Warm up question in groups of 2-3: Option 1: Andy Griffith once said, “Sometimes you go not so much by the book but by the heart.” Agree or disagree? Option 2: Define a nitpicker. What makes people want to be nit- pickers? Look for ways the Pharisees in our text were nit pickers.
Matthew 12:1-2
- What does Deuteronomy 23:25 say about picking grain from someone else’s field? Taking a few handfuls was permitted but using a sickle would be a crime.
- When the Pharisees said that what the disciples was doing was not lawful, what law were they referring to? Their rabbinic traditions that were added to the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law did forbid harvesting or reaping on the Sabbath. Their man-made religious rules were not part of God’s commands.
- Which of the Ten Commandments deal with the Sabbath? The fourth. Read Exodus 20:8-11 to be reminded of exactly what it says about the Sabbath.
- What is the Sabbath principle? By setting aside one day in seven, we acknowledge that all 7 days belong to the Lord. It’s similar to tithing. By giving one tenth, we acknowledge that all that we have belongs to the Lord.
- Should Sunday be just like any other day of the week or should it be different and set aside to the Lord?
Matthew 12:3-8
- What Scripture was Jesus referring to when he said, “Haven’t you read what David did…”? I Samuel 21:1-6 Ask someone to read this aloud to gain further understanding of what Jesus was discussing here.
- What do you think Jesus was implying by his question? That the Pharisees were supposed to know the Scriptures but apparently, they didn’t know them that well.
- Was it hypocritical of the Pharisees to be okay with David and his men eating the holy bread in the tabernacle, but they objected to Jesus’ disciples eating a few handfuls of grain which was permitted by law? Very much so. Cornerstone Bible Commentary:
- “Jesus first question alludes to I Samuel 12:1-6 (cf. Lev. 24:8), the account of the sorry incident in which David is famished while fleeing from Saul, and lied to the priest Ahimelech, which resulted in Saul’s executing all the priests at Nob. The argument is from lesser to greater, as is explicitly stated in 12:6. Evidently the Pharisees did not object to David’s technically illegal behavior of eating the sacred bread (cf. Lev. 24:5-9) with the permission of the priest Ahimelech, but they objected to Jesus’s hungry disciples doing what was permitted by Deut. 23:25. It is implied that Jesus is greater than David.
- How were the priests who ministered in the tabernacle violating the Sabbath? Their work involved doing things that technically violated the Sabbath regulations. What point was Jesus making by bringing that up? The Pharisees were okay with the work of the priests, but yet they criticized Jesus and his companions for eating handfuls of grain on the Sabbath. He was merely pointing their hypocrisy.
- What other time did Jesus quote Hosea 6:6 in Matthew? 9:13
- What was his point in quoting that OT verse? Again, from the CBC: “As Lord of the Sabbath (12:8), he provided the ultimate authoritative interpretation of its role in the life of God’s people. Jesus promised his disciples rest, an easy yoke, and a light burden (11:29-30). His approach to the Sabbath is a clear example of how his promise is fulfilled.”
Matthew 12:9-14
- How did Jesus respond the Pharisees question about whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath? He asked them what they would do if their sheep feel into a pit on the Sabbath? Read what else he said in 12:12.
- According to 12:14, did “being in church” do them any good? Not hardly