Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 2 -Whose Authority?

Recently I penned a series of post on the Ten Commandments and as I was writing it, found that the Sabbath day was the only commandment not reapplied  to believers in the New Testament.

In writing that series of posts, I was reminded that the Sabbath day was one of the main irritants between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees.

In our last post we spoke of how the Pharisees relied on the authority of the traditions of the elders to claim the disciples were in sin due to rubbing grain together.  It astounds me that the law exercised could result in the death of any person due to rubbing grain together on a Sabbath day.

Let’s continue in our passage and consider how the Lord brought His authority to the Pharisees

Two Kings

Matthew 12:3  He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:

Jesus likened Himself and His disciples to King David and his band of followers.  This is amazing, since the Messiah is often referred to as David’s Son, and the comparison would not be lost on the Pharisees.

Both Jesus and David’s followers were hungry, but with David’s situation, they  took and ate the holy shew bread, only allowed for the priests.  It seems Jesus disciples simply broke a “rule” of harvesting grain on the Sabbath (that men had created.)

Note that Jesus picked a time in David’s life that, although he was anointed as King of Israel, he was on the run, under persecution from the ruling government of Israel.  Is that not like the condition Jesus was in at the time.  The anointed King Jesus was not accepted by the current ruler.  His followers were, and are despised and rejected, as the Leader is.

Matthew 12: 4  how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

King Davids followers broke a law of God, in that they ate which was only for the priests.  King Jesus’s disciples rubbed grain on the wrong day, and the Pharisees in the wrong way.

In this argument, the food was less sacred, the law being “broken” was less sacred (it was a tradition of the elders) and the King being followed is greater!  Every factor in this comparison fights against the Pharisees initial claim!

This initial argument hinges on the identification of the Lord Jesus as likened to King David.

You see, King Jesus has authority over His subjects. 

The Pharisees rules – they can keep them for themselves.

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