Today’s passage: Matthew 12:1-14
Helpful thoughts:
- The Pharisees are now actively looking to find fault…and they will fail.
- The Pharisees were legalistic, meaning they thought that obedience to the Law was the basis of God’s favor. Therefore, if they could find fault in Jesus, they thought they could prove that Jesus was out of favor with God.
- As is almost always the case, the Pharisees’ legalism caused them to:
- Add to the Law their own extra requirements
- Ignore exceptions to the Law from the contents of the Old Testament
- Miss the heart of the Law (God didn’t give the Law to them for the reasons they were utilizing it)
Questions to consider:
- What was Jesus’ basis for claiming these truths about the Law and the Sabbath day? Who did He say He is?
- What does, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” mean?
- Why is it wrong for us to be legalistic? What did Jesus accomplish for us?
- Are there any “laws” that you have written and require people to follow?