Matthew 12

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

¹ 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.”

³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ 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. ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Following Jesus trumps following any laws or rules. It is okay to suspend the laws we place on ourselves–strict Sabbatarianism for instance, for a greater good–in this case, to satisfy hunger.

God desires us to act mercifully rather than to keep rules.

The whole of the Old Testament Law and the Prophets is now embodied in Christ, the promised Messiah, who is greater than the whole system of temple, priests and law, who commanded the Sabbath as a gift to man, and is Lord of it.

ESV As Messiah, Jesus authoritatively interprets every aspect of the law, and here points out the Pharisees blindness to the actual intent of the sabbath–to bring rest and well-being. He is greater than the law.

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

The purpose of the Sabbath was to be a blessing to people. So it is okay to do good on the Sabbath.

NIV The fact that he stretched out his hand shows the connection between faith and healing.

The Pharisees care more about maintaining their power than the fact that Jesus was healing the sick and showing mercy. Their response to this is to go out and attempt to kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. ¹⁶ He warned them not to tell others about him.
He warns people to keep the Messianic secret until the time was right for his glory to be revealed.

¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
   the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
   and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out;
   no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break,
   and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹ In his name the nations will put their hope.”

The quiet ministry of Jesus, the Messiah.

Gentleness and mildness are the distinguishing features of the Messiah. He will be merciful. The nations will put their hope in him.