Matthew 12:1-8

Let's look at another example, in Matthew 12. This is a little bit different circumstance, which also appears in Mark 2:23-28 and Luke 6:1-5. Each one is a little bit different. Matthew's is the most comprehensive, so we'll use his.

According to the Pharisees, the disciples—in doing what they did—reaped a crop. They threshed it, by rubbing the berries in their hands and getting hulls broken off. And then they winnowed it, by blowing the hulls away. By doing so, they were guilty of preparing a meal.

Let's consider the disciples' motivation for what they did. First of all, they were hungry. Next we have to consider that they were itinerant. That is, they were traveling with Jesus. They were going from place to place along with Him, as a part of His entourage. He was teaching them, and giving them examples of His teaching all along the way. He Himself said that He had no place to lay His head.

They had, therefore, no place to prepare. They were not living in one spot. They didn't have a home that they could readily turn to. They didn't have an eight-to-five job that they were going to every day. Rather, they were using "shoe leather express," going from one place to another. In the book of Luke, we find that this was actually a High Holy Day on which this occurred. It was very likely one of the high holy days of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

And so they were, hungry. They had not had any place in which to prepare a meal. These were strong, young men—probably in their twenties or early thirties (as they were probably about the same age of Jesus). So they could have fasted without damage. But, because it was the Sabbath, Jesus deliberately drew attention to one of the Sabbath's main purposes: It is a day of mercy, and NOT a day of sacrifice.

Notice His justification. It comes from I Samuel 21, and we are going to see this example that came from the life of David.

Matthew 12:1-8

Now in Mark's account, he had something important that Jesus said that is left out here in Matthew's account. You do not have to turn there, but in Mark 2:27, he adds, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." So, he tells us the Sabbath was made on account of man with the specific purpose of being a service to mankind. The Sabbath is the promised, thoughtful gift of rest from the Creator to His created beings. The Sabbath's purpose goes far beyond just a physical rest from burdensome work. God ties the Sabbath to His spiritual creation which does not stop on the Sabbath but rather is put into a higher gear on the Sabbath with even more spiritual work and focus on the Sabbath than on the other days of the week. The Sabbath is intended to ensure both mankind's physical and spiritual well-being.