1 At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.”
3 But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? 4 He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. 8 The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Reflection
When you feel fed up with people’s righteous outrage about this or that perceived threat to the holy order of the world, take heart. So did Jesus. If religious people sometimes seem like too much for you, you’re in really good company. Me too.
The bottom line on the Sabbath when Jesus’ disciples were wandering through grain fields was this: they were hungry. So they had a snack. It’s unclear from the text how the farmer might have felt about people a) pilfering his crop or b) walking through his grain.
Those aren’t even the issues the Pharisees wanted to raise. Instead, they wanted to take him to task for breaking Sabbath by doing the work of picking grain. And they weren’t wrong. According to the prevailing understanding of what was legal on the Sabbath, Jesus and the disciples shouldn’t have been picking grain.
As Protestant Christians, we are so far away from those types of Sabbath concerns that we have a hard time understanding why any of it matters. But you and I know that all kinds of struggles over interpretation persist right up to this day. Churches continue to debate the status of same-sex relationships, female preachers, and any number of other matters. It’s often disheartening, because it feels like people are missing the point of the larger story of faith.
On some level, Jesus pulls the ultimate trump card, by referring to himself as “Lord of the Sabbath.” He’s basically appealing to his divine nature and saying, “I’ll do what I want, thanks.” Obviously, that doesn’t help us much in our arguments.
But before that, he makes a statement containing a really helpful principle: “f you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent.” Obviously, for Jesus to quote it, this verse from Hosea 6:6 must be really important. God wants mercy, not sacrifice.
Read in context, what Hosea is saying is that righteous living – putting God first, loving your neighbor as yourself, acting with justice and mercy – matter more to God than showing up with sacrifices. Faithful living is better than performative religion.
Ironically, I think the Pharisees would have agreed with this idea too. They didn’t value the Temple in quite the same way other Jewish sects, such as the Sadducees, did. What they did value was Torah – often translated “law” but in reality meaning “teaching.” That’s why they were ready to get into the weeds (or is it wheat?) about this stuff.
But every religious teaching, and every Bible verse, requires interpretation. And it’s very important what principles we use in interpreting.
What Jesus says is this: when you’re in doubt about how to interpret a passage, let mercy be the principle that guides you.
I think this is a great rule of biblical interpretation. It’s also a great rule for life. Let mercy be your guide.
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
Do you tend to abide by the letter of the law, or do you seek to live into the spirit of the law? There is a time for both approaches, and some personalities tend to lean one way or the other. Wherever you tend to fall, for today, can you interpret the “rules” – religious or otherwise – with mercy according to Jesus’ instruction?
Prayer: Most gracious and generous God, we thank you that you look on us with mercy. Lord Jesus, we accept that none of us is capable of keeping your teaching perfectly. Because we know this about ourselves, today send your Spirit to help us look with mercy and grace on the faults and failings of others. Amen.
