As we finished up chapter 11, we saw the declaration of Jesus,
Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
The Lord wants us to rest in Him. But religious people want us to carry heavy burdens. We'll see in chapter 23 that the Pharisees would...
Matt. 23:4 "...tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders..."
Even when God commanded that we rest, religious, self-righteous people somehow managed to turn that command into a burden. And so, we transition directly from Jesus saying, "I will give you rest," into the Pharisees trying to put burdens upon Jesus and His disciples...
The Pharisees were hassling Jesus about eating with tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:11). Then they were claiming that He was doing His miracles by the power of satan (Matt. 9:34). Now, they're complaining that Jesus is allowing His disciples to break the Sabbath.
Remember that the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, on which God had commanded His people to rest, and do no work (Exo. 20:10-11). While they were walking along, the disciples were hungry, so they began eating the heads of grain. In order to get this grain, they had to pick the heads and rub them in their hands to separate the grain from the chaff. This was considered by Jewish tradition to be work.
But Jesus said, "Hey guys, is God's command for us to rest supposed to be a blessing or a burden (Mark 2:27)? Would God rather someone starve to death than allow them to rub their hands together in a manner that might not be in accordance with the Law?"
"Don't you remember that when David was on the run from King Saul, he and his men were hungry (1Sam 21:1-6). They went to Ahimelech the priest and asked for bread. The only bread available was the consecrated bread that sat upon the Table of Showbread. David and his men ate it. It was not lawful, and yet do you believe that God would rather have them starve?"
"What about the priests? They work on the Sabbath day. Are you going to hassle them? Should we go put them to death?"
"Why don't you go read the Bible with the heart of God instead of your hard hearts of religion? Why don't you read these Scriptures and figure out what they mean?"
Hos. 6:6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
1Sam. 15:22 ..."Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
"It's not about following your strict religious rules. It's about having love for God and compassion for His people."
Jesus is really challenging them with the truth. And yet, so many religious people aren't interested in truth. They've already got everything figured out, and expect you to see it their way. And if you have a different understanding, then they are suddenly out to get you.
It was one thing to have Jesus' disciples breaking the Sabbath in the fields where few people saw them. But what the Pharisees really wanted was to catch Jesus Himself breaking their Law, in a public place, with lots of witnesses. They arranged for the accusation by following Him into the synagogue. They knew that a man with a withered hand attended that place, and they were watching intently to see if Jesus would heal Him (Luke 6:7).
You see, it was against the Jews' traditional Law to heal anyone on the Sabbath, unless his life was in imminent danger. But Jesus said, "You know what? You guys don't think twice about rescuing one of your sheep on the Sabbath. Why then should not one of God's sheep be pulled out of the pit? It is not against God's Law to do good on the Sabbath."
Then Jesus healed him, even though He knew it would lead to His eventual destruction.
The Pharisees were plotting to destroy Him, but Jesus kept on ministering and healing.
At this time in His ministry, everyone who followed Jesus was healed. But He was commanding them not to tell who He was. The word "warned" here is very emphatic in the Greek language. It means "to tell sternly, to command, having the implication of a threat."
He was firmly telling these people who had been healed not to tell anyone who He was. Why? The explanation is given, although it may not be at once understandable.
You see, Matthew tells us that this action is a direct fulfillment of the first four verses of Isaiah 42. In that prophecy, the Father foretold of the ministry of Jesus:
Is. 42:1-4 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."
Jesus wasn't crying out or raising His voice, making Himself heard in the street. In other words, He wasn't healing people to blow His own horn, to be "somebody." Today, there are few things in Christianity more discouraging to me than seeing some guy trying to make a name for himself. He wants to be known as the latest, greatest thing. He wants to be a celebrity in the church, someone whose name carries the recognition of the masses.
Jesus was far too concerned about ministering to hurting people than wanting to attract huge crowds of lookie-loos clamoring to see the Messiah. He was too busy propping up the bruised reed and giving oxygen to the smoldering wick to work on trying to be famous.
And by doing this, He became Someone in Whom we can put our hope.
As we finished up chapter 11, we saw the declaration of Jesus,
Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
The Lord wants us to rest in Him. But religious people want us to carry heavy burdens. We'll see in chapter 23 that the Pharisees would...
Matt. 23:4 "...tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders..."
Even when God commanded that we rest, religious, self-righteous people somehow managed to turn that command into a burden. And so, we transition directly from Jesus saying, "I will give you rest," into the Pharisees trying to put burdens upon Jesus and His disciples...
The Pharisees were hassling Jesus about eating with tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:11). Then they were claiming that He was doing His miracles by the power of satan (Matt. 9:34). Now, they're complaining that Jesus is allowing His disciples to break the Sabbath.
Remember that the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, on which God had commanded His people to rest, and do no work (Exo. 20:10-11). While they were walking along, the disciples were hungry, so they began eating the heads of grain. In order to get this grain, they had to pick the heads and rub them in their hands to separate the grain from the chaff. This was considered by Jewish tradition to be work.
But Jesus said, "Hey guys, is God's command for us to rest supposed to be a blessing or a burden (Mark 2:27)? Would God rather someone starve to death than allow them to rub their hands together in a manner that might not be in accordance with the Law?"
"Don't you remember that when David was on the run from King Saul, he and his men were hungry (1Sam 21:1-6). They went to Ahimelech the priest and asked for bread. The only bread available was the consecrated bread that sat upon the Table of Showbread. David and his men ate it. It was not lawful, and yet do you believe that God would rather have them starve?"
"What about the priests? They work on the Sabbath day. Are you going to hassle them? Should we go put them to death?"
"Why don't you go read the Bible with the heart of God instead of your hard hearts of religion? Why don't you read these Scriptures and figure out what they mean?"
Hos. 6:6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
1Sam. 15:22 ..."Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
"It's not about following your strict religious rules. It's about having love for God and compassion for His people."
Jesus is really challenging them with the truth. And yet, so many religious people aren't interested in truth. They've already got everything figured out, and expect you to see it their way. And if you have a different understanding, then they are suddenly out to get you.
It was one thing to have Jesus' disciples breaking the Sabbath in the fields where few people saw them. But what the Pharisees really wanted was to catch Jesus Himself breaking their Law, in a public place, with lots of witnesses. They arranged for the accusation by following Him into the synagogue. They knew that a man with a withered hand attended that place, and they were watching intently to see if Jesus would heal Him (Luke 6:7).
You see, it was against the Jews' traditional Law to heal anyone on the Sabbath, unless his life was in imminent danger. But Jesus said, "You know what? You guys don't think twice about rescuing one of your sheep on the Sabbath. Why then should not one of God's sheep be pulled out of the pit? It is not against God's Law to do good on the Sabbath."
Then Jesus healed him, even though He knew it would lead to His eventual destruction.
The Pharisees were plotting to destroy Him, but Jesus kept on ministering and healing.
At this time in His ministry, everyone who followed Jesus was healed. But He was commanding them not to tell who He was. The word "warned" here is very emphatic in the Greek language. It means "to tell sternly, to command, having the implication of a threat."
He was firmly telling these people who had been healed not to tell anyone who He was. Why? The explanation is given, although it may not be at once understandable.
You see, Matthew tells us that this action is a direct fulfillment of the first four verses of Isaiah 42. In that prophecy, the Father foretold of the ministry of Jesus:
Is. 42:1-4 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."
Jesus wasn't crying out or raising His voice, making Himself heard in the street. In other words, He wasn't healing people to blow His own horn, to be "somebody." Today, there are few things in Christianity more discouraging to me than seeing some guy trying to make a name for himself. He wants to be known as the latest, greatest thing. He wants to be a celebrity in the church, someone whose name carries the recognition of the masses.
Jesus was far too concerned about ministering to hurting people than wanting to attract huge crowds of lookie-loos clamoring to see the Messiah. He was too busy propping up the bruised reed and giving oxygen to the smoldering wick to work on trying to be famous.
And by doing this, He became Someone in Whom we can put our hope.