Matthew 12:1-8 NIV
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. [2] When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” [3] He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? [4] He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. [5] Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? [6] I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. [7] If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. [8] For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
It’s not that Jesus doesn’t see God’s Law as important, he does, but he sees what it is there for. It’s not arbitrary, there to be obeyed simply for its own sake, but it is there for our sake, our benefit, and should be interpreted and understood in that light.
Father, forgive us when we get so caught up in the rules that we forget about you and your desire for humanity.
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