The first two instances of conflict arose over Sabbath observance. Sabbath observance was very important to the Jews. It was a uniquely Israelite institution that commemorated the creation of the cosmos and the creation of Israel. Jewish rules of conduct concerning the Sabbath had become very detailed by Jesus' day.
The immediate connection between this section and what precedes is twofold. The first is the theme of rising opposition (11:2-13:53), and the second is the heavy yoke of Pharisaic tradition that made the Israelites weary and heavy laden (11:28-30).
Matthew recorded that Pharisaic opposition began when Jesus forgave sins (9:1-8). It increased when Jesus associated with tax collectors and sinners (9:9-13). Now it boiled over because Jesus did not observe the Pharisees' legalistic traditions.490
". . . the leaders (Pharisees), in charging the disciples with breaking the law by plucking grain on the sabbath and hence working, do what they heretofore have not done: they engage Jesus himself in direct debate (12:1-8)."491
12:1 "At that time"does not mean immediately after that but at approximately that time (cf. 9:3, 11, 14, 34; 10:25; 11:19). The Mosaic Law permitted the Israelites to do what the disciples did, namely pluck a few ears of grain as they passed through a field (Deut. 23:25).
12:2 The Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for doing what was unlawful under Pharisaic tradition, namely "reaping"on the Sabbath.492
12:3-4 Jesus responded to the Pharisees' question with another in common rabbinic style (cf. v. 5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31). The record of the incident He cited is in 1 Samuel 21:1-6, and the law governing the use of consecrated bread is in Exodus 25:30 and Leviticus 24:5-9. The house of God that David entered was the tabernacle that then stood at Nob. David and his men ate consecrated bread that only the priests had a right to eat.
The present event may have occurred on a Sabbath day, though that is not certain (cf. 1 Sam. 21:5-6). That factor is inconsequential as is the fact that David ate after lying to the priests. Another inconsequential feature is that David's men were very hungry, but Jesus' disciples were evidently not. Jesus drew this illustration from a time in David's life when Israel's leadership was rejecting him. The Son of David was now experiencing similar rejection.
David ate even though it was unlawful for him to do so yet the Old Testament did not condemn him for his act. Therefore the Pharisees should not condemn Jesus' disciples for doing something Scripture did not condemn David's men for doing. Jesus was arguing against the Pharisees' approach to Scripture more than their view of the Sabbath.
Jesus' disciples were not breaking any Old Testament command concerning Sabbath observance. These laws aimed primarily at prohibiting regular work on the Sabbath. The Old Testament set aside a regulation in the law for David and his men in the sense that it did not condemn them for what they did (cf. 2 Chron. 30:18-20). Who David was was an important factor in this concession. He was the Lord's anointed who occupied a special place in Israel. If anyone had a right to do what David did, David did. Could not Jesus then set aside a Pharisaic law that had no basis in the Old Testament for Himself and His men? By arguing this way Jesus was claiming that He was at least as important as David was. The parallels between David and Jesus make Jesus' veiled claim to being the Son of David obvious.
12:5-6 Jesus' second argument came from Numbers 28:9-10. Technically the priests broke the Sabbath every week by changing the consecrated bread and by offering the burnt offerings the law specified for that day. However the law considered the priests guiltless for doing this "work"on the Sabbath.
Jesus claimed that something greater than the temple was present. He used the neuter "something"to refer to Himself because He wanted to stress a quality about the temple that He as an individual shared with the temple.493What is greater than the temple is Messiah. The quality they shared was that God came to meet with His people in the temple and in Immanuel.
In Jesus' argument the temple was greater than the Sabbath. However now something greater than the temple was there, namely Messiah. Consequently Messiah takes precedence over the Sabbath. The Pharisees not only mishandled the law, but they also failed to perceive who Jesus was. As the temple's authority shielded the priests from guilt, so Jesus' authority as Messiah shielded His disciples from guilt. Jesus was not comparing but contrasting the priests' authority and His authority.
12:7-8 Jesus again criticized the Pharisees for failing to understand the Scriptures (cf. v. 3), and He quoted Hosea 6:6 again (cf. 9:13). Previously Jesus had cited this verse to show the Pharisees that they failed to recognize their own need. Now He used it to show them that they failed to recognize Him. The Jews in Hosea's day relied on mere ritual to satisfy God. The Pharisees were doing the same thing. They had not grasped the real significance of the law, as their criticism of Jesus' disciples demonstrated. Jesus accused the accusers and declared the disciples innocent.
As Son of Man, "this man,"Jesus was Lord of the Sabbath. That is, His authority was greater than the authority that God had given the Sabbath over His people. Jesus had the authority to do anything He wished with the Sabbath. Significantly He abolished its observance when He terminated the whole Mosaic Code even as the temple effectively abolished it for the priests within the Mosaic system.
In the previous encounter Jesus appealed to Scripture, but in this one He did not. In that one His disciples were the target of Pharisaic criticism, but in this one He was.
12:9-10 The Pharisees believed that it was permissible to give medical assistance on the Sabbath only if a sick person's life was in danger.494They also permitted midwifery and circumcision on the Sabbath.495
12:11-13 This is the third time in Matthew that Jesus argued for the superiority of human life over animal life (cf. 6:26; 10:31). His argument presupposed the special creation of man (Gen. 1-2). Jesus assumed, apparently with good reason, that the Pharisees would lift a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. His argument was again qal wahomer(from the light to the heavy, cf. vv. 5-6). Neither the sheep in the illustration nor the man in the synagogue was in mortal danger. Jesus cut through the Pharisaic distinctions about how much help one could give to the more basic issue of doing good.
Jesus again healed with a word (9:1-8). The healing confirmed the power of His word, a power that God demonstrated in creation and that marked Jesus as God's agent. This miracle confirmed again Jesus' lordship over the Sabbath (v. 8) and His authority to forgive sins (9:1-8). Notice that Matthew made no reference to the healed man's faith. It may have played no part in this miracle, or Matthew simply may have made no mention of it. Matthew wanted to focus attention on Jesus and the Pharisees, not on the man.
12:14 The Pharisees would not have put someone to death simply because he broke one of their traditional laws. They wanted to kill Jesus because they understood Him to be making messianic claims that they rejected. "Counseled together"(NASB) or "plotted"(NIV, Gr. sumboulion elabon) means the Pharisees had reached a definite decision.
"The phrase means to come to a conclusion, rather than to deliberate whether or not."496
This verse takes the official rejection of Messiah farther than it has gone before in Matthew. It is "the culminating point of the opposition of the Jewish religious authorities."497
"Given this narrative comment, the reader knows that the leaders' repudiation of Jesus has now become irreversible."498
Matthew concluded the two accounts of the Pharisees' conflict with Jesus over Sabbath observance. He did so with a summary of His ministry that shows He fulfilled messianic prophecy. Jesus' tranquillity and gentleness in this pericope contrast with the Pharisees' hatred in the former one.
12:15-17 Jesus withdrew when opposition became intense before His time to go to the cross had arrived (cf. 4:12; 14:13; 15:21).
"This is the pattern of His ministry until His final and open rejection in chapters twenty-one to twenty-seven--opposition, withdrawal, and continued ministry."499
He had instructed His disciples to follow a similar procedure (10:11-14, 23-24). He withdrew specifically to avoid open conflict with the Pharisees.500His extensive ministry continued (cf. 4:23; 8:16; 9:35) as did His encouragements to those He healed to keep quiet about what had happened to them but with no greater cooperation (cf. 8:4; 9:30). His conduct fulfilled Scripture.
12:18-21 Matthew recently selected material that presented Jesus as the Son of God, the Son of David, and God Himself. Now he pointed out again that Jesus' conduct proved Him to be the prophesied Suffering Servant of the Lord. The citation is from Isaiah 42:1-4. This is the longest Old Testament quotation in the first Gospel.
The Greek word paistranslated "servant"can also mean "son."However the Hebrew word that it translates means "servant."Matthew recorded "whom I have chosen"rather than "whom I uphold"in Isaiah 42:1 evidently to stress God's election and love of Jesus (cf. 3:16-17; 17:5). Jesus performed His miracles with the power of the Spirit whom the Father had poured out upon Him. These miracles extended even to Gentiles. Note the presence of the Trinity in this Old Testament passage.
Isaiah predicted that Messiah would minister with gentleness and humility (v. 19). He would not present Himself arrogantly or brashly. He would be very compassionate (v. 20). He would not advance His own program by stepping on others. He would bring salvation finally to the harassed and helpless (9:36) as well as to the weary and burdened (11:28) without crushing the weak.501This concept of Messiah was much more gentle than the one Jesus' contemporaries held. They expected Him to crush all opposition. He would, however, bring justice to pass. In Matthew "justice"(Gr. krisis) means fast approaching judgment, not just justice as opposed to injustice.502Justice in the kingdom is in view. Consequently the Gentiles would put their trust in Him (v. 21).
"In the face of rejection by the nation of Israel Matthew, by Messianic prophecies, prepares his Jewish reader for the proclamation of a universal Savior."503
This Old Testament quotation helps the reader see how many of the characteristics of Jesus and His ministry that Matthew has presented fit the pattern of messianic prophecy. It also sets the stage for other things that Matthew recorded that demonstrated Jesus' messiahship.
