Audio Download

Matthew 12:1–24 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

[Study Aired June 2, 2025]

Today’s study looks at the accusation of the Pharisees about Jesus’ disciples breaking the sabbath and Jesus’ response. This is followed by the healing of the man with the withered hand on the sabbath and the Pharisees’ plot to destroy Jesus. The study continues with Jesus withdrawing from the Pharisees and healing the multitude that followed Him in fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah about Jesus and His Christ being filled with the spirit and the bringing forth of judgment to the Gentiles. 

Finally, the study ends with the healing of a man, blind and dumb and possessed by the devil, and the reaction of the people and the Pharisees about Jesus.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 

These verses are an enigma to many who think that Jesus did not break any of the laws of Moses by allowing His disciples to eat the plucked ears of corn.  The Lord’s disciples’ action of plucking the ears of corn and eating them on a sabbath day constituted breaking the Law of Moses regarding the sabbath. When Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, He did not deny that His disciples had broken the law of Moses. Rather, He justified the actions of the disciples by citing the case of David and they who were with him, who ate the showbread which was to be eaten by only the priests. Jesus also referred to instances where the priests profane the temple on sabbath days and were deemed blameless to justify His disciples’ action of breaking the law of Moses regarding the sabbath. 

As we shall see later in this study, Jesus broke the law of Moses by intentionally healing a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. The question is, “Why did Jesus and His disciples broke the law of the sabbath?”  The coming of Christ into our lives is the coming of faith. When faith comes, we are no longer under the dictates of the law of Moses. In other words, when a law had been made obsolete, doing things that are not consistent with the law is no longer counted as unrighteousness. 

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

These verses imply that we are no longer held accountable by the law of Moses, but are operating under a new law, which was ushered in by Christ’s coming, which is the law of the spirit of life. This new law, signified by faith, sets us free from the infractions of the law of sin and death representing the law of Moses.

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

As we know, Jesus was offered as a sacrifice for us as He was without spot or wrinkle. In other words, His life here on earth was without blame even though He intentionally broke the law of Moses. This implies that His righteousness was not of the law of Moses, but by a higher standard or law, which is the law of the spirit of life, which as a reformer, He came to promote. 

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 

Let’s take a look at the verses under discussion (Matthew 12:1-5) from another perspective. Verse 1 tells us that Jesus and His disciples went through a corn field on the sabbath, and His disciples were hungry. Spiritually, this implies that the observance of the sabbath, which is signified by the law of Moses in this case, results in hunger or absence of the word of the Lord. In other words, by observing the law, no one will come to know Christ, who is the word. It is in the presence of Christ that His disciples began to eat the ears of corn. That is to say that the coming of Christ in our lives is the beginning of our understanding of His words in our lives as we are given to know the milk doctrines, signified by the ears of corn. 

In verse 3 and 4, the Lord citing the incident of David and His followers eating the showbread which was preserved for only those of the Levitical priesthood to eat, is to show us that His coming ushers in a new dispensation, where our election is not according to pedigree. By implication, this means that it is not an outward Jew who is a true Jew (the Lord’s elect), but being a Jew is now inward, and this dispensation is accompanied by a new law which makes the law of Moses obsolete.  

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 

Citing this example of the priests profaning the temple, even though they are regarded blameless in verse 5, means that Jesus was admitting that He had broken the law, but He was blameless. 

Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Verse 6 is showing us that Jesus is greater than the temple, which is a symbol of the dispensation of the law. In other words, the new law of the spirit of life which He brings is far superior than the law of Moses. In verse 7, we are given a reason that the law of the spirit of life is superior – it is based on mercy while the law is based on sacrifice. Here Jesus is telling the Pharisees, who represent us when we were in the churches of Babylon, that it is because of our ignorance of His mercy that we condemn His elect as guilty when they are not guilty.  

Pro 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Psa 86:15  But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

In verse 8, the Lord is declaring to us that He is Lord of the Sabbath. As indicated earlier, the sabbath in this context represents the law of Moses. Being the Lord of the Sabbath means that our Lord is operating on a higher law than the law of Moses or the law of sin and death. As He is, so are we. We are also operating on the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.   

A Man with a Withered Hand

Mat 12:9  And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 
Mat 12:10  And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 
Mat 12:11  And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 
Mat 12:12  How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 
Mat 12:13  Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 

In verse 9, the Lord going into the synagogue was to seek for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We, His elect, were the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We all thought we were worshiping the Lord in the churches of this world before Christ showed up in our lives to heal us of our withered hands. 

The healing of the man with a withered hand on the sabbath day was a bold demonstration by the Lord regarding the fact that when faith (signified by Christ) comes, we who are in Christ are no longer under the dictates of the law of Moses.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 

Our hands represent our works. The man with the withered hand therefore signifies the period of our lives in the churches of Babylon, when our works were not pleasing to the Lord. In verses 11 and 12, Jesus compared the man with withered hand to a sheep that has fallen into a pit and therefore needs to be delivered. Our lives in the churches of this world were, therefore, like a sheep that had fallen in a pit with no way of coming out of the pit. It is instructive to note that Joseph was put in the pit by his brothers, when he went to visit them in the wilderness to give them food. Our fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Babylon during our sojourn there, resulted in us being put in a pit by what we hear from them. Being in this pit is the same as being devoured by an evil beast. That is to say that we are dominated by the flesh.  

Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him (Joseph), and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

When Christ showed up in our lives, we were made whole by the Lord as our withered hand was restored. This restoration is a process resulting in our works pleasing to the Lord as we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to Him.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  

Mat 12:14  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 

Just as the Pharisees hated the Lord and wanted to destroy Him, we also are hated by our brothers and sisters in Babylon who represent the Pharisees. 

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

God’s Chosen Servant

Mat 12:15  But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
Mat 12:16  And charged them that they should not make him known:

Jesus withdrawing from the place when He realized the plot of the Pharisees is consistent with His teaching that when we are persecuted in one city, we must leave and go into another city.

Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 

The great multitudes that followed Him in verse 15 represent those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. They signify our brothers and sisters in the physical churches of this world who are not given to understand the spiritual reality of the word of the Lord. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were part of this multitude.

Mat 13:1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 
Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 
Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

The Lord healing all the multitude that followed Him is to let us know that in the fullness of time, that is, in the lake of fire age, the Lord will surely extend salvation to cover our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. However, they will be the last in the line to be saved. The obsession of the churches of this world to physical healing is evidence of the fact that the Lord is still healing the multitude, who equates signs and wonders as evidence of the Lord’s approval of their works.  

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

The Lord charging the multitude not to make Him known in verse 16 is another way of saying that He will speak to them in parables so that they may not come to know Him, that is, understand His words. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  

Mat 12:17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 
Mat 12:18  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 
Mat 12:19  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 
Mat 12:20  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 
Mat 12:21  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. 

These verses primarily refer to our Lord Jesus Christ when Isaiah prophesied as follows:

Isa 42:1  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 42:2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 
Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 

It is instructive to note that these verses also refer to us, His elect, since we are His Christ. 

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

As the Lord’s elect, He has put His spirit upon us. This spirit upon us is the power that enables us to become witnesses of Christ in this age. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

In verse 18, we are also told that He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. This means that in addition to the Lord pouring out His spirit on us, we have been given the role of judges during the lake of fire age to judge the Gentiles, who in this case, represent all those who do not know Christ including our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. It is through this judgment that the whole of the human race shall be saved. God the Father sent Jesus to the world so that through Him we might be saved. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

As He is, so are we. We are therefore saviours, since it is through us that the world shall be saved.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

It is significant to note that in verses 19 and 20, we are told how Christ conducted Himself while living here on earth. He did not strive or cry, and no man heard His voice in the street. According to Strong’s Dictionary, strive means to wrangle and wrangle refers to dispute or argument, typically one that is long and complicated. In His life here on earth, the Lord avoided disputes with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. This is because disputes generate quarrels. As the Lord’s elect, we are to follow the footsteps of our Lord by avoiding disputes. 

2Ti 2:23  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 
2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 
2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 

Again, in verse 18, Jesus did not cry. To cry means to shed tears, typically, as an expression of fear, pain or grief. We know that Jesus wept when He came to raise Lazarus from death. We all do cry or weep when we are overwhelmed with emotion, for example, when we lose our loved ones. This implies that we must understand the spiritual significance of crying to know what it means when Jesus did not cry. Crying is associated with affliction by the Lord. When we are afflicted by the Lord, we are not to complain, that is, open our mouth, as  we see the Lord did during His life here on earth.

Exo 22:23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

As shown in verse 18, Jesus’ voice was never heard in the streets. The voice of Jesus is heard only in the assembly of His elect or the lost sheep of the house of Israel and not on the streets of Babylon or the world. This implies that the preaching of Christ we see on TVs, public places, and the streets of Babylon does not represent the voice of the true shepherd or Christ. 

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

A bruised reed is usually cut off from among reeds so that the healthy reeds can flourish. A smoked flax is quenched in a house to prevent the house becoming full of smoke. Our Lord did not cast us off in our state as bruised reeds or smoked flax, when we were serving another Jesus in the churches of Babylon. As He is, so are we. We must bear with the infirmities of our brothers and sisters and not be judgemental, even of our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the people of the world. This does not mean that we should condone sin. 

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

In verse 21, we are told that in Jesus’ name shall the Gentiles trust. This is foretelling of the time that the Gentiles shall be part of the commonwealth of Israel. By God’s grace, we, His elect, who were Gentiles, have been brought nigh through the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 

The Man Possessed with a Devil

Mat 12:22  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 
Mat 12:23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 
Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 

As we indicated in previous studies, being possessed with a devil spiritually means our hearts and minds being filled with false doctrines. This was our state at a period in our walk with the Lord when we were under the influence of the harlot woman of Babylon. What verse 22 is therefore showing us is that when we are under the influence of false doctrines, we are blind to the things of God and dumb in the sense that we cannot speak of the truth of the word of the Lord. Jesus coming into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness has opened our eyes to see and our ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. As a result, we can speak of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and are therefore not dumb.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

We, His elect, are also carrying out the ministry of Jesus and therefore are healing those possessed with devils by helping them to see the truth of the Lord’s word with what every joint supplies. In verse 23, the people were referring to Jesus as the son of David. As He is, so are we. We are also the sons of David, implying that we are of a royal priesthood. Our royal status will be revealed when we reign with Christ, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

If the Pharisees have called Jesus Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, then since as He is, so are we, we are viewed by our brothers and sisters in Babylon as being possessed with devils. 

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 

May the Lord continue to uphold us in Him as we see the day approaching. Amen!!