NT Journey -- Matthew 12
I hope you had a great weekend. It's Monday, so let's get back to our New Testament journey. If you haven't ready Matthew 12 yet, do it before you read this post. Then read the post and go back to the chapter and read it again in light of what I tell you.
Arbitrary Divisions
OK, teachable moment here. Just because the guy who made the chapter and verse divisions says there's a break there doesn't mean there's an actual break there. On thing you have to know about the Bible is that it wasn't written with the chapter and verse divisions. In fact, in ancient Greek, there wouldn't even be spaces between the words. The chapters and verses were first put in the Bible around 1500. While overall, they're very helpful, sometimes they can trip us up a bit, or at least arbitrarily divide up things that should really go together.
I believe Matthew 12 is an instance of this. At the end of Matthew 11 is the familiar verse uttered by Jesus, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and humble in heart. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Well, Jesus actually goes on to explain Himself after he said it. By way of explanation, Jesus walks through the grain fields to get where He is going. Knowing it was the Sabbath, and knowing He was hungry, He picked some grain from the field and ate it. He also knew the religious people would make a big deal out it.
A little background. The Pharisees were notorious for emphasizing the Law, part of which said, "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." (one of the Ten Commandments) Legit law, but the Pharisees took it a little further. They were so concerned about people breaking the Law, they would make laws upon the Law--providing a hedge around the law so it would be impossible for people to break the actual Law. It's said that they took the 10 Commandments and expanded them to the 613 commandments. In the case of the Sabbath Law, they had every little thing regulated, defining what's work and what's not work (just about everything was work, by the way).
So when Jesus picked grain on the Sabbath, it was considered work by the Pharisees. To Jesus, it was a chance to show the true intent of the Law. The Law is made for people, not people for the Law. When people are hungry, what's important is that we feed them. You should also know that Old Testament law commands the Israelites not to harvest the edges of their fields so that the poor and aliens will have something to eat if they wander by. In the grain fields, God made provision for the hungry.
I could go on about this, but what I'm getting at here is that the story at the beginning of chapter 12 is actually a continuation or explanation of Jesus' statement at the end of Matthew 11. Not only this, but Matthew 12:15-21 is a continuation of the previous section. Matthew is showing that Jesus has the authority to "redefine" the Law the way He did.
As you read, keep in mind the context. Often, the editor does a good job with the chapter divisions, but don't assume that just because some guy divided up the Bible a certain way that this is the way it has to be divided up. Often, we can learn a lot more about a section, by linking it to the sections around it.
Arbitrary Divisions
OK, teachable moment here. Just because the guy who made the chapter and verse divisions says there's a break there doesn't mean there's an actual break there. On thing you have to know about the Bible is that it wasn't written with the chapter and verse divisions. In fact, in ancient Greek, there wouldn't even be spaces between the words. The chapters and verses were first put in the Bible around 1500. While overall, they're very helpful, sometimes they can trip us up a bit, or at least arbitrarily divide up things that should really go together.
I believe Matthew 12 is an instance of this. At the end of Matthew 11 is the familiar verse uttered by Jesus, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and humble in heart. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Well, Jesus actually goes on to explain Himself after he said it. By way of explanation, Jesus walks through the grain fields to get where He is going. Knowing it was the Sabbath, and knowing He was hungry, He picked some grain from the field and ate it. He also knew the religious people would make a big deal out it.
A little background. The Pharisees were notorious for emphasizing the Law, part of which said, "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." (one of the Ten Commandments) Legit law, but the Pharisees took it a little further. They were so concerned about people breaking the Law, they would make laws upon the Law--providing a hedge around the law so it would be impossible for people to break the actual Law. It's said that they took the 10 Commandments and expanded them to the 613 commandments. In the case of the Sabbath Law, they had every little thing regulated, defining what's work and what's not work (just about everything was work, by the way).
So when Jesus picked grain on the Sabbath, it was considered work by the Pharisees. To Jesus, it was a chance to show the true intent of the Law. The Law is made for people, not people for the Law. When people are hungry, what's important is that we feed them. You should also know that Old Testament law commands the Israelites not to harvest the edges of their fields so that the poor and aliens will have something to eat if they wander by. In the grain fields, God made provision for the hungry.
I could go on about this, but what I'm getting at here is that the story at the beginning of chapter 12 is actually a continuation or explanation of Jesus' statement at the end of Matthew 11. Not only this, but Matthew 12:15-21 is a continuation of the previous section. Matthew is showing that Jesus has the authority to "redefine" the Law the way He did.
As you read, keep in mind the context. Often, the editor does a good job with the chapter divisions, but don't assume that just because some guy divided up the Bible a certain way that this is the way it has to be divided up. Often, we can learn a lot more about a section, by linking it to the sections around it.
Labels: Bible, chapters, context, law, Matthew 12, New Testament, Pharisees
posted by Kory at
10:15 PM
1 Comments:
Kory, thanks for putting these posts together. I'm sure many are following along, even though we don't always comment.
It's amazing to me to read through passages and see things I've missed before. When the earthquake hit in Haiti recently, one of the first pictures I saw was of a man whose face was filled with tears and anguish. In his arms was the body of his small daughter who was killed in the quake. It's a picture that I won't soon forget. In Matthew 12 (and in a few verses prior in Chapter 7) Jesus said "If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." These words also are in Hosea 6:6. That picture I saw along with these words seems to give new meaning to me. Too many times I tend to ignore events in other places. And all too often we blame others for the problems they are facing. That man could just as easily have been any of us. Jesus is clearly telling me that compassion for others is something I have been lacking in.
Thanks again for all of your comments and for encouraging us to keep up in our reading.
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