This morning I read Matthew 11:28-30 (my favorite verse), as well as the content right after it in Matthew 12. I want to reflect on some connections between those two sections in a way I hadn't noticed before! Here's the passage:
28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
1 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry: “how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence — which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? “Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. “If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Matthew 11:28-12:5 (CSB)
The few verses from chapter 11 are classic to me. In it, Jesus reveals to us the deepest nature of his heart, showing us his humility and desire for us to find his rest as we learn from him.
As I continued reading, I noticed that Jesus immediately shows us these realities about himself through his actions and words in the following passage. First, he shows us his humility as he and his disciples pick and eat grain from the fields. As Jesus and his disciples were constantly traveling, these are certainly not his fields, and likely are simply "random fields" they are passing by as they travel. In the law of Moses, we see direction from God to leave extra margins on the edges of your field for the poor, orphans, widows, and sojourners passing by who have nothing to eat (Leviticus 23:22). In this moment, that's Jesus and his disciples! The fact that Jesus identifies with this marginalized, needy class (and leads his disciples to do the same) show us his humility and weakness previously described in Chapter 11.
After this, the Pharisees see this and start to pick on the group (ironic considering the previously described connection to the Law). He then refutes their criticisms, using stories and ideas from the Old Testament to highlight the inconsistency between the strictness of Sabbath practice required by the Pharisees, compared to the historic practices described in past Jewish texts (David, and Levitical priestly rules).
The reframing of the law is important, but Jesus' final words in this section show me that this interaction is more than a simple (religious) legal squabble. Of great note are Jesus' final points:
- "Something better than the temple is here" (that something being Jesus)
- "I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice"
- Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath
Just like that, these debates about Sabbath law bring back into question God's actual design for Sabbath, the Law, and what it means to truly rest. Jesus answers these questions, showing us that following him is what will bring us our true, much needed Sabbath rest - in a way that following our own man made rules (the Pharisees) or even the Law itself could not bring. How great is it, then, that as Christians we can follow Jesus, who is gentle with us, humbly teaching us the way to go, bringing us the truest rest only available from him.
Thus, friends, let us follow Jesus! Not because he simply brings us new and better rules to follow, but because his Way is one of peace and rest free of religious law and the crushing obligations that come from it.