Mt. 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat .
Mk. 2:23 Now it happened, that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.
Lk. 6:1 Now it happened, on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfield. And His disciples picked the heads of grains and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.
Based on the fences in the Mishnah, His disciples were guilty of breaking four Pharisaic laws. When they took the grain from the stalk, they were guilty of reaping. When they worked the grains in their hands to separate the wheat from the chaff, they were guilty of threshing. When they blew in their hands to ride the wheat of the chaff, they were guilty of winnowing. When they put the grain in their mouths and swallowed it, they were guilty of storing. You could probably also add that when they chewed the grain, they were guilty of grinding. This is a prime example of just how ridiculous some of the Pharisees became, and why Yeshua rebuked them for it. That is what they were being accused of by the Pharisees in this passage. In fact, according to Pharisaic law, you were not allowed to walk on the grass lest you inadvertently separate grain from the stalk and be guilty of reaping.
Sources: Deut. 23:25; M:Shabbat 16:2
Mt. 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!?
Mk. 2:24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Lk. 6:2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
This is the only case where Yeshua appears to violate the laws of the Sabbath, where His disciples pluck ears of corn (wheat) and pull out the seeds. But, in two secondary sources – One Jewish-Christian and the other Christian – we are told that the disciples did not pluck the ears, but simply held them and pulled the seeds by rubbing them with their hands. In this manner, there was a controversy between the Galileans, who regarded this as permissible on the Sabbath when using one’s hands, and other Sages, who ruled that it was permissible only when using one’s fingers. It appears that the disciples of Yeshua the Galilean followed the ruling of the Galilean Rabbi Judah bar Iiai.
Sources: Exodus 20:10; Deut. 5:14; M:Betsah 5:2; M:Eduyoth 2:6; M:Kerithoth 3:10; M:Maaser 4:5; M:Sanhedrin 7:4, 8; M:Shabbat 7:2
Mt. 12:3 Then He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?”
Mk. 2:25 But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him?”
Lk. 6:3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those with him?”
The deeper meaning is tied to the Jewish teaching concerning the creation of the world. As is well known, the Ten Commandments themselves and the seven days of creation are closely linked because God Himself created the world in six days, but rested on the seventh. The divine order is reflected in the Decalogue by the injunction to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest. According to traditional Jewish teachings, the world was created for all humanity. Moreover, God created humankind on the sixth day right before the beginning of the first Sabbath. The beauty of creation was fashioned as the domain and individual sphere of human beings who were created in the divine image. In order to drive home the deeper meaning of the world’s design, the rabbis described the creation in parabolic language. Their view of creation of the world is based upon the Jewish interpretation of the Bible. By wisdom (Proverbs 8, 9) God created the world. But, He fashioned the world for humanity in the same way that a king prepares a banquet for his invited guests. Carefully, with his guests in mind, the Holy One designed the world. God created the world and prepared everything so that humankind would be created on the eve of the Sabbath, and thus enter directly into the observance of God’s commandments.
Indeed, Adam, representative of all humans, was created on the eve of the Sabbath, and hence, he was directed to rest on the Sabbath day as a response to God’s command. He was given the finest work of the Master Designer who sanctioned it with a day of rest that represented humanity’s obedience to God. Humankind was created on th eve of the Sabbath and the Sabbath was created for every human being.
When questioned by some of the Pharisees concerning the picking of grain on the Sabbath, Yeshua developed His discussion upon the foundation of Jewish oral teachings. In addition to other points of His discussion, here Yeshua reminds His listeners of more legal principles which would be similar to His arguments in John’s Gospel concerning circumcision taking precedence over the Sabbath observance. He defends His more lenient position concerning the Sabbath rest with a similar proof. He mentions the famous episode from the life of King David when he tried to escape the death plot of King Saul. David and his men are the Bread of the Presence which according to Jewish Law was forbidden for them to eat. These points are clear from the words of Yeshua in the Gospel story concerning the Sabbath controversy.
Source: I Samuel 21:1-6
Mt. 12:4 “How he entered the house of God and ate the shewbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?”
Mk. 2:26 “How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the High Priest, and ate the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”
Lk. 6:4 “How he went into the house of God, took and ate the shewbread, and also gave some to those who were with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”
The Oral Tradition places a great emphasis on the preservation of life. All commandments of the Bible must be suspended in order to save a human life. The Pharisees emphasized saving a life at all coats. The only exceptions to this rule are idolatry, incest, and murder. One should choose death rather than commit any of these. Nonetheless, the preservation of life takes precedence over the Sabbath observance. David and his men were being pursued by Saul. They were so hungry, according to traditional interpretations, that their lives were at risk. All of the commandments of the Bible must be suspended to save their lives. They were hungry and so they ate the Bread of the Presence from the house of God.
Source: Leviticus 24:5-9
Mt. 12:5 “Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?”
The Oral Traditions give Yeshua’s argument definite force. According to traditional interpretations of this incident in King David’s life, the Bread of the Presence was always baked on the Sabbath (Lev. 24:5). The fact that this event in David’s life happened on the Sabbath made it so much more pertinent to the question concerning Yeshua and His disciples. So, not only did the incident occur on the Sabbath, but also according to commentaries on the passage, David and his men’s lives were at risk because of their great hunger. Their life-threatening hunger is crucial because of the legal rulings in the Oral Torah.
Moreover, Yeshua directly refers to the Oral Torah concerning the priests and the requirements of the Sabbath. He notes that the priests perform their tasks in the Temple on the Sabbath, even though their activities constitute work and would be forbidden without a proper interpretation of the Torah. In the Gospels this ruling is described with precision in the sam way it appears in the later Jewish sources. The priests perform their work in the Temple on the Sabbath because their sacred duties take precedence over the laws pertaining to the day of rest. Yeshua employs the Oral Law to address those who question the actions of His disciples. He possesses an intimate acquaintance with the Oral Torah and does not betray any interest in violating either the Written Torah or its traditional interpretations. The Oral Law gives the Written letter of the Bible its true force.
Sources: Lev. 24:5; Num. 28:9, 10; M:Erubim 10:11; M:Nedaim 3:11; M:Pesachim 6:1, 2; M:Rosh haShanah 1:4; 2:5; M:Shabbast 18:3; 19:1
Mt. 12:6 “But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the Temple.”
Mt. 12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not condemn the guiltless.”
Source: Hosea 6:6
Mk. 2:27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
Yeshua accepted the challenge of those who questioned the action of His disciples and their Sabbath observances. He employed accepted Jewish halakhic discussion and interpretation to respond to the legal aspects of the issue. The words of Yeshua, when translated into their historical Hebrew context, ring with a dynamic authenticity and the magnetic originality of the Teacher of Nazareth. In a most eloquent manner, Yeshua exploited the opportunity afforded him by the Pharisees’ question to speak about God’s creative activity and the divine order. But, the divine presence meets each person on the human level with his or her basic needs, for “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Mt. 12:8 “For the son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mk. 2:28 “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Lk. 6:5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Yeshua’s answer rises above a purely judicial ruling and reaches beyond into Israel’s past to create a dynamic approach to Sabbath observances. In fact, the words of Yeshua concerning the Sabbath and every human being are closely paralleled in rabbinic literature. Sometimes the sayings of the ancient Jewish rabbis are quite similar to the Gospel teachings of Yeshua. For example, the words of Mark’s Gospel are almost identical to the teachings of the Jewish Sage Rabbi Simeon ben Menaya concerning the Sabbath day observances.
No comments:
Post a Comment