It happened that Jesus walked through the wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and began to pick some heads of wheat and crush them to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, «Look at your disciples; they are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!». Jesus answered, «Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He went into the house of God, and they ate the bread offered to God, although neither he nor his men had the right to eat it, but only the priests. And have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath rest, yet they are not guilty? I tell you, there is greater than the Temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words: ‘It is mercy I want, not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the innocent. Besides the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath».
Source: http://evangeli.net/gospel/day/2018-07-20
Analysis
This passage tells us the significance of being flexible towards the law, and opens with Jesus and His disciples walking through a wheat field on a Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, and thus picked up some grains and ate them. The Pharisees noticed and were upset, exclaiming that the disciples did something prohibited on the Sabbath. Jesus answered with a historical account, that David came into the Temple with his men and ate the bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. And in the law itself, it is written that the priests are allowed to break the Sabbath without being guilty. Jesus finally claimed that there is something greater than the Temple, and admonished the pharisees saying that if they truly knew the meaning of "It is mercy I want, not sacrifice", they wouldn't condemn the innocent. Then, Jesus claimed that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
The point of being able to break the Sabbath as Jesus emphasizes does not mean we should be able to break the law as we wish. It means that we should not uphold the law as a strict guideline, and we must be flexible towards it. Why must we be flexible? Because in the end, rules are just guidelines on how to be a moral and perfect individual. However, if the law itself becomes a barrier between us and salvation, shouldn't we discard the law? Or perhaps change it? Jesus also claimed that there is something greater than the temple, what does that mean? It's simple, the Temple represents the strict institutionalized teachings of religion. What Jesus is referring to is the truth and salvation, which transcends religion and rituals. This includes the Church, as the truth and salvation is not limited to mere labels.
"It is mercy I want, not sacrifice," to understand the meaning of that sentence, we must truly understand the meaning of sacrifice. Traditionally, sacrifices are made to please God, but how? How does sacrifices please God? To understand that, we must examine the true meaning of Jesus' sacrifice. Jesus died to take on the weight of sin, so instead of us going into hell, it is Jesus that went to hell. As such, pre Jesus sacrifices are made for that purpose as well. However, it is very true that simply removing the problems does not equate to solving it. As such, Jesus wishes for mercy, or the actual resolution of the problems, and not just moving it around. The last part of Jesus' words about Him being the Lord of the Sabbath simply refers to His position as truth bearer. So technically, it is the truth that is the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Sabbath should obey what the truth dictates. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you later.
No comments:
Post a Comment