Jesus responds to the Phrsiees

Have you ever noticed that there are some people who will always be on the fringe of your life judging you? This happened to Jesus and the group that was judging his teaching and his disciple’s practices was called the Pharisees. The Pharisees in an honest attempt to be holy before God and to be obedient to His commands set in place certain rules and regulations that they would follow so as not to break God’s commandments. This complex system that the Pharisees developed over time turned into a system of legalism. Let’s listen to Jesus as he responds to the Pharisees concerning their judgment concerning his disciples practice on the Sabbath in Matthew 12:1-8. Let’s begin by noticing that the Pharisees were judging based on their oral tradition of the law and not what the Law said. Jesus responds to the Pharisees concern with two Old Testament examples and the passage of Scripture from Hosea 6:6 “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” This passage of Scripture teaches the LORD responded on two different occasion when the Law was being broken. Jesus recalls when David and his men were given the bread that was the sacred bread that only the priest could eat as the Lord prescribed to them. God gave King David mercy because he and his men were in need because they were on the run from King Saul. The LORD also made provisions within the Law so that the priest could do their ministry on the Sabbath day and not be guilty. The biblical truth that Jesus taught is still applicable today. Jesus is able to give the right interpretation of Scripture because he is the Son of Man who is the Lord of the Sabbath. The Pharisees struggled with applying Jesus’ interpretation of Scripture to their lives. Some of the Pharisees came to faith in Jesus after his resurrection and found rest for their souls. The same is true for you today when apply Jesus’ interpretation of the Scripture to your life. This wonderful news because God’s peace doesn’t change but our life situations are constantly changing. This why every person who has called upon Jesus to be their Lord and Savior needs to take following him seriously. God has given each person who has been born again a wonderful gift. This gift is the Holy Spirit who is God taking up residence in the life of each believer. He helps each person to know and apply Jesus’ interpretation of Scripture to your life. If you do not learn to study and apply the Bible for yourself you will be a practicing modern day Pharisee. I invite you to learn how to study the Bible using the inductive study method. I would like to recommend three Study Bibles that most people would benefit from: The ESV Study Bible published by Crossway, the NIV Study Bible edited by D.A. Carson and the CSB Study Bible.