Matthew 12:3-6………Working

Matthew 12:3-6………Working

He answered, “Haven’t you read (Expresses a snub; “Don’t you read your bible.) what David did when he and his companions were hungry? (David and his fighting men while on the run from King Saul.) 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—(12 loaves of Holy Bread that was set before God in the Tabernacle.) which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day (By their cultic duties in slaughtering lamps for sacrificial offerings.) and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. (Greater in divinity, worship, service. Jesus is greater than the Temple as the meeting point for God having brought down the dividing wall between man and God. Jesus is greater than the Priests work, having offered His own body and blood as a spotless sacrifice in dying for sins of the world.-(New)

Extended Sermon Notes

“Teaches if scriptures did not condemn David or the Priest’s for breaking the Sabbath, how less the disciples who serve Christ” ⇒ By citing this example, Jesus shows the Pharisees how the scripture makes room for grace. God’s law is intended as a benefit, not a burden. Even though it is absolute, there is a hierarchy, and loving, caring, and having mercy for people will always come above mere compliance.

“Teaches how God allows concession where the heart falls short and greater need is at stake.” ⇒ Though scripture allows for concessions, that doesn’t mean we can excuse sin. If you think that then you’ll find a reason to break the rules and then justify it. That is not what Jesus is saying here. That is not what Jesus is saying here. But rather the point is love, compassion, and human need is more important than rules   . There’s a lot of things that the bible doesn’t specifically condemn. Does that mean its O.K. Of course not! Jesus said anyone who looks at a women lustfully has committed adultery in his heart.-(Matt. 5:28 ) Even the Apostle Paul said “All things are permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial.”(1-Cor. 10:23 ) Even though there are occasions where necessities outweigh the precepts of God’ law. God doesn’t like a divorce. But He allows divorce because He wants us to have peace. Sometimes we have to break the law to do the right thing. You may have to break the speed limit to get your pregnant wife, whose about to give birth to the hospital. But we should never use our liberty as an excuse to sin.-(Rom. 6:15-23) There’s a big difference between liberty and license. Never think God will overlook some sin because were helping someone out. If you think there’s an exception to the rule, the chances are you’ll abuse it by looking for a reason to sin and then try to justify it. Not only that but we can also start substitute law & rules for love. Love is hard rules are easy. It’s easier to follow rules than have to love the unlovely.

“Even today, hunger and human need always trumps rules and religious observances no matter what! (Mercy always wins out over religious rules!)” ⇒…….(To be Continued)

“This is not saying its alright to sin under some circumstances. But rather it’s a call on being less dogmatic and more flexible.” ⇒ Suppose the law David had broken was adultery. Could you imagine Jesus coming along and saying, “Well, you know, under certain circumstances you can break that one too”? Isn’t it interesting that, in fact, David did break that law, but that’s not the example Jesus uses here……….(To be Continued)

More Notes & Applications

Warns how just like the religious leaders we can read the bible and miss the message. We can be proficient with Scripture and know everything about the bible, and yet miss the heart of God and end up getting and sending the wrong message. It’s easy to read books about the bible than actually reading the bible. Spurgeon once said “Reading many books is good, but make your home in the bible. It’s easy to gloss over bible passages without studying and digging deeper as to know what it means and what God is trying to say.” It’s not about accruing knowledge in being well versed in scriptures, able to quote chapter and verse by memory. Or one-upmanship in hyper spirituality. When we open our bibles we should seeking an encountering with God. Ask yourself this when you read the bible do you encounter boring black marks on a page. Or are you communing with the living God in the  scripture? Are you seeking to meet and know God better. In other words is what you read in the bible mumbo-jumbo or is It real to you? Is scripture simply good advice, or do you see a principal you can learn from and apply to your life?

Jesus by asking the Pharisees “Haven’t you read”. Is like asking a bible scholar who as a doctorate degree “Haven’t your read the bible.” Jesus may not necessarily meant this to be dig on them. What He is trying to convey is, you read the bible, but you’ve not understood it.

Jesus’ use of David is in reverence to when David and his fighting men were on the run from King Saul who was seeking to kill him; because God had made it clear that He was going to remove him from the throne and place righteous David on it instead. As David hurriedly ran for his life he didn’t have time to take food for himself or for the men who were with him. As they arrived in Nob, where the Tabernacle of the Lord was. They came to Abimelech, the priest, for assistance. They were starving. Abimelech had no ordinary bread to give them. All that was available was the “showbread”—the bread that was set out fresh each week as a part of the worship in the temple, in accordance with God’s command through Moses (Leviticus 24:5-9). It was commanded in the Scriptures that only the priests of the temple may eat it (Exodus 29:32-33; Leviticus 22:10-16). But when Ahimelech saw that David and his men were truly hungry; and that they were holy men, and not ceremonially unclean; and that fresh bread was about to take its place—mercy took precedence over the letter of the law, and he gave the bread to David and his men (1 Samuel 21:16).

Shewbread