The Lord of the Sabbath Rest and of Justice

Matthew 12:1-21 

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"

3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Healing on the Sabbath

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Behold, My Servant

15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

18 "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
21 And in His name Gentiles will trust."

Jesus proved Himself Lord of the Sabbath which was held to as a proof to the religious leaders and He was the Lord of all true justice to trust in as well.  He walked with His disciples through the grain to reap a harvest (John 4:35) and they ate as king David had done (1 Samuel 21:6) when escaping Saul’s unjust attempts to murder him.  He also reminded them how they profane the Sabbath themselves and think they are above God to do so and then condemn the Son of God who Himself is the Lord of the Sabbath rest from His own works (Hebrews 4:3-4, 9-10).  It would later be explained that Christ was that rest we enter into and the rule of keeping the religious rest of the Law was fulfilled in Him according to His work as high Priest and as the sacrifice He offered of Himself to bring that rest to us.  Jesus then went further as He healed a man on the Sabbath to make him whole and use his withered hand once more to serve God.  The religious leaders took further offense to this and He accused them for accusing Him as He did what was just and merciful.  He pointed out by a word picture how it was right to do good on the day commemorating God’s rest from creation as He restored part of that creation in the man with the hand corrupted by sin.  Unfortunately, they had no ears to hear and set about plotting to murder the Christ contrary to the Law they claimed to hold so dear.  They came to kill and destroy as their father the devil (John 8:44, 10:10) drove them in their sin instead of repenting and turning to trust and rest in Him.  Jesus knew it was not yet the time to be killed on the cross to take the curse of sin on Himself (Galatians 3:13), so He moved on to another place.  Many followed Him even though their religious leaders did not for the most part; as He made them whole in body and soul, Jesus instructed them not to let out His identity as the Messiah until the time was fulfilled as planned (John 8:20, Galatians 4:4).  This was previously told long before by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:3) who identified the Messiah as the chosen Servant filled with God’s Spirit who would come to bring justice to all nations.  He would not fight against their murder of Him but be gentle as the Lamb of God as He led His people from all the earth to repentance through faith to believe into and trust in Him.  This is the foundational cornerstone of the gospel message of the kingdom of God that He brought, for which He was rejected by those who put reliance on their  religious works above rest in Christ’s work on the cross.  He alone is our rest and justice, our righteousness and peace with God.  He is truly our peace with God and rest from working our way to heaven.