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Title: Different Issue, Same Conclusion
Very quickly after leaving the scene with the discussion between Jesus and Pharisees over the picking and eating of grain on the Sabbath, we see Jesus in another confrontation, most likely with the same Pharisees.
How the Pharisees try to corner Jesus, and how Jesus responds, sheds light on the much bigger battle that was being waged in first century Judea.
I. That they might accuse him
“Their” meaning the synagogue of the Pharisees he had just spoken to about the wheat
The motivation of the the Pharisees was to trap Jesus, not to learn. They were not interested in whether or not this man may have been their messiah, their deliverer. Their minds were closed to that, and there intention was set up one thing: brining Jesus to humiliation.
Ever been asked a loaded question? How does that make you feel? (Take answers)
It immediately puts you on the defensive, right? You sense that the question is just a means to then end of the other person getting to say what they want to say, but don’t have the courage to just come out and say.
The Pharisees want to say, “You don’t honor the Sabbath. You and your disciples picked grain on the Sabbath, and now you’re about to heal this man.” But instead, they word their accusation in the form of a question, hoping Jesus might slip up and then the Pharisees would be publicly within their right to play the role of religious watchdog and discredit and shame Jesus.
POINT: This happens all the time in the Church. Between leaders, between denominations, between egos. We ask questions but we are really not looking for answer, for education. We are looking for a place to attack, to pounce, and to discredit. It’s shameful, it’s pharisaic, and, worst of all, it’s immature.
Application: We need to check our own motivations when we start asking questions. Are we truly trying to learn in humility, or are we looking for a way to attack and discredit?
- An Answer Rooted in Practical Theology
The best answers are answers that are relatable. Good pastors have a way of teaching the things of scripture so that they make a real, daily difference that is applicable in our everyday walks and lives. Jesus was the master of this type of teaching and example.
The way Jesus answers the Pharisees’ question is quite interesting. He returns a question to them, a question that would have resonated and made sense to everyone in that synagogue.
When asked about healing on the Sabbath, Jesus responds with an example of saving a sheep that has fallen into a pit. This was a farming society, everyone would have understood the importance of not losing one of the flock. And, if the people were being honest with themselves, everyone one of them would have gone into that pit to save that helpless animal, regardless of whether or not it was the sabbath.
You see the Pharisees were asking, “Is it good to do work on the Sabbath?”And Jesus responds by flipping the verbiage, and then asks them, “Is it work to do good on the Sabbath?”
The Pharisees problem here was not that they were observing the Sabbath, but that they misinterpreted it. Their dogmatic belief was that any work, and strain, any stress was “work” and therefore a violation of the Law.
Jesus’ response further amplifies his teaching from Matthew 5:17 during the sermon on the mount, which we studied here about a year ago. “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
Several times throughout the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches with the phrase, “You have heard it said…but I tell you.” Fully expressing not only his expertise in the Law, but his authority to explain how to truly fulfill it.
And that leads to our final point this morning…
III. Once again, the Issue is Jesus’ Lordship
The real reason the Pharisees were so intent on destroying Jesus in verse 14 is because they understood the threat he was to their power, their moral stranglehold over the Jewish people.
What isn’t said in this passage, but is certainly said elsewhere in the N.T. and implied here is this: The people were responding to Jesus’ teaching, miracles, and ministry. Not only was he showing them the way to holiness, but he was also exposing the human greed, pettiness, and pride of the spiritual leaders of the time.
That is why he was such a threat. It wasn’t just because he was proclaiming he had authority.
Heck, I can proclaim authority over all of you, and exclaim, today, after the business meeting, I demand that we all go to Jake’s and that I be blessed with a NY Strip steak, medium, with a Coke!
Well, what shows whether I have authority? If you all follow my instructions and do it.
If nobody was listening or responding to Jesus, the Pharisees would have written him off. But people were responding to him, and why wouldn’t they? He was obviously supernaturally powered, he was obviously outwitting the Pharisees, he was obviously speaking and acting as one who had authority…and that is why he had to die.
This was not a theological battle. It was a spiritual battle. The humanist, prideful, arrogant, power-hungry Pharisees on one side, the professing messiah, and Lord of all things (including the Sabbath) on the other.