THURSDAY
This week we’ve been exploring how Jesus is presented as the new, better temple in the gospels. Today let’s look at Jesus’ direct statement that he is greater than the temple.
Matthew 11:28-12:8 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 12 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,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
This passage is located right after Jesus has promised to give his disciples rest if they come to him (Matt. 11:28-30). He is the source of their Sabbath rest. He has positioned himself as the authority on the Law of Moses. Now the Pharisees are accusing him and his disciples of breaking the Sabbath laws.
The Law of Moses specifically allowed for someone to pick a few heads of grain with their hands and eat them from their neighbor’s field. They were prohibited from harvesting it with a sickle (Deut. 23:25), but not picking a couple and eating them. Their accusation, however, was tied to a violation of the Sabbath laws. Similarly the Law of Moses doesn’t specify what constitutes work on the Sabbath, but the Jewish religious leaders filled in the blanks by specifically documenting what was work and what wasn’t.
Jesus’ line of argument is not to excuse their behavior on the grounds of not actually violating the law. He takes a different line of reasoning. His argument is based on authority. He presents the case of David eating the bread of the presence from the tabernacle which was only for the priests (1 Sa. 21:6; Lev. 24:5, 9). The Pharisees excused David because of his kingly authority. Then he mentions how the priests desecrate the Sabbath by performing their temple duties as well. Again, the Pharisees do not object to this violation of Sabbath rest. Then Jesus drops the bombshell, “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.” Jesus is clearly talking about himself here even though the Pharisees didn’t recognize it. If the priests are justified in serving in the temple on the Sabbath, how much more his disciples justified in serving him. They are inconsistently applying their laws but they don’t see it because they don’t recognize the authority of Jesus.
So if David was excused for violating the Law when he ate the bread of the presence because of his position of authority as king and the priests are excused from violating the Sabbath Laws because of their positional authority as priests, Jesus is certainly excused for his disciples violating the Sabbath laws by plucking a few heads of grain.
He further drives the point home by pointing to their lack of understanding of Scripture. They had a faulty priority list in applying their laws as Hos. 6:6 reveals. God desires mercy from his people, not just religious rituals. Their interpretive approach to the Bible is off—they interpret it primarily as a legalistic document. Jesus interprets it primarily from the perspective of loving people. And Jesus is the authority on this because he is “Lord of the Sabbath.”
Again, Jesus is here taking a position of authority. He is greater than the temple. He is Lord of the Sabbath, ie. the one in whom rest is found (Matt. 11:28-30). The Sabbath points to Jesus. The temple points to Jesus. He is the authoritative interpreter of the Law of Moses because he is the Messiah, the one who fulfills the law (Matt. 5:17). The Law was only to be the guardian of God’s people until the Messiah (Gal. 3:24).
Additional Content
Reflection
Do you recognize Jesus’ authority over all things? If you do surrender all things in your life to him.
Do you read the Bible primarily through the interpretive lens of the Pharisees or Jesus. Do you read it through the lens of laws and legalism or through the lens of God’s love for you and how you should love others?