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2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel

A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK

Matthew 12:1-21

Key Verses 12:20

1. Why do you think the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath (1-2)? What do Jesus’ illustrations reveal about God’s true intention for the Sabbath (3-5)?
2. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “something greater than the temple is here” (6)? Why do you think Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 again—“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (7; 9:13)? What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (8)?
3. Why do you think the Pharisees brought up the man with the shriveled hand and asked Jesus about healing on the Sabbath (9-10)? How does Jesus’ response about rescuing a sheep help us understand the true purpose of the Sabbath (11-12)? What do Jesus’ words and actions in this passage show us about the right way to apply God’s laws (13-14)?
4. How does Jesus’ fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1–4 help us understand who he is and what kind of servant he came to be (17-21)? What do the images of a “bruised reed” and a “smoldering wick” tell us about how Jesus treats the weak, wounded, or discouraged? What does it mean that Jesus brings justice through to victory and hope to the nations?
5. What message do you think this passage is speaking to you and your faith community today?

2025 Matthew’s Gospel July 13, 2025

JESUS IS LORD OF THE SABBATH

Matthew 12:1-14

Key Verse 12:8

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

When I was in high school, there was a student who always ranked number one. Everyone knew him not only for his academic excellence but also for being a devoted Christian. At that time, I wasn’t a believer, so I didn’t fully understand his lifestyle. But one thing really surprised me—he never studied on Sundays. Every Monday, we had weekly exams at our school. So for me, Sunday was a critical day for studying and preparing. But this friend would not open a single book on Sundays—and still, he remained at the top of the class almost every time. I was genuinely curious. How could someone consistently score so high without studying the day before the test? Other friends explained, “It’s because he’s a Christian. Christians aren’t supposed to work or study on Sundays. So, he would go to church and then sleep for the rest of the day. And he would start studying exactly at midnight, when Sunday turned into Monday.” One of my Christian friends tried to follow the example of that top student. He also chose not to study on Sundays. But his results were different—he completely failed the Monday test. Have you ever wondered: “If a Christian studies or works on Sunday, are they breaking the Sabbath law?” “Does the command to keep the Sabbath still apply to us as Christians today?” “Why do we gather for worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, the Sabbath day?” These are honest and important questions that many believers ask.

Today’s passage shows us Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath. The Sabbath law is the fourth of the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Jesus didn’t bring up the Sabbath issue Himself—it was the Pharisees who brought it to Him. But they weren’t looking for the truth. Their goal was to trap Jesus and find a reason to accuse Him.

Let’s look at verses 1 and 2: “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. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’” So why were the disciples picking grain as they walked through the fields? The answer is simple: they were hungry. Jesus’ disciples were always hungry. Sometimes, when they were invited to someone’s house and would eat a lot. But most of the time, they lived with hunger. Hunger doesn’t wait—it demands to be satisfied. When they happened to be walking through a grainfield, they did what any hungry person would do: they picked some heads of grain and ate them. It probably tasted great, and they were happy. But suddenly, the Pharisees showed up and accused them: “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Actually, what the disciples did—picking grain by hand as they walked through someone else’s field—was not a violation of the law. According to Deuteronomy 23:25, “If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.” God allowed hungry people to take a handful of grain to eat. Using a sickle would be stealing, but taking just enough to satisfy hunger was permitted. This shows us something important—God understands people’s needs, and His law makes room for compassion. In fact, God’s mercy is built into His law. In Deuteronomy 24:17–22, God commands His people to leave behind some of the harvest for the poor, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. He wanted those in need to be cared for. This is the heart of God. He is full of compassion, especially for the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. His laws weren’t given to burden people—but to protect them, provide for them, and reflect His mercy.

But the issue here was that the disciples were picking and eating grain on the Sabbath. So what is the Sabbath? In Hebrew, the word “Sabbath” means rest. So the Sabbath day simply means a day of rest. But this rest isn’t just about relaxing physically—it’s about spiritual rest that comes from our relationship with God. The origin of the Sabbath goes all the way back to creation. God created the heavens and the earth in six days. He made the sky, the sea, the land, and every living creature. And as the final part of His creation, God created human beings. Then, on the seventh day, God rested from all His work. Now why did God rest? Was He tired? Of course not. God doesn’t get tired like we do after a long day at work. He rested not because He needed to, but because we needed Him to. He set aside the seventh day as a model and a gift for us. God created the Sabbath so that we would rest in God, remember Him, enjoy fellowship with Him, and find restoration in Him. That’s why the Bible says He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. It was meant to be a day of blessing, a day of renewal—a day set apart for God. Jesus made this very clear. In Mark 2:27, he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

The Jewish people made great efforts to keep the Sabbath holy. Especially after returning from the Babylonian exile, Jewish rabbis were very careful to make sure their people wouldn’t break the Sabbath again. So they developed a set of detailed Sabbath regulations. These rules were organized into 39 categories of prohibited work. For example, anything related to making bread was forbidden—things like sowing, plowing, reaping, threshing, winnowing, grinding, and baking. The same went for making clothing or processing leather. Activities related to building, burning, or even moving things were also restricted. That meant no building, no demolishing, no kindling a fire, no extinguishing a fire, and no carrying items from one area to another. The Mishnah and Talmud go into even more detail. They gave specific rules about how far a person could walk or how much weight they could carry on the Sabbath. According to these traditions, you weren’t supposed to walk more than about 0.6 miles. And in public spaces, you couldn’t carry anything more than 6 feet 6 inches in distance.

Even today, Jewish people continue to apply these Sabbath regulations in their daily lives. For example, on the Sabbath, they’re not allowed to drive a car or turn on a light switch. They’re not supposed to press elevator buttons either. That’s why some buildings in New York operate what’s called a Sabbath elevator—it stops at every floor automatically, so no one has to push a button. Cooking is also not allowed on the Sabbath. And using a smartphone is completely prohibited. You can’t turn it on or off, make phone calls, send texts, or use any apps. You’re not even allowed to take pictures with it. Personally, I believe that not using smartphones on the Sabbath is actually very beneficial. We live in a time when so many of us are addicted to our smartphones. We’re constantly calling, texting, checking social media, posting, scrolling, and responding to people. Many young people are so hooked on smartphone games that they lose touch with their daily lives. So taking a break from smartphones—even for one day—is actually a very healthy practice. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but there’s actually something called the Digital Sabbath movement. It’s a call to rest from technology and reconnect with what really matters.

Honoring the Sabbath before God is truly important and beneficial. But here’s the problem: these rules were meant to help people keep the Sabbath, but over time they became a burden. People forgot the real meaning behind it—they fell into legalism. So what is legalism? Legalism is the belief that by perfectly observing the law, we can become righteous before God. Keeping God’s law is a good thing. But the danger comes when people believe that keeping the law can save them. The truth is, we’re sinful and in our own strength, we can’t reach God’s righteousness. That’s why we are saved not by work, but by grace. The law was never meant to save us—it was meant to show us our sin. It helps us see that we can’t save ourselves. It leads us to realize that we need Jesus. Only through His grace can we be made righteous and receive salvation. In that sense, the law is still useful—it leads us to Christ. But people who fall into legalism misunderstand the purpose of the law. They rely on their own righteousness and become proud. And then they begin to judge others who don’t meet their standards. Even worse, legalists know they can’t keep the law perfectly, but since they won’t accept grace, they live hypocritical lives.They look holy on the outside, but there’s no real change on the inside. They become self-righteous, rigid, and full of rules—but show little mercy, compassion, or love.

Jesus exposed the Pharisees’ legalism and taught them what true faith really is. Look at verse 3. He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?” Now, the Pharisees knew the Scriptures very well. Of course they had read the story of David and his companions. But the problem was that they missed the compassion of God behind the story. Reading the Bible is good. But more important than how much we read is how we read it. It’s not just about gaining biblical knowledge—it’s about understanding God’s heart revealed in the Bible through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus reminded them of the mercy God showed to David and his companions. David and his men were hungry. So David asked the priest if there was any food. The priest gave them the consecrated bread—the bread that only the priests were allowed to eat. Technically, they broke the law. But God didn’t punish David or his men. Why? Because God understood their hunger and showed them mercy. Jesus also pointed out that priests work in the temple on the Sabbath, yet they’re not considered guilty of breaking the Sabbath law.

Jesus had quoted Hosea 6:6 before (Mt 9:13), and He used it again here to teach the Pharisees about God’s heart of mercy. He said, “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent” (7). God cares more about mercy than sacrifice. Sacrifice refers to religious duty and outward obedience without understanding God’s heart. You faithfully attend Sunday worship service, but refuse to forgive others. You read the Bible, but ignore people in need. You regularly fast, but hate your brothers and sisters. Mercy, on the other hand, refers to the heart of God—it’s about compassion, love, and grace. You forgive someone who hurt you. You help a neighbor in need. You patiently listen to someone who’s going through a hard time.

Jesus’ teaching became even more evident in what happened next. When Jesus entered the synagogue, there was a man with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they didn’t ask this out of genuine curiosity—they were trying to trap Him so they could accuse Him. These men were so evil that they used a suffering person just to push their own agenda. Jesus knew exactly what they were up to, so He responded with a question: “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, won’t you take hold of it and lift it out?” According to Jewish law, work was prohibited on the Sabbath, but saving a life was always the exception. The rabbis called this Pikuach Nefesh, which means “preserving life.” If a sheep fell into a pit, it was absolutely allowed to rescue it. Even today, Jewish doctors and nurses are allowed to work on the Sabbath if it involves saving lives. If someone’s life is at risk, they can turn on lights, make phone calls, or even drive to the hospital. Soldiers can serve in combat, stand guard, or train—even on the Sabbath—if it’s for the sake of life and safety. In the same way, many of us here are doctors, PAs, or nurses. Sometimes you’re on call, or you need to work on Sundays.

Even so, the Pharisees still asked Jesus that question because they didn’t think the man with the shriveled hand was in any kind of life-threatening condition. In their minds, this wasn’t an emergency. He could wait. They thought, “Why heal him today? Just wait until after the Sabbath.” What do you think? Imagine you were suffering from a painful, chronic illness. Imagine your child was struggling with a severe cold, nonstop coughing, and a high fever. Every day feels like a battle. And suddenly, there’s an opportunity to be healed. But someone tells you, “You have to wait. Today’s the Sabbath.” How would you respond? Wouldn’t you say, “Are you out of your mind?” Jesus knew exactly what that man was going through. He understood how difficult and painful each day must have been for him. And Jesus didn’t want the man to suffer even one more day. That’s why Jesus said, “How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” That’s the heart of Jesus. That’s the mercy of God. Jesus didn’t wait—He healed the man right then and there. Jesus is the Messiah of love and compassion. He doesn’t break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. He restores. He heals. He lifts up the broken and gives them life.

You know, there was a time when I wondered—what if something happens and I can’t preach on Sunday because I have to help someone in need? I actually imagined a situation like this: Let’s say I’m on my way to church on Sunday morning. Suddenly, I see a child about to run into traffic. I jump in and push the child out of the way. But in doing so, I get hit by a car and end up in the hospital. Meanwhile, the whole church is waiting for me. It’s almost time for the message, but I haven’t shown up. People are wondering, “Where’s Pastor Juan?” Now here’s the question: What should I have chosen? Should I have ignored the child to make it to church on time? If I truly know the heart of God—the heart of love—then I know the answer. I would save the child. I’d miss Sunday service. And from the hospital, I would probably call someone and say, “I can’t preach today. Can you step in for me?” So just in case, if you ever get that kind of emergency call from me on a Sunday morning, be ready. Always be ready to share God’s word. Because it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” What does that mean? It means Jesus is both the author and fulfillment of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established by God for the sake of human beings—and Jesus is God. Not only that, but Jesus also fulfilled the Sabbath. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He brought the ultimate rest the Sabbath pointed to: rest from sin, rest from striving for righteousness through works, and rest in God’s grace. Therefore, we now reinterpret and practice the Sabbath in a Christ-centered way. Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week. The early Christians began to gather on Sundays, calling it “the Lord’s Day.” Sunday is not simply a replacement for the Sabbath—it represents the new creation Jesus inaugurated through His resurrection. That’s why we center our rest around Jesus. Just like the early church gathered on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection, we also gather on the Lord’s Day to remember His salvation, to worship, and to find spiritual rest and renewal in Him. Sunday is a day for God’s people to come together, to rest in His presence, and to be restored. I pray that each of us would find deep, lasting rest in the Lord Jesus. Amen.