Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry
David and his companions were fleeing from King Saul who was trying to kill David, similar to the way the religious authorities were pursuing and looking to ensnare Jesus and his disciples.
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
The importance of the kingship of the true king was of such magnitude that David and his men were allowed to share in the priestly privileges of those who worked in the temple. The disciples' service of Jesus was worthy of a similar exemption from the normal rules because of the importance of his mission, which itself issued from the greatness of his identity. He was something greater than the temple, and so service of him was a true priestly ministry.
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
Priests were permitted to work on the sabbath because the sabbath and the work of priests were ordered to God. Similarly, service of the mission of God in Jesus Christ was not opposed to God's intentions for the sabbath. In fact, the even the sabbath could not be fully what it was meant to be without the success of that mission. The reign of the true priest and true king Jesus himself was the necessary condition for the fullness of sabbath rest that God intended for his people. Thus all work done on the sabbath in service of that mission was priestly, royal, and necessary.
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
It wasn't that the Pharisees were entirely wrong about the importance of the sabbath. It was rather that by misunderstanding the still greater importance of Jesus himself they set a lesser good over a greater one and ended up in contradiction and error. They tried to honor the sabbath over and against the one who made the sabbath, the one who was its Lord. They respected those things done in the service of the temple but failed to offer due worship to him who was the temple's Lord.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
Jesus desired to show mercy on all of humanity. The Pharisees seemed to rather seek sacrifice in a way the was oppressive, hostile, and opposed to mercy. God's mercy on David took precedence over the normal temple regulations, which themselves took precedence over the sabbath regulations. How much more ought the mercy God wanted to bestow on the world through Jesus himself take precedence?
One would be surprised if the disciples had worked out these finer points or if they could have offered an adequate defense of what they did if they were asked. It was most likely rather their proximity to Jesus and their confidence in him that gave them the sense of freedom they enjoyed. They didn't understand the intricacies of the law, but they did understand the central importance of Jesus himself. They knew that Jesus would not hesitate to chastise them if they were heading in the wrong direction. And they understood that for those who sought his Kingdom first all else would be provided.
No comments:
Post a Comment