Matthew 12:2
Sunday, 20 July 2025
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” Matthew 12:2
“And the Pharisees, having seen, they said to Him, ‘You behold! Your disciples, they do what it permits not to do in Sabbath’” (CG).
In the previous verse, Jesus went through the grainfields with His disciples on a Sabbath day. While doing so, the disciples began to pluck heads of grain and eat. Having done this, Matthew next notes, “And the Pharisees.”
These folks show up constantly in the narrative, looking to find fault in Jesus and His ministry. It isn’t known if they were walking with Him also, or if they were spying on Him stealthily, but this is a recurrent theme in the gospels. To be spied on by legalists is something that would plague even the church later –
“And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Galatians 2:4, 5
In whatever way the Pharisees happened to be present with Jesus and the disciples, they were certainly there to spy on them and find fault. As such, the narrative continues with, “having seen, they said to Him, ‘You behold! Your disciples, they do what it permits not to do in Sabbath.’”
A new word, exesti, impersonally or it is right, is introduced. It is derived from ek, out of, and eimi, to exist. It is generally translated as lawful, permitted, or may (as in “May I say a word...”). The Topical Lexicon notes that this word “exposes human motives, clarifies God’s purposes, and delineates the boundary between true righteousness and mere legality.”
The Pharisees are making a claim that what Jesus’ disciples were doing, and thus implying He bore guilt because of them, was outside of the boundaries of what God had allowed for Sabbath day observances. The law, as noted in the previous commentary, said –
“When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.” Deuteronomy 23:24, 25
The Pharisees are either claiming that what is lawful on other days, which is to pluck and eat, is not allowed on the Sabbath, or that plucking and eating equate to work. The plucking is equated to harvesting while rubbing off the husks is equal to threshing grain. Alfred Edersheim in Life and Times of Jesus quotes the Talmud, saying –
“In case a woman rolls wheat to remove the husks, it is considered as sifting; if she rubs the heads of wheat, it is regarded as threshing; if she cleans off the side-adherencies, it is sifting out fruit; if she bruises the ears, it is grinding; if she throws them up in her hand, it is winnowing.”
This sort of niggling over minutiae is common with the rabbis of the Jews where, as Jesus elsewhere says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” Matthew 23:23, 24
They became so myopic in their pursuit of law observance that they were unable to discern between what is morally right and wrong. They had turned the Sabbath, which was to be a blessing for the people, into a day of misery where one could be stoned for doing something interpreted by others to be a violation of a law that may not have even addressed such a matter.
Life application: Think of the things you have encountered in churches that are contrary to, not in line with, or out of the bounds of biblical precepts. Taking a single example to understand, that of KJV Onlyism. It is claimed that no other Bible should be read than the King James Version.
This is contrary to Scripture because the KJV is a translation from other sources.
This is not in line with Scripture because we are told to read and teach the word from the writings of Paul (e.g., 2 Timothy 2:15 & 2 Timothy 4:2), which predate the KJV by about 1600 years.
This is out of the bounds of biblical precepts because there is nothing in Scripture that says this or even hints at it.
One can use this logic with any precept that is incorrectly taught. All three of these points may not apply to every situation, but if any of the three do not, it is to be understood that what is taught is incorrect.
Further, one must evaluate the precept based on proper context. Using a precept from the Law of Moses to make a claim about appropriateness is inappropriate. Jesus fulfilled and brought the Law of Moses to an end.
Some things merely describe a situation but do not prescribe anything. In such cases, they are not to be used for doctrine unless they form a normative precept. But even then, what is normative (such as baptism) must be understood from a thorough study and right application of what the Bible reveals.
The only way to do these things is to READ AND KNOW THE BIBLE. Please be sure to spend time, lots and lots of time, in this wonderful and precious word.
Glorious God, help our minds to logically process Your word, making right conclusions about what You are saying to us based on a contextually proper evaluation of it. May we carefully and rightly consider Your word at all times. Amen.
