Sabbath

So, do we have to follow the rules or not?

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?" so that they might accuse him. He said to them, "Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. - Matt. 12:1-14

Jesus has a problem with sacrifice when it comes to the Sabbath.

While he says that he will not change one stroke of one letter of the law and that we need to obey the Commandments, he gives the Pharisees a hard time when they challenge him about the Sabbath.

This is one of those situations where it looks like Jesus is changing the rules to benefit his followers, but is that really what he's doing?

He draws a comparison between the priests and everyone else.

If the priests are guiltless for breaking the sabbath, why should everyone else have to keep it?

This is a good point since it seems to have universal implications.  How many leaders failed to follow the rules during the pandemic?

He doesn't say it here, but Jesus has said God created the Sabbath for man.  It is a day of rest, but it doesn't mean you ignore life on that day.

If someone needs help on the Sabbath, wouldn't you help them?

If an animal falls into a pit, he says, would you leave it there until the Sabbath is over?

The Pharisees do not like being challenged.  Their authority is supreme, so this challenge in thinking is not something they will put up with.

The same is true today when we challenge those in power and they see that we have a point.  We become the target.

So it was in Jesus's day.

We don't learn quickly, do we?

More to come...