CHAPTER XXVI. PLUCKING THE EARS OF WHEAT ON THE SABBATH.- Matt. xii. 1-13; Mark ii. 23-28, and iii. 1-5; FTER the festival days Jesus left Jerusalem "And it came to pass on the second first Sabbath, that as He went through the corn-fields, His disciples being hungry, began to go forward, and to pluck the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands." This became an occasion for a brief but very clear explanation of the difference between the ritual observance of a spiritual man and that of a formalist. The religious martinet is mainly concerned with the outward form, the true disciple with the spiritual meaning. The sharp zeal of the Pharisees objected to the plucking of the ears of corn: "Why do you that which is not lawful on the Sabbath-days?" And others went to Jesus and complained: "Behold Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath-days." But the alleged illegality was not fixed by Moses but by the Jewish rabbis, who made hard additions to a law already too hard to observe. Jesus answered in popular style by citing examples: "Have you not read so much as this, what David did when himself was hungry, and they that were with him: how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the bread of proposition, and gave to them that were with him, which is not lawful to eat but only for the priests?" This was an instance of dispensation on account of necessity, to which all such laws as that of the Sabbath must yield as to superior authority. But Jesus adds an example of a higher kind, the needs of religious service itself. Those who ministered with Him were on an equal footing with those who served in the Temple; nay, the preaching of His Gospel was even above the worship of the Temple. "Or have ye not read in the law, that on the Sabbath-days the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath, and are without "Why do you that which is blame? But I tell you that there is here a greater than the Temple." Higher still He leads them; He tells them of the supreme law of charity, violated by them in judging these hungry men for taking a few mouthfuls of wheat: "And if you knew what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would never have condemned the innocent." The whole teaching is summarized in two axioms: "And He said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." not lawful on the Sabbathdays? There was now open war between Jesus and the Pharisees. His every occasion of teaching was theirs for fault-finding; nay, for accusation of the most deadly crimes, such as heresy and blasphemy. Even His miracles, dictated by His loving kindness, were pretexts for their poisonous malice. The following incident of the healing of the man with the withered hand is in point. The Apocryphal Gospel of the Nazarenes says that the man came and said: "I am a poor mason, earning my living by the labor of my hands: O Jesus, I pray Thee to cure me, that I may be saved from the shame of begging my bread.” Now, this was in the synagogue at Capharnaum, on the Sabbath, perhaps the one after the Master's arrival there, and in the sight of a multitude of people. Would Jesus dare to do on the Sabbath a deed of charity that He could just as well postpone to the next day? Would He openly condemn the Pharisees' interpretation of the Sabbath rest? They watched Him with eager eyes. Jesus determined to give an object-lesson of the true Hebrew practice: "And it came to pass on another Sabbath that He entered into the synagogue and taught. And there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched if He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand: Arise, and stand forth in the midst. And rising he stood forth. Then said Jesus to them: I ask you if it be lawful on the Sabbath-days to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy? But they held their peace." The prerogative of saving was His, for He was sent to save. Jesus argued further: "What man shall there be among you, that hath one sheep, and if the same fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not take hold on it and lift it up? How much better is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath-day." The very soul of Jesus was stirred within Him at their fanatical orthodoxy. 'And looking round about on them with anger, being grieved for the blindness of their hearts, He saith to the man: Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored to him." If a shepherd would save his sheep on the Sabbath, Jesus would save a friend, a brother, though on account of it the Pharisees should thirst for His blood. The Pharisees now began to take counsel for His death. They even went for counsel to the Herodians, the emissaries and spies of the licentious tyrant who had but recently imprisoned John the Baptist. It is a sad example of how the hypocritical external observance of law may form alliance with shameless vice against true virtue. "And the Pharisees were filled with madness, and they talked one with another, what they might do to Jesus, and going out immediately, made a consultation with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus knowing it, retired from thence with His disciples to the sea; and many followed Him, and He healed them all. And He charged them that they should not make Him known. And a great multitude followed Him from Galilee and from Jerusalem and Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing the things which He did, came to Him. And He spoke to His disciples that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him. For He healed many, so that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had evils. And the unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and they cried, say "And He saith to the man: Stretch forth thy hand." ing, Thou art the Son of God. And He strictly charged them that they should not make Him known. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the Prophet, saying: Behold, My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My Soul hath been well pleased. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. The bruised reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall not extinguish, till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His Name the Gentiles shall hope." Jesus therefore deemed it prudent to give up Capharnaum as His ordinary domicile, and for a period He sailed with His disciples from place to place along the lake shore, preaching and healing as before, but endeavoring to suppress the fame of His miracles. Soon, however, He found that a yet further retreat was necessary for His purpose. He landed with His Apostles on the west shore and went back into the country towards Naim. |