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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Matt. 12:1-21
This passage came to mind for some reason the other day, and a thought occurred to me. I am thinking that maybe the two situations Jesus mentioned here are more than mere examples of when it is lawful to break the law. I think there may be a deeper message in them.
David and his men ate the bread of the Presence, which belonged only to the priests. Jesus disciples were in a similar situation, as they were eating grain in the presence of the Bread of Life. Likely not a coincidental connection. Though David and his men were not priests according to Moses’ Law, David was God’s chosen one. Thus, there seems to be a connection in all of this to the truth that we who are in Christ are a kingdom of priests.
Jesus followed that example by saying that the priests serving in the temple were innocent when they violated the Sabbath. If, then, we are a kingdom of priests serving in the body of Christ, God’s temple, we are no longer operating under Moses’ Law, but under Christ, who is God’s mercy. This doesn’t mean that we disregard the Sabbath. What it means is that we understand that the Sabbath is not a set of rules we must adhere to on a given day. We know we find the true meaning and essence of the Sabbath in Jesus. This is why He said, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matt. 12:8b).
Mark 2:23-3:35
Jesus said a difficult thing in Mark 3:28-29, words which Matthew and Luke also noted. Something about the way Mark states these words, as read in the CSB translation this morning, made me look at them slightly differently, though. It gives me the impression that this is another one of those statements that I am completely over thinking. I have struggled with trying to figure out what exactly this sin that will never be forgiven is. The pat answer is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But what does that really mean? I have given myself the explanation that it means attributing God’s work to the devil. But what makes that unforgivable where other sins are not?
One thing I noticed this morning is that Mark says that these noted offenders never have forgiveness. He doesn’t say that they won’t be forgiven, as Matthew and Luke do. Another thing I noted is the footnote in the CSB. Instead of reading, “is guilty of an eternal sin”, the footnote suggests, “is subject to eternal judgment”. That got me thinking that this statement isn’t about an “unforgiveable sin” at all. Rather, it is about a heart that refuses to accept forgiveness through Jesus.
I did some looking around and discovered that Eugene Peterson, in his translation, “The Message”, actually states what I’m thinking quite well. His translation of Jesus’ statement reads like this: “Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” (Mark 3:28-29).
Luke 6:1-19
You’ve gotta love irony, and the Bible is full of it. Jesus knew the religious leaders were looking to find something against Him. So He asked them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” (Lk. 6:9b). They, of course, didn’t answer His rhetorical question. Yet when He did good by giving life to a man’s dead, shriveled hand, they did evil by trying to plot Jesus’ death. It’s ironic because, even though the answer to Jesus’ question was obvious, they couldn’t admit that they were on the wrong side of it.