Communion With the Christ:: A Blameless Priesthood

"At that time Jesus went through the grain fields 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.” Matt: 12:1-2

Jesus, and his Disciples were walking in the gain fields on the “Sabbath” day, it is here, that Jesus has a confrontation with the religious leaders over their perception that Jesus' disciples were "violating" the "Sabbath" command. This exchange in the grain fields between Jesus and the Pharisees was one of the many ongoing exchanges that occurred throughout Jesus' ministry for 3 1/2 years

The Pharisees are upset that the disciples of Jesus were “working” on the "Sabbath” day, they considered the Disciples picking grain and eating it as the "work of harvesting" which the Pharisees deemed this as "unlawful".

The Pharisees had held the Sabbath as a test commandment of obedience and faithfulness to the Covenant established by God with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.

The Pharisees read the command in the Book of Exodus written by the Great Prophet of the Lord God Moses, stating that the Sabbath(s) was a sign between God and Israel, that the Lord was their God and Israel was his people.

"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Therefore, you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people" Ex:12-14

Over the years the religious leaders had built a hedge of their own ideas around the Sabbath in order to "protect" the Sabbath's sanctity so that it would not be "profaned" , and that any who did not embrace their view was , in their minds, disobeying God.

The keeping of the Sabbath was their hallmark of obedience, and it was their own imposed “litmus test” upon others as how they measured obedience to the Covenant.

But Jesus and his disciples were, in the minds of the Pharisees, violating this “test” , and the Pharisees reacted badly, and accused Jesus and the Disciples of braking the Sabbath. The Sabbath was in the Pharisees' view the focus of the Covenant that God made with Israel.

Changing Covenants

For us to truly understand this encounter in the grain fields we need to go back to the calling of the Disciples. That is, Jesus called his Disciples and sent them forth into the work of preaching that the Kingdom of God, that God's Kingdom had arrived and that a relationship was opened for humanity to have with God. We can read about this in Matthew10:1-20

In Matthew 11:12 Jesus issues his great invitation for any and all who will freely receive it to "Come to me and I will give you rest" . Jesus tells us, that in him is the true rest of which the Old Covenant Sabbath was only a shadow of, Jesus is the realty of that rest.

" Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day thing which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" Col: 2:16-17

The very point that the Pharisees confront Jesus on, the “Sabbath” is what the Pharisees looked to as their evidence of piety as the very means by which they measured righteousness. That means, these Pharisees “rested" in the Sabbath, looked to the Sabbath, trusted and relied on the Sabbath, drew their identity from the Sabbath and saw it's keeping and as the justification of and their validation and as the expression of the Law and all other attachments of the Old Covenant.

The “Sabbath” is anything that gives you “rest” in place of Jesus –Any “litmus test” other than Jesus – The Apostles were sent for to tell others about Jesus- where the true rest is found- nothing else- but Christ It is the changing of a Covenant-they drew their identities from it they trusted in it and they "rested in it".

Blameless

Jesus immediately recognized the true issue that the Pharisees have with his Disciples, and directs the Pharisees to the word of God in response to the Pharisees accusation.

"Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 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. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are blameless? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, ‘you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matt: 12:3-8

David and his men had come to the town of Nob, where the Tabernacle was erected and asked for bread from the Ahimelek the Priest for he and his men. There was no bread on hand except the Shewbread which was in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle.

The Shewbread which David and his men took from the Sanctuary of Tabernacle and then ate was concentrated for only for the Priest only to eat, yet Jesus declared David and his men "blameless".

Jesus then addresses the arduous work of Temple Priest in the continuous offering of sacrifices. The animals had to be bound, slaughtered, dressed and even lifted to the Alter of God. All of this entailed "work" on the Sabbath Day, yet Jesus declared that the Priest were doing their " Sabbath duty in the temple and desecrate the Sabbath and yet are blameless?" before the Lord.

A New Priesthood for a New Covenant

Why did Jesus bring up the example of David doing what was "unlawful" and the Temple Priest "desecrating" the Sabbath, and then Jesus declared both as being "blameless" ? What was Jesus telling the Pharisees in response to their charges that Jesus' Disciples were "doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath "

Jesus then faults the understanding of the Pharisees, that they have misunderstood the true intent of the word of Scriptures.

"If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matt: 12:7-8

Jesus not only address the Pharisees' lack of understanding of the Scriptures, but Jesus then pronounces that his Disciples are "blameless" as well.

Jesus tells the angry Pharisees that if they, truly understood the word of God they "would not have condemned the blameless", meaning that his very Disciples are "blameless".

What is Jesus telling the Pharisees about his Disciples who were with him in the grain fields, and throughout the ages?

Jesus is stating that his Disciples are "blameless" as was David who ate the Shewbread which belong only to the Priest, and the Priest in their service at the Temple, who Jesus said was "blameless" even as they "desecrated the Sabbath”.

By Jesus declaring his Disciples "blameless" Jesus is declaring his Disciples Priest.

But Jesus' Disciples are not a Priesthood of the Covenant of Sacrifice made with Israel at Mount Sinai, of which the Sabbath was the sign of that Covenant but rather Jesus' Disciples are a Priesthood of a New Covenant of Mercy which had been, and is, God's intent all along.

"If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice," (8)

Mercy Not Sacrifice

The Old Covenant would have those who broke the Sabbath to die for "desecrating" the Sabbath as we read in the Sabbath command in Exodus:12.

But this is not what God's intent ever was. God's desire is for mercy, not sacrifice. This means that forgiveness is extended to us, we are "blameless", as was David and the Temple Priest, there are no more sacrifices to be offered as we read in the Epistle to the Hebrew Christians.

"AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin." Heb: 10:17-18

Disciples Are Priest

Jesus is declaring that those called to himself, his Disciples, those who find rest only in Jesus, and are sent into the harvest are a New Priesthood of a New Covenant of Mercy which supersedes the Old Covenant of Sacrifice.

The Pharisees understood what Jesus was telling them, that the Priesthood and Covenant which they served was passing away. All that the Pharisees "rested" in was passing away and with it the very Sabbath and their position of power and prominence.

St. Paul takes up the theme of non-condemnation, that is "blameless" in his Epistle to the Roman Christians.

"there is now no more condemnation to those who are in Christ." Rm: 8:1

In the eyes of God, we, Jesus' Disciples, are "blameless", therefore we are Priest.

St. Paul uses the description of a "priestly duty" as applying to himself in his ministry of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles which brings people to enter and experience that New Covenant of Mercy.

"Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." Rm: 15:15-16

St. Peter declares all Disciples as being a Priesthood, 1Pet:2:5-9.

Jesus: Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus then angers the Pharisees even more, when he declares himself "the Lord of the Sabbath".

Jesus by using the title Lord, he is equating himself and identifying himself as the very Lord who made the Covenant with Israel. Jesus is reveling his deity to the Pharisees, showing that he has authority to pronounce the Disciples as "blameless"

Our Rest Only in Jesus.

If anything, else gives us "rest”, aside from Jesus, as the Sabbath did the Pharisees then we are creating a test commandment that will be uses to measure by, and if we do this, we like the Pharisees will build a hedge around that self-created Sabbath which will then impose requirement and bring unnecessary condemnation upon others and ourselves.

Only Jesus is our "rest" our "Sabbath”, that we might walk in the grain fields of this world as a Priesthood of the New Covenant of Mercy.

Benediction: May we each and all, be that "blameless" Priesthood of a Covenant of Mercy sent forth with the Gospel message in the grain fields of this world, today, tomorrow and forevermore.