The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 12
Originally posted January 15, 2008
General Comment: One of Jesus' sayings recorded in
chapter 11 caught my eye on second reading. It was in response to John's
questioning if Jesus was the "one who is to come," the Messiah.
Part of Jesus' response is, "...and the poor have good news brought to
them." In a sea of poverty, what good news can Jesus bring? What good
news can we bring? Are words enough - go and be filled? Prophets such as
Isaiah, Amos and others were insistent upon including the poor within God's
call to Israel for special attention. As a church in the middle of
Orlando, we are also under that call. Many of our members do work with the
poor, the homeless, through local agencies, and part of our offerings are
channeled in that direction. Poverty is a problem of growing enormity in
our "richest-nation-in-the-world" country. I suppose Jesus'
comment, "The poor you will always have with you," still resonates in
our own time and calls for our Christian response.
Matthew 12:1-8 Controversy over Sabbath Law
Reaping (harvesting) was one of the 39 categories of work
prohibited on the Sabbath. We read this story in the context of the sacred
nature of the Sabbath among the Jews. It was part of the creation story,
especially blessed and called holy by God as a day of rest, a gift to all
humanity, an act of God's justice, applying to the alien resident, slave,
servant and livestock alike (Gen. 2:1-3; Exod. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15). It
was included as one of the Ten Commandments. There were times in
Jewish history when Jews had rather die than profane the
Sabbath. The Sabbath was one of the definers of what it meant to be a
Jew, along with Torah, circumcision and the worship of one
God. It is in this understanding that we hear the Pharisees' complaint to
Jesus.
It was not because the disciples were plucking someone
else's grain. Torah, in keeping with God's mercy, allowed such action as
long as a person did not fill up a basket to take home (Deut.
23:24-25).The disciples are violating the Sabbath day by "reaping"
the grain and preparing food (rubbing the grain heads between the palms of
the hands. This was considered to be work.
Jesus, as he does on many occasions, uses the Scripture to
debate the point with the Pharisees. We recognize that this really was a
debate. Neither Jesus nor Matthew rejects the sacredness of the Sabbath. The
early Church kept the Sabbath for some time. In Jesus' time and before,
Pharisees had debated among themselves over the fine points of Sabbath Law and
custom. The great schools of Hillel and Shammai represented the different
perspectives on many such points of Torah before and during Jesus' time.
In general, opinions were less stringent (liberal?) in Galilee than in the
Southern, more conservative, Judaea. In this interpretation Jesus
reminds the Pharisees of David taking dedicated bread from the altar for
himself and his companions (1 Sam. 21:1-6). Such bread was to be eaten only by
the Priests (Lev. 24:5-9). In addition, Jesus points out that the priests of
the Temple work on the Sabbath. Offerings of several kinds are presented daily
to God, with a special offering for the Sabbath (Num. 28:9-10), yet such work
is approved. If this is allowed in the Temple on the Sabbath, then certainly
what Jesus and his disciples are doing is allowed, for their work of
proclaiming the nearness of the Reign of God is greater than the Temple and
perhaps even David.
Jesus ends the debate with a criticism of the Pharisees'
knowledge of Scripture and a statement of his own authority. The Pharisees have
wrongly condemned Jesus' approval of his disciples' behavior, for
they have not plumbed the full depth of the text, "I desire mercy and not
sacrifice (Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8)." Especially the Micah
text reflects a consistent thread in Prophetic preaching, warning
Israel against the false presumption that worship of God can be
reduced to offerings, attendance in the Temple and mouthing the prayers.
One's worship must rest upon the foundation of right motivation, and attending
to the deeper parts of God's command, "...to do justice (= mercy), and to
love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god." Without this, their and
our own worship is merely form without substance.
The closing line, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath," is a collective of the entire episode and all episodes that
relate to Jesus' Sabbath actions on behalf of others. As we read in Matthew 9:6,
many early Christians, interpreted Daniel 7:13-14 and the apocryphal Book
of Enoch as referring to Jesus, expected an imminent return of Jesus from
Heaven - the parousia or second coming. This event would include a final
judgment, with the "Son of Man" as the Judge. This text is an
extension of that idea, for he who would be the judge in the "end
times," already has authority over the Sabbath. We should add here
that in essentially all Old Testament texts, the Son of Man refers to a human
being, and not to a savior figure. Only in later, non-biblical Jewish
writings is the title used that way. It is not necessary to interpret
its use in Matthew in any other way, for Jesus has announced the nearness of
the Reign of God, and in-so-far as that Reign has already begun with
him - in his ministry of preaching and healing - the authority to forgive sins
(MT 9:6), is extended now to authority over the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:9-14 Controversy over Sabbath Law, Healing
This story, also set on the Sabbath, occurs in the
Synagogue, a location often used by Jesus for debate and teaching. Here there
is a man with a withered arm. Jesus is confronted not so much by a
question of the legality of healing on the Sabbath but as a ruse by which the
Pharisees hope to accuse Jesus (the Greek word used here means to accuse a
person in court). It was not the act of healing per se that
would violate the Sabbath, but the fact that healing was considered work. One
school of Pharisaic opinion stated that healing could be done only if the
person's life were in imminent danger, whereas another opinion allowed any
act of healing on the Sabbath. Again Jesus represents the more open minded,
common sense practices of the agriculturally based Galilee, where
animals were a precious part of one's livelihood. Arguing from the lesser to
the greater, he says that for the value of the sheep, one would be justified in
rescuing the animal from the pit. If that is so, then much more so to rescue
the man from a life of deformity and becoming a beggar on the street. Of
course, he heals the man while the Pharisees storm out of the Synagogue to
hatch a plan to "destroy" Jesus.
We must understand that such a Sabbath violation (as is also
the case in the previous story), even if it were a chargeable offence, would
not carry a severe punishment, let alone death. But for Matthew, perhaps the
eventuality of the cross gives controversies such as these more
weight as part of the overall opposition that is building against
Jesus. Matthew sees any conflict, however minor or great, as part of the larger
conflict of two worlds, that of God's Reign beginning in Jesus and that of
Satan's, represented by the powers that will come together to, they believe,
destroy Jesus, once and for all.
Matthew 12:15-21 The Suffering Servant
In response to the new threat against him, Jesus leaves the
Synagogue. This is not a response of fear. Jesus will not go into hiding. He
will not throw curses at his accusers in retaliation. He will do what he
has been sent to do, heal the sick as another sign of the Reign of God, still
on the Sabbath! He tells those whom he has healed not to tell anyone what
he has done for them. Again, this is not to avoid detection by enemies. It is
part of who Jesus is, the one who turns the other cheek, who loves his enemies,
the one who is meek and abhors violence of any kind and for any
reason. Jesus follows his own teaching.
Matthew writes that the depth of character demonstrated
by Jesus is a fulfillment, or embodiment as Liz Jenkins so
well framed it for me, of the great Isaiah text entitled "The
Suffering Servant" in Isaiah 42. Matthew quotes only a few verses
from Hebrew but the entire chapter is a repository of early Christian thinking
for it contains many verses that spoke to them about the Jesus they had come to
know and love. Here we see not only an image of Jesus, but also of the God who
is present in Jesus' life and works, a God who prefers forgiveness to
punishment, meekness and kindness rather than vengeance, love rather than hate.
inclusion of the Gentile pagan rather than exclusion. As the Servant,
Jesus would rather suffer death than abandon the work for which God
has sent him to do. This is a level of commitment we have difficulty
understanding. In our world violence is the tool of conflict resolution. We
wage war rather than peace. We promote our power instead of our character. We
rely on our fences to shut people out rather than draw circles to include
people in. We are afraid. We cannot hope or believe in anything but
ourselves. Jesus faces the "powers and principalities" of the world,
the might of empire, the hatred of his own people, rejection by his own family,
but he knows one great truth - nothing will be made better by fear, by hiding,
or by anything else apart from trust. His trust was in God. He
did not expect God to save him from his enemies, but that any
future worth living in will be one in which that light which Jesus
brought to us shines around the entire world.
Matthew 12:22-32 Jesus and Beelzebul
Jesus, still on the Sabbath, heals a deaf mute. The crowds
respond by wondering aloud if Jesus is the "Son of David," the
Messiah. Again the Pharisees slander Jesus by claiming that
his exorcisms are of the Devil. Jesus responds saying the obvious, that
if this is true, that Satan is fighting Satan, then his Kingdom will fall.
He turns the tables on the Pharisees, asking them to tell him by what power the
Jewish exorcists cast out demons. They do not answer. Then Jesus delivers a
powerful judgment on their accusations. In verse 28, in a classic
exposition of Jesus' understanding of the Reign of God he thunders the
indictment: If it is by the Spirit of God that he casts out demons, then
truly the Reign of God has already come into their midst. For Matthew this
rejection of the work of the Spirit of God through Jesus is the
unforgivable sin. It is blasphemy against the Spirit of God.
It is difficult to reconcile such an absolute condemnation
for any sin, especially in a Gospel which contains a Jesus who answers
the question regarding how many times we are to forgive another who sins
against us with the answer, seventy times seven. In other words, as many times
as it takes. Also, the Beatitudes extol the virtue of mercy, and in the Lord's
prayer and elsewhere there is a strong emphasis on forgiveness,
finding and welcoming back the lost sheep. Beyond that, in the Old
Testament there is no lack of the offer of forgiveness for
a wide range of sins including rejection of God, the worship of
idols and the pollution of the Temple itself. There is no ultimate
rejection of the repentant. To understand Matthew in this dark
assertion we can consider the actual situation of the
Church, locked in a bitter conflict with the Synagogue
leadership. In a failing attempt to evangelize among the Jews,
and in reaction to that rejection, evangelists and traveling Christian
prophets resorted to the same now-or-never tactic that some modern day
"soul saving" preaching resorts, the threat of fire and brimstone. To
say that God does not forgive sincere, heart-felt repentance is to deny
the very character of the God whom the Psalms and Prophets praised as the
God of mercy, faithfulness and loving kindness. The God of Jesus is the God
of possibility. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. knock
and the door will be opened to you. That's what Jesus says.
Matthew 12:33-37 Good Trees Produce Good Fruit.
In this brief paragraph, Jesus tells us a self-evident
truth. Words and deeds have consequences, for good or for ill. They are the
basis upon which we are judged by others. We have heard the saying,
"You are what you eat." Jesus says we are what we say and we are what
we do. They are reflections of our character. As another version of this
saying, presented in Matthew 7:15-20, concludes, "...[good
trees] will be known by their fruits." To borrow the story of
the two men who build houses, one on sand and the other on rock, the good tree
is the one with deep roots, nourished by the soil, lovingly tended by the
gardener in whose charge the tree has been placed.
Matthew 12:38-42 The Sign of Jonah
In this odd insertion by Matthew, Jesus is asked for a
sign, meaning a sign/miracle to prove the source of his authority. As in John's
Gospel, Jesus is suspicious of those who need miracles to believe, for it is
the shallowest of faiths, always needing more to be sustained, replacing
belief in Jesus' message with the spectacular. He says only the sign of
Jonah will be given. Jonah's sea monster experience is likened to the Son
of Man's (Jesus') burial. But that is not the sign of Jonah. At the final
judgment over which this same Son of Man will preside, the people of Nineveh,
who had heard Jonah's preaching and, much to his dismay, had repented,
will be the judge of this "evil and adulterous" and apparently
unrepentant generation. The only sign this generation will
be given is that of the Ninevites repentance. For Jesus, to say that
something greater than Jonah is here refers to Jesus preaching on the coming
Reign of God. The lack of a positive, repentant response from "this
generation" is another reflection of the failure of Matthew's
community to win converts among the Jews. There are many who look to the church
and expect miracles. For some it is miracle enough that their lives have been
enriched in fellowship, blessed in worship and challenged by the call to serve
beyond their own needs.
Matthew 12:43-46 Return of the Unclean Spirit
It is the case with most unhealthy habits that daily
attention must to paid to them in order to avoid relapsing. Overeating,
smoking, use of foul language, and other addictive habits are
restless demons of our own making. Once exorcized we need to have the
broom handy to keep sweeping around the edges of our thoughts lest the demon return
with friends and be much more dangerous than it was before. Replacing
that which is expelled with the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study,
fellowship and service to others, is a good replacement for what has departed.
The better our discipline, the farther away the temptations will remain, in the
waterless places where they belong.
Matthew 12:46-50 The True Family of Jesus
A first reading of this section may leave us shaking our
heads. How can Jesus reject his own biological family? However, if we
understand the literary technique of hyperbole it may make some sense. It
is akin to the saying about plucking out the eye if it leads you to sin.
Exaggeration was an expressive tool in the Jewish literature of that time. This
is far from a rejection by Jesus of his mother, four brothers and two sisters.
It is a recognition that in Christian fellowship we are all related, we are all
family. You may recall last Sunday, Marty Murray gave the Children's Moment at
the Baptismal Font. She gave truth to this text when she explained that in
the promise made by the congregation there is a pledge to participate
with the parents in the spiritual nurturing and care of the child. The question
is asked of the congregation by the Pastor, "Members of the household of
faith, I commend to your love and care this child whom we this day recognize as
a member of the family of God. Will you endeavor so to live that his child may
grow in the knowledge and love of God, through our Savior Jesus Christ? The
answer is, We will." It is this larger family of God, including
Jesus' own family that he has in mind. By this text we are reminded of our own
place in this fellowship we call the Church. We are brother and sister to one
another, we are the Church together.
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Notes
1. You will notice in your reading of Matthew the use
of "Old Testament" quotations. If you have a study Bible there
may be a cross reference tool that provides the source of those quotations. If
you have ever looked them up it will be evident that many times the wording
doesn't always match. The reason for that is that most of the quotes are
taken from the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint (designated by
LXX), translated from the Hebrew beginning in the 3rd century BCE. There
are differences in wording arising from the difficulty in translating from
Hebrew to Greek while trying to capture the meaning of the words. The Old
Testament in virtually all modern Bibles is a translation from the Hebrew,
hence my preferred use of the term "Hebrew Scriptures." The Greek Old
Testament was used for quoting by all the writers of the New Testament. By
the end of the 1st century the Jews had abandoned its use because it had been
adopted
by the early Church as their own" Holy Scripture."
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