If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." MT 12:7-8
Have you ever tried to get your teach someone something and failed? No matter how you explained yourself, they either didn't understand what you were saying, or didn't want to. Jesus must have felt the same way when trying to teach the religious leaders. Two weeks ago our gospel reading (Matthew 9:13) was about Jesus hanging out with sinners. Today it's about breaking the law of the Sabbath. Jesus again quotes the same scripture (Hosea 6:6) to remind the Pharisees that there are more important things in our faith walk than going through seemingly sacrificial motions of cheap piety. He uses two examples – one about King David and the other about priests who work on the Sabbath. Then he drops the bomb on them saying "For the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath".
God's laws were given to us as a sign of mercy for our own good and the good of all his people. But those laws can also be abused and misconstrued through legalism. We see it today in our society. The Pharisees used God's laws as a means to benefit themselves while restricting other's rights. That's not God's intention. If He wanted to conquer us with legalism He would have never sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sins.
We need to try to understand God's will for us and follow it. Sometimes that means knowing the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter.
